Project Philosophy

Our guiding project approach combines our proven technical services with collaborative client relationships to ensure tailored, cost-effective solutions.

Our project approach involves planning, designing, and constructing projects in concert with our clients and their staff, ensuring that all opinions and ideas are heard and that the entire team has ownership and a vested interest in the final product. Applying this inclusive, collaborative approach to all tasks is essential to ensuring the seamless, cost-effective delivery of a project. We recognize the significance of each phase in the project lifecycle and acknowledge that the quality of each successive step relies on the work completed in previous stages.

To illustrate this concept, we often draw upon the analogy of constructing an elevated storage tank. The process starts from the ground up, and the overall stability and strength of the structure are directly dependent on the quality of the work performed on the previously completed components.

Preliminary engineering is the foundation for all successful projects, and proper, thorough planning during this phase can save time and cost during design and construction.

During the preliminary engineering phase, we lay the groundwork for the project’s design by conducting initial cost evaluations and developing a recommended plan for progression. At CJS Conveyance, regardless of project size or complexity, we initiate this phase with a Project Management Plan (PMP). The PMP serves as a comprehensive document outlining key project elements for both the project team and the client. Following the completion of the PMP and a project kick-off meeting, we proceed with the specific preliminary engineering tasks tailored to the project requirements. These tasks may include the preparation of a preliminary engineering report (PER), a feasibility study, an environmental assessment (EA), engineering alternative analysis (EAA), schematic design, or other specialized evaluations. The reports are formatted to accommodate the client’s needs, including any outlines mandated by funding agencies responsible for project funding administration.

Our efficient design development process leverages resources, innovation, and collaboration to deliver high-quality results.

In the design phase, we use existing reliable resources and data whenever feasible to reduce data collection costs. We also embrace innovative design approaches to expedite the project’s  schedule and generate additional cost savings. Drawing upon our extensive design experience, we leverage these strategies to deliver a high-quality design that aligns with the client’s design standards and regulatory requirements.

To foster collaboration, we conduct design workshops with our clients at multiple stages throughout the design phase. These sessions allow key personnel from the client’s organization to actively participate in the design document development, ensuring that the needs of both management and operations staff are met effectively. Moreover, we prepare construction cost estimates at incremental phases of the design process, allowing for ongoing review with the client to ensure adherence to the original budget. This proactive approach enables us to identify opportunities for cost savings and implement them whenever possible.

Proactive collaboration with regulatory agencies in the early project phases ensures successful permitting and timely project readiness for bidding.

Our project team actively collaborates with regulatory agencies during the preliminary engineering and design phase, enabling us to address potential concerns or challenges early in the process. This proactive engagement minimizes the need for extensive reviews during the final permitting stage and allows the project to be ready for bid more quickly. Our staff has developed long-standing and trusted relationships with local, state, and federal regulatory agencies through our years of designing and permitting projects and these relationships are key to success during the permitting phase.

No matter how successful a project is during the early stages, the ultimate success relies heavily on the quality of the bid documents and the selection of a skilled contractor.

To facilitate a smooth bidding process, contract documents must incorporate clear and concise plans, along with comprehensive technical specifications. It is essential to address client requirements, funding guidelines, and local/regional mandates within the contract documents, ensuring that potential bidders have a comprehensive understanding of their obligations. Our project team collaborates closely with clients to structure the bid form in a manner that aligns with their preferred payment methods and facilitates efficient tracking of quantities in the field.

Moreover, we advocate for the use of alternate bids to enhance competitive bidding and maximize potential cost savings. In addition, our bid phase services include the option to prequalify bidders and equipment manufacturers for our clients. This prequalification process helps guarantee that the desired level of workmanship and equipment quality is achieved during the project’s construction phase. With extensive experience in solicitation development, review, and implementation of prequalification procedures, our project team has successfully provided prequalification services for numerous projects across the state.

A smooth construction phase is a key indicator of overall project success.

Ensuring the successful translation of an engineer’s design into actual construction stands as one of the most crucial aspects of a project. This process necessitates ongoing communication between the engineer, acting on behalf of the owner, and the contractor to ensure that the design’s intent is effectively realized. With our extensive experience in construction administration, we have undertaken this responsibility on nearly every project we have designed.

Our construction administration approach begins with a comprehensive pre-construction meeting involving all stakeholders. This session entails a detailed discussion of critical activities, safety protocols, contacts, schedule, communication procedures, permit requirements, and various other essential aspects. Once initial coordination is completed, we meticulously review shop drawings to verify compliance with specifications prior to commencing the work. During the construction phase, constant communication is maintained with the field representative and the contractor’s project manager, ensuring effective administration of the construction activities. In addition, formal communication is facilitated through construction progress meetings, scheduled periodically based on the complexity of the work, such as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly intervals. We recognize that every issue encountered during construction is significant, necessitating immediate resolution without wasting any time.

We take an active role during project closeout to ensure timely completion.

As the engineer, we take our responsibility in enforcing closeout requirements seriously, collaborating closely with the contractor to ensure timely submission of documentation for final completion and payment. We also prioritize the issuance of record drawings and engineering certifications to achieve full project closure. Additionally, we conduct personal project closeout interviews with clients to discuss project outcomes, identify successes, and explore areas for improvement, enabling us to enhance our service and meet client needs effectively.

Quality Control and Assurance (QC/QA) is deeply ingrained in our engineering practice, allowing us to consistently deliver reliable results for our clients.

While our team provides years of experience in our field of engineering, we understand that we are all human and susceptible to human error. Therefore, we have developed a vigorous QC/QA program that spans from development of proposals and statements of qualifications to construction closeout. We have developed a series of QC/QA measures that includes checklists, peer reviews, and documentation tracking, as well as feedback from clients. Our proposals, contracts, preliminary engineering reports, cost opinions, design and bid documents and other deliverables undergo these QC/QA measures before being delivered to a client or regulatory agency.

We have cultivated strong relationships with multiple minority-owned and woman-owned businesses, whom we trust to deliver dependable, high-quality services.

These companies complement the services we provide, and we take pride in sharing opportunities to help foster their success. We strive to meet and exceed M/WBE business participation goals established by our clients and to provide our partner businesses with important and well-defined roles in our project work.