SUBCONTRACTORS

Fulcrum Associates has earned a reputation for both quality construction, and for treating our subcontractors fairly. It's no surprise that these two attributes go hand in hand. We often hear that "It's hard to get on Fulcrum's bid list". We won't deny it, we are very selective in who we work with. While that can be frustrating to those on the outside, once you are in you will appreciate the level playing field and the opportunity to work on some truly unique projects as part of a first class team.

Fulcrum typically does not perform public works projects. This is significant because public works projects are almost always hard-bid. This type of environment causes GC's to be very cost focused and they must entertain bids from anyone and everyone, qualified or not, if they are going to win the job. The secret to winning public work is to solicit hundreds of bidders and select the lowest price regardless of qualifications. It doesn't hurt if you make a take-off error or two to seal the deal. This arbitrary "hard-bid date" leads to errors and omissions in the estimate, most of which are made up on the backs of the subcontractors.

Private owners on the other hand are able to use any procurement process that suits their needs. Most of our projects are negotiated Construction Management Agreements which allows us to focus on obtaining the greatest quality, value and performance when selecting the project team instead of just the lowest cost. This is the environment in which we choose to work and we are quite good at it.

Subcontractor performance is the cornerstone of a successful project; close to 85% of our work is performed by Subcontractors. To that end, when we are recognized for delivering a quality project on time and under budget we are really riding on your coattails, and we're not shy about acknowledging so. Our job is to get the right team together, coordinate their work and remove any impediments to progress. As the head of the building team, we make the following commitments to all of our subcontractors and vendors:

We believe in working with a select list of prequalified Subcontractors for each trade. On most projects we invite 3 - 4 subs that are well known to us that we feel are good qualified matches for the project.
Construction's competitive bid system is based on the award of the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. We do not "bid shop" or "bid peddle". The work will always be awarded to the low offeror who meets all the requirements of the bid documents.
We will provide a list of all bidders and their prices after the subcontract award.
Prompt Payments. We are leading the industry in working to get payment times shortened.
Prompt, equitable change order resolution. Change happens, ignoring it and hoping for it to go away accomplishes nothing.
Flexible retainage policies. Whenever possible we negotiate early release of retainage to early stage subcontractors.
Well run projects. We'll be ready when we promised, and do everything in our power to aid your efficiency and production.
A Safe Environment. We are extremely proud of our safety record over the past twenty years. We want you to be a part of it.
Open, Honest Communication. Only by keeping you informed of progress and events which impact your performance can we expect you to perform your work efficiently.

In return, we look for the following:

A commitment to safety. Don't even bother to apply if you carry a WC mod greater than 1.0
An adequate complement of skilled EMPLOYEES. If we wanted to work with independent contractors we would hire them ourselves.
Respond to our Invitations to Bid in the manner requested. If we can't count on you for a price we can't possibly award you the work.
High quality work. We compete on performance and quality; we expect the same from our subcontract team members.
Dependable performance. The only way we can guarantee the project will be ready for you when promised is if the sub before you keeps his word. The team member whose work follows yours is counting on you.
Open, Honest Communication. We expect you to keep us informed of potential delays, changes and coordination issues in a timely manner.
Timely billings. Cash flow is our lifeblood. Late billings delay our payments, and in turn everyone else's.