How to choose an expert company in Ukraine

Choosing an expert company for the examination of construction projects

There are many different design bureaus and freelance designers in Ukraine, who carry out their activities with varying degrees of responsibility. This, ultimately, can be reflected in the quality of the construction documentation they develop.

Unfortunately, no one is immune from mistakes, even the most experienced specialists. As a result, any construction project, no matter which specialist prepares it, requires additional verification. Therefore, examination of construction documentation for certain categories of objects (CC2, CC3) is a mandatory stage. This process is entrusted to special expert organizations.

Features of drawing up project documentation in Ukraine

Today, particularly high requirements are imposed on construction projects for buildings and structures. This is due to a huge number of factors, including technological requirements for materials, environmental standards, the complexity of engineering networks, infrastructure, urban architectural policy, customer tastes and many others.

It is worth noting that labor productivity at construction sites increases many times over when using 3D design software products, with the help of which the designed object is modeled in the smallest details. There are fewer problems if designers solve them using a computer at the project development stage. Unfortunately, many design companies in Ukraine still work in the old way, using a computer as a culvert. As a result, the quality of such a project may suffer.

Despite the previously accumulated vast experience in complex building design in Ukraine, the era of technological breakthrough and market relations is making its own adjustments. The European approach to design is significantly ahead of ours, since in their market environment, Europeans have managed to "get sick with childhood diseases". In Ukraine, such realities have developed that it is impossible to do without an examination of construction documentation for certain categories of objects.

Choosing an expert company for the examination of construction projects. What to pay attention to?

Intermediation in the market of expert services.
We advise you not to use the services of intermediaries between the customer and the expert organization. In the market of expert services for construction projects in Ukraine, not only expert organizations and companies operate. A huge number of intermediaries are trying to "grab their piece of the pie". These can be both individuals and legal entities. The latter most often carry out their activities under the banner of law firms. Their main activity is the provision of a wide range of legal consulting services. And you are unlikely to find a certified expert in the construction industry in the staff of such organizations. Most often, all they can provide the customer is to accept project documents and transfer them to a specialized expert company for professional analysis and evaluation. As for individuals, we strongly recommend not even considering them as contractors. It should be remembered that you should not save on the assessment of project documentation. Perhaps intermediaries are able to offer a good price for the expertise, but the probability that they can conduct it qualitatively on their own is zero. In addition, both the first and the second are unlikely to be able to guarantee you certain deadlines and adhere to them.
Process management system for construction documentation expertise.
In many expert companies, project management consists only in sending e-mails to the addresses of participants. Experts are forced to spend most of their working time on unnecessary things due to incorrectly set tasks. Often, the actions of employees do not coordinate with each other. There is often a lack of proper communication with customers. Therefore, when choosing a contractor, you should learn about management tools. If you are only ready to show stickers on the monitor, the project will be practically unmanageable. And you should not count on high quality and certain deadlines for considering your project.
Involving freelancers to conduct an expertise
Typically, freelancers are involved by small organizations. In most cases, they are quite competent specialists who have the appropriate certificates and are engaged in expertise at their main (often in the public sector) place of work. The problem with the participation of freelancers is not their qualifications (although this is not uncommon), but in their approach to work. It happens that they strive to do their work with minimal effort and receive a fee. This can affect the quality of the expertise and the timing of its implementation. Therefore, it is important that a project management system is implemented in a company that uses outsourcing services.
Communication system with the customer
The lack of information exchange between the contractor and the customer can be a significant problem when conducting project expertise. The task of the head of an expert organization is to create conditions under which all participants in the process will communicate comfortably and fruitfully with each other. If communication is conducted only at the level of managers through official correspondence, then the expertise can be significantly delayed in time. This is especially characteristic of state expert organizations. You should choose those contractors who value their partners and their name.
Guarantee of quality and terms of the examination
Expert organizations that care about their reputation approach the process of examination of construction projects in a thoughtful and systematic manner. The process itself is organized at a high level of management with a certain timing and a clear division of tasks between experts, with sufficient involvement of various specialists and material and technical support. This is a guarantee of high quality and compliance with the terms of the examination. It is important not only to receive the coveted form of the expert opinion, but above all, to confirm the quality of the developed project, its compliance with the norms of current legislation, and to be sure that when submitting documents to the relevant authorities to obtain a building permit, there will be no unforeseen situations with their return for revision.

Choosing an expert organization: a view from the inside

Comment from the director of LLC "First Construction Expertise".

Question: Knowing the situation from the inside, who would you entrust to conduct an expert examination of your construction project?

Answer: "Choosing a reliable contractor is a very important issue. There is an opinion: "the more, the better". This does not always work in the expert construction industry. For an expert company, having a large staff of employees working in one office is not mandatory and does not guarantee the performance of a high-quality examination. Currently, the situation is such that the cost of renting premises is becoming increasingly high, which, in turn, may affect the cost of services, because the contractor has to bear additional costs. Currently, the following trend is observed: the core core of professionals works in expert organizations, and additional work is performed by outsourced specialists who have the appropriate certificates and with whom contracts have been concluded. Therefore, operational management of experts involved in the project is a necessary criterion for a successful expert company. I advise customers to learn as much as possible about the company and its management. An advantage may be the implementation of a process management system. The manager must understand the details of the process, and not just be a manager. It is important that he has education, experience and the opportunity to delve into the processes and be truly passionate about them. A distinctive characteristic when choosing a contractor is a list of completed expertise with positive customer reviews, as well as the company's workload and the presence of regular customers. »

The reliability of the expert organization is confirmed by:

The presence of official documents of the company
The presence in the list of expert organizations that have the right to carry out a comprehensive examination of construction projects, published on the website of the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine (www.minregion.gov.ua)
The presence of an office with a sufficient number of full-time employees, equipped with software and hardware
The implementation of an examination process management system;
The ability to analyze and evaluate construction project documentation of any complexity, from any direction and for construction sites in any region of Ukraine;
Experience and solid list of completed works;
Reasonable prices for project expertise services.

How to choose a reliable company for project expertise?

Formal criteria for selecting a contractor:

Checking the company's documents. This first step will allow you to weed out one-day companies, companies in the process of bankruptcy, intermediaries, and identify the fact that there are no necessary licenses or other permits. But it should be remembered that the presence of the necessary documents does not guarantee you the right choice of a contractor that you can trust.
A wide range of expert services and experience in examining construction projects similar to yours. The experience of an expert company is assessed based on its portfolio. But it is much more important not that the contractor participated in the examination of a construction project of some high-profile facility, but how well he did it. The most valuable information for the customer is not a list, but a history of participation.
A visit to the office of an expert organization. A review of the office of a potential partner gives confidence that the company has the human and material and technical resources to fulfill the order.

When choosing based on formal criteria, there is a chance of getting a reliable contractor. But expert organizations very often embellish their information. Therefore, in order not to make a mistake, you should approach the search for a contractor more carefully and responsibly.

According to the feedback from customers of project expertise, the main failures in work occur at the management level. It is the level of organization and the system of management of expert work that distinguishes a professional player in the expert construction market from an amateur. In addition to formal criteria, you must identify the level of organization of the contractor's work. Solving this task is quite possible, although at first glance it is not easy.

Step-by-step instructions for choosing a company for project evaluation.

So, when choosing an expert company, you should follow a few simple steps:

Step No. 1. Read the company's documents, check the availability of the necessary licenses and permits.
Step No. 2. Visit the office. Pay attention to its location, number of employees, and material and technical support.
Step No. 3. Get acquainted with the work performed.
Step No. 4. Evaluate the speed and quality of responses to your requests. Ask technical questions and evaluate the speed of preparation of the answer and the literacy of the latter. It is important how quickly and correctly the contractor responds, and if it takes a long time, then most likely the contractor does not have its own specialists, the management is not organized at the proper level, or the company employs disinterested or undisciplined employees.
Step No. 5. Ask about the project management system. Find out whether the company has a project manager who controls the examination, whether the technical and administrative parts of the work are separated, and whether each expert has a plan.
Step No. 6. Order a cost estimate and terms of the examination of your facility's construction project.
Step No. 7. Place a trial order for an examination of a separate section of the project. Nothing will say more about the contractor's efficiency than his real work with you. The first steps allow you to weed out most of the ineffective market players, but even this does not give complete confidence. Offer your future partner to perform a trial run. It is advisable that this is not a complex, long-term or costly project. You just need to determine the approach to implementing your order.

The choice of an expert organization should not be made hastily. By spending a little time communicating with a potential contractor, you will be able to save on the time of the examination and obtaining a building permit.

Order an assessment of a construction project

If you want to make sure of the quality of the design documentation for your construction project, you should order its analysis and assessment from "First Construction Expertise": it is affordable and short - from 2 weeks, depending on the complexity of the project.

Order a free calculation of the cost of the examination

You can do this absolutely free of charge in the appropriate section on our company's website. Fill in the fields of a special online form and click on the "send" button. Upon receipt of the request, our specialists will contact you in the order of the requests, clarify all the details and prepare a calculation of the cost of the expertise of the construction project of your facility.

EXPERT OPINION

We advise you to be responsible when choosing a contractor for project expertise services. And before making your choice, go to the website of the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine (www.minregion.gov.ua) and look at the list of expert organizations that have the right to carry out a comprehensive expertise of construction projects. Make sure that the organization you have chosen is on this list. In addition, the right choice involves taking into account other points, including: the time the company has been present on the market, the number of specialists on staff, the portfolio of completed works, the company's pricing policy, current workload, order fulfillment deadlines and the professionalism of the company's manager and experts.

Get professional project expertise and confidence in safe and high-quality construction!

We are always open to productive cooperation under the sign of social responsibility for high quality construction. We invite all participants in the construction industry of Ukraine to cooperate. We will definitely justify your trust!

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