Material PricesPosted: September 1st, 2010 | Author: Rodd | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cost, decline, materials, prices, quarterly, updates | No Comments »Interesting article issued by Reed Construction Data that confirms our second quarter updates, that, despite official (government) predictions – material prices continue to decline. Pro-Cost Merry ChristmasPosted: December 16th, 2009 | Author: Noreen | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Christmas, construction, home depot, kippen, Merry, pro-cost, procost, QUANTITY, rodd kippen, saving money, SURVEYOR | No Comments »
Going Green!Posted: July 6th, 2009 | Author: admin | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Company, Going Green, Green | No Comments »http://www.bdcnetwork.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6397390 December 5, 2006 According to a new study by PinnacleOne, a construction consulting firms, almost half (48%) of public owners in the United States have implemented construction projects with energy-efficient designs in the past year. More importantly, of those owners who implemented energy-efficient designs, the vast majority (87%) were familiar with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) green building standards and more than two-thirds (70%) used LEED standards in their designs. “While more public owners need to address energy efficiency in their construction plans, it is very encouraging that those implementing green building designs are using LEED standards,” said Bruce Risley, vice president at PinnacleOne. “It is interesting to note that most of these owners are pursuing the lower levels of LEED certification and that they often overlook the use of outsourcing as a vehicle for financing and managing these facilities.” These are just a few of the findings in The 2006 PinnacleOne Pulse of U.S. Public Construction survey which examined the opinions of 166 public owners involved in construction projects throughout the United States. Some of the major energy-related findings: Silver in the LEED. More than two-thirds (70%) of the owners who implemented energy-efficient designs in the past year say their designs received LEED certification. Of those designs, 71% received a silver certification, 29% achieved a gold certification and none received a platinum certification (the highest). Old and New Embrace Green. Of those owners who have implemented energy-efficient designs in the past year, approximately a quarter (24%) have used green designs to renovate existing facilities only, more than one-third (34%) have gone green exclusively in new facilities, and the remainder (42%) have implemented energy-saving designs in both new and existing facilities. Outsourcing Underutilized. In terms of financing and managing an on-site energy infrastructure, close to half (43 percent) of the owners prefer to outsource design and construction while maintaining ownership and management, while a similar amount (45%) have not yet utilized outsourcing at all. Only 10% prefer to completely outsource all aspects of the facility’s funding, construction and management. Regional/Vertical Differences. During the past year, owners in the Northeast (74%) and Western (62%) regions were more likely to implement energy-efficient designs than owners located in the rest of the country. Interestingly, owners in the education sector were more than twice as likely to go with green designs as other industries. Of those owners in the Western region using energy-efficient designs, a majority (53%) did not pursue LEED certification. The 2006 PinnacleOne Pulse of U.S. Public Construction study was a national telephone survey conducted by Market Measurement, Inc., an independent market research consulting firm, that examined the attitudes of public owners on construction issues related to project costs, program management, energy/environment, and dispute resolution. The survey was conducted in August of this year. Procost saves you money!Posted: July 14th, 2008 | Author: MKippen | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: atlanta, Bellevue, budgets, construction, costco, estimate, estimations, expense, home depot, kippen, money, newspaper, noreen kippen, pro-cost, procost, puget sound, puget sound business journal, rodd kippen, safeco, safeco corp, save, saving money, seattle, target, washington | No Comments »Procost was featured in the Puget Sound Business Journal last year – “As construction expenses rise, Pro-Cost thrives”. – http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/07/14/story15.html [From Puget Sound Business Journal] Rising construction costs are a boon for Bellevue-based Pro-Cost, which has seen its revenue more than quadruple recently. Soaring construction expenses have big-box retailers, developers and banks turning to Pro-Cost for help in estimating and managing construction budgets. Founded in 2004, Pro-Cost helps clients estimate how much it will cost to renovate an existing building or build a new one. Then the company helps clients manage their costs during construction. The firm is currently overseeing projects totaling approximately $3 billion, Pro-Cost co-founder and CEO Rod Kippen said. He expects revenue of about $3.5 million this year, up from $600,000 in 2004. To handle its swelling business, Pro-Cost has doubled in size to 25 employees, with the firm looking to hire another 10 or so staffers by early next year, Kippen said. More than half of the small Bellevue firm’s work comes from big-box retailers that include Costco, Home Depot and Target, among others. Pro-Cost also helped Seattle insurer Safeco Corp. compare the cost of renovating its longtime University District headquarters with relocating to downtown Seattle. Kippen said about 10 percent of the firm’s business is related to legal disputes and forensic audits. The remainder of the company’s business comes from a range of clients that includes hospitals, assisted-living facilities, prisons and municipalities. Too often, Kippen said, clients wait until after they have gone through design review to prepare a construction budget. Then, when they finally do contact their contractor, the expenses are too high and they have to go back and rework the design, adding to project costs. Only about a dozen of the projects Pro-Cost is handling are in Washington state. The rest are scattered across the United States and Canada. The company has an office in the Washington, D.C., area and is considering adding another office in Atlanta, Kippen said. In addition to Kippen, Pro-Cost principals include his wife, Noreen, Edward Hing and Jeremy Goeckeritz. The Kippens and Hing emigrated to the United States from South Africa, where “quantity surveyors” — essentially construction economists — must earn advanced degrees and pass board exams. Pro-Cost provides a range of services, including estimating construction costs, managing projects to budget, auditing the cost of making changes and testifying as expert witnesses. Currently, Kippen is serving as an expert witness in a dispute in New Orleans between Circuit City and its landlord over damages sustained when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. Thanks to the tightening credit markets, Pro-Cost has also seen a rise in its work with local lenders. The company monitors construction loans for area lenders and reviews construction costs on completed projects. Pro-Cost gets a construction report from a local lender and reviews the budget to see if it will cover projected costs. Pro-Cost then monitors the construction budget on a monthly basis, reviewing change orders to make sure items are being charged correctly. Kippen is grateful for the surge in business. “Our 10 years in America are such a blessing,” Kippen said. “We are living proof the American Dream is very much a reality.”
JLJ@BIZJOURNALS.COM | 206.876.5426 |
