- 9,209
- DerAlta
Long story...And reasons to drive you to drink.
I'm working on construction drawings for a Police Station renovation in Boston, Mass. I became involved in this project through our Mechanical Consultant. They are an HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and fire protection firm out of New Bedford Massachusetts (60 miles from Boston). Our Consultant beat out 6 other architects for the renovation job. All 6 are located in Boston and have a history of working with the City. Consulant history = 0.
So they win the project, and talk with us to do the architectural portion. Easy enough, we mark up their drawings and add to small portions to it (i.e.. fix hole in wall here, patch roof there, yada, yada, yada.)
Riiiiight (in Bill Cosby drawl)
It all slowly falls apart. Incorrect and vague estimates, no project management, inaccurate drawings, lack of communication, nobody figured out the scope of the project, the City doesn't even know the scope. Nobody knows the timeline either. Little by little it corrodes.
Now we find out that the building has severe structural cracks, and the Structural engineer didn't know it. Who, coincidentally, is the brother of a partner at our consultants office. We pointed out the cracks in the floor slabs and asked him what we need to do. He responded with "I didn't know there were cracks." Yes, he was on the site visit.
Add in the security ceilings in the holding cells that hide the HVAC system we're redoing, to the renovations, which we pointed out were considerably more than just fixing a wall here and patching a roof there, and the price tag has gone from $500,000 to nearly $1.9 million. But then again, nobody knows the scope, so we're not sure what the city really wants to fix.
So...current plan is we've got the street in front of the building blocked off with temporary trailers for the police officers and doing the construction in one fell swoop. Timeline = during the Democratic convention in 2004. City officials state "we posted a revised timeline that has this finished before the convention instead of summer 2005". We look at the Consultant with raised eyebrow and a quizzical look "We've not seen this and it's not in the contract, do you have it?" Response = "Umm, no, we can't find our records on this project." Included in their lost records is the first submittal to the city with estimates, drawings and specifications. All gone, no records, not even a transmittal. Digital or hard copy.
Funny follow up, we now have in our possession edits to the specs and drawings (from the city) referring to the specs and drawings that noone has. The mustard on that hotdog, is the edits have one note relating to a date. At the top, in hand scribble is written "May 2003" Approixmately when the Consultant said they submitted it (they can't really remember).
I've called the consultants office many time to talk to the drafters, and they're telling me "We were told not to do any work on this." We've been asking for updates, and new drawings, as well as updated spec's, and beating up the drafters to get it. Now we know why. We've been beating the structural guy up for his new drawings. A week after he tells us he e-mailed them we finally receive them. Interesting story is that he says he's been trying for a week to e-mail them but it keeps bouncing back. Unfortunately, I checked the "catch-all" address we have on our e-mail that logs "who, what, when and where" about incoming traffic and his never shows up. So...I open the drawings up and voila! They've got the previous days date on them as "last edited" Where's my Pepto and Whiskey shooter?
So...let's recap. We're working for a consultant that's not paying us and taking credit for our work. We're on a schedule that noone knows what the dates are. We've got a vague contract sporting a vague description of the project. We've got less than knowledgable consultants attempting to run a job that they've no experience doing and they're not even producing work. The topper is that nobody (not even the client) has a record of what's been given to anybody.
So to sum it up, the only concrete this is "There are renovations being planned for the Boston Police station on New Sudbury Street"
I think Mother Teresa said it right with :
We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
I love my job.
AO
I'm working on construction drawings for a Police Station renovation in Boston, Mass. I became involved in this project through our Mechanical Consultant. They are an HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and fire protection firm out of New Bedford Massachusetts (60 miles from Boston). Our Consultant beat out 6 other architects for the renovation job. All 6 are located in Boston and have a history of working with the City. Consulant history = 0.
So they win the project, and talk with us to do the architectural portion. Easy enough, we mark up their drawings and add to small portions to it (i.e.. fix hole in wall here, patch roof there, yada, yada, yada.)
Riiiiight (in Bill Cosby drawl)
It all slowly falls apart. Incorrect and vague estimates, no project management, inaccurate drawings, lack of communication, nobody figured out the scope of the project, the City doesn't even know the scope. Nobody knows the timeline either. Little by little it corrodes.
Now we find out that the building has severe structural cracks, and the Structural engineer didn't know it. Who, coincidentally, is the brother of a partner at our consultants office. We pointed out the cracks in the floor slabs and asked him what we need to do. He responded with "I didn't know there were cracks." Yes, he was on the site visit.
Add in the security ceilings in the holding cells that hide the HVAC system we're redoing, to the renovations, which we pointed out were considerably more than just fixing a wall here and patching a roof there, and the price tag has gone from $500,000 to nearly $1.9 million. But then again, nobody knows the scope, so we're not sure what the city really wants to fix.
So...current plan is we've got the street in front of the building blocked off with temporary trailers for the police officers and doing the construction in one fell swoop. Timeline = during the Democratic convention in 2004. City officials state "we posted a revised timeline that has this finished before the convention instead of summer 2005". We look at the Consultant with raised eyebrow and a quizzical look "We've not seen this and it's not in the contract, do you have it?" Response = "Umm, no, we can't find our records on this project." Included in their lost records is the first submittal to the city with estimates, drawings and specifications. All gone, no records, not even a transmittal. Digital or hard copy.
Funny follow up, we now have in our possession edits to the specs and drawings (from the city) referring to the specs and drawings that noone has. The mustard on that hotdog, is the edits have one note relating to a date. At the top, in hand scribble is written "May 2003" Approixmately when the Consultant said they submitted it (they can't really remember).
I've called the consultants office many time to talk to the drafters, and they're telling me "We were told not to do any work on this." We've been asking for updates, and new drawings, as well as updated spec's, and beating up the drafters to get it. Now we know why. We've been beating the structural guy up for his new drawings. A week after he tells us he e-mailed them we finally receive them. Interesting story is that he says he's been trying for a week to e-mail them but it keeps bouncing back. Unfortunately, I checked the "catch-all" address we have on our e-mail that logs "who, what, when and where" about incoming traffic and his never shows up. So...I open the drawings up and voila! They've got the previous days date on them as "last edited" Where's my Pepto and Whiskey shooter?
So...let's recap. We're working for a consultant that's not paying us and taking credit for our work. We're on a schedule that noone knows what the dates are. We've got a vague contract sporting a vague description of the project. We've got less than knowledgable consultants attempting to run a job that they've no experience doing and they're not even producing work. The topper is that nobody (not even the client) has a record of what's been given to anybody.
So to sum it up, the only concrete this is "There are renovations being planned for the Boston Police station on New Sudbury Street"
I think Mother Teresa said it right with :
We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
I love my job.
AO
I also have 4 or 5 other patients with needs.
. Seriousl though, that must really suck. I'm sorry for you and your workers, and hope that something...good comes out of this (e.g. you make a ton of money, crime rates in Boston go down, etc.)
