How to Prepare and Lead a Pre-Construction Meeting

You may be motivated to get started on a job, but jumping in too quickly without pertinent knowledge and information can set you up for frustration and cost precious time and money.

A pre-construction meeting can help you get the information you need to get the project off to a good start and keep it on track. 

But what are the essential parts of a pre-construction meeting, and who are the key participants?

We’ll answer those questions and give you five tips to prepare and conduct a pre-construction meeting that will set your team up for success.

1. CM Fusion: Construction Management Software Made Easy
2. What Is a Pre-Construction Meeting?
3. There Are Two Different Types of Pre-Construction Meetings
4. 5 Tips for Setting Up a Successful Pre-Construction Meeting
5. Manage Your Pre-Construction Meeting Agenda and Notes With CM Fusion

CM Fusion: Construction Management Software Made Easy

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• Cloud-based

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… which means you can stay organized and keep everyone on your team on the same page.

With our simple and flexible software, you can:

• Manage documents

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• And much more

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What Is a Pre-Construction Meeting?

No matter what kind of project you may be involved in — whether large or small — it’s always a good idea to gather the team to review expectations. 

That’s what a pre-construction meeting is all about.

The main participants in a pre-construction meeting are the general contractor and the project owner. The following stakeholders may also be present:

• Project manager

• Site supervisor

• Safety officer

• Procurement manager

• HR manager

• Chief estimator

• Legal counsel

Though a pre-construction meeting usually happens before any actual work begins, some construction meetings may take place after the first stages (i.e. initial framing and roughed-in plumbing) of construction have begun.

The pre-construction meeting is a key element in ensuring the project gets off to the right start and everyone knows their role. Once the expectations and requirements are set, the group will be equipped to work well as a team throughout the life of the project.

Imagine a quarterback huddling together with his offensive line before executing a play. When everyone knows the part they are playing and what’s to be expected, the play runs much smoother.

Topics Often Addressed in Pre-Construction Meetings

When a team is gathered for a pre-construction meeting, they will address the following:

• All documents required by the company and government agencies (county, city, state, and federal)

• Special requirements

• Goal-setting

• Project’s start date

• The chain of command and how decisions will be made

• Project schedule, milestones, and critical workflow paths

• Financial and payment information

Benefits of Holding a Pre-Construction Meeting

Pre-construction meetings deliver the following benefits:

• Helps to avoid change orders

• Allows the opportunity to pinpoint possible scheduling conflicts and long lead items

• Provides the arena for conversation and questions about the project

• Helps guarantee successful project completion

• Gives the owner the opportunity to share their expectations

There Are Two Different Types of Pre-Construction Meetings

The two types of pre-construction meetings are:

1. The meeting with the client

2. The meeting with the city

Each of these meetings has a specific purpose that we’ll review below.

#1: Pre-Construction Meeting With the Client

The pre-construction meeting with the client is usually a pre-sale meeting and may be used for a potential client to choose a general contractor.

In this meeting, the parties will discuss many details like:

• Budget 

• Funding

• Potential cost savings

• Potential upgrades

• Project scope

• Potential issues

• Risks

• Finishings

• Customization

• Timeline

• And more

Once this meeting is complete, all parties will sign the contract and a notice to proceed will be sent, initiating the construction phase.

Why Is This Meeting Important?

A pre-construction meeting with the client is crucial for the discussion of important issues so that key details and decisions are discussed before signing the contract. This meeting helps get everyone on the same page to avoid misunderstandings or miscommunications.

Client pre-construction meetings allow the owner to sign off on …

• The floor plan

• Design specifications

• Selection of finishes

• Last-minute alterations

… in an effort to avoid delays and costly changes down the road.

#2: Pre-Construction Meeting With the City

A pre-construction meeting with the city should happen before construction begins and should cover the following aspects of the project:

• City requirements

• Assigning the city inspector

• The necessity of specialty inspectors and who those inspectors will be

• Policies such as stormwater prevention

• Constraints that need to be considered (i.e., Does a fire lane need to be in place before framing can begin?)

• Compliance details

• Utility details, such as regulations for temporary power poles

• Permits required

Why Is This Meeting Important?

The pre-construction meeting with the city is crucial to ensure the general contractor (GC) and the owner are clear on the city’s expectations. 

For example, in a pre-construction meeting with the city, a schedule of inspections may be discussed. This will allow the GC to plan the schedule of work with appropriate inspection wait times. 

Without the information available upfront, important inspections may be overlooked — which can halt a job — resulting in a delayed finish date and increased costs.

This important meeting may prevent overlooked details from sneaking up on the client or the general contractor.

5 Tips for Setting Up a Successful Pre-Construction Meeting

Pre-construction meetings can be lengthy since they are designed to be thorough. All parties involved will want to make the most of the time they’ve set aside to discuss important details.

Preparation is critical for success!

Whether you’re preparing for a pre-construction meeting with a client or the city, the following tips will help.

#1: Create a Pre-Construction Meeting Agenda

We’ve all experienced it — we’ve attended a meeting, talked around a load of issues, and left feeling like nothing was accomplished

Having a well-thought-out agenda provides a guide for the meeting. With an agenda in place, you can ensure the participants know what to expect and all important topics are covered.

A pre-construction meeting agenda may include:

•  Review of:

  • Utilities

  • Plans

  • Contract

  • Safety

  • Schedule

• Payments

• Permits

• On-site storage

• On-site parking

• Equipment and materials

• Inspection

• Erosion control

• Site clean-up and boundaries

• Communication

• Document handling

• Quality controls

#2: Create a Pre-Construction Meeting Checklist

In addition to the agenda — which provides the topics covered in the pre-construction meeting — a checklist is helpful to make sure the right things and the right people get to the meeting at the right time. 

A pre-construction meeting checklist is typically an internal document and should include:

• Meeting date, time, and duration

• Meeting location

• Assign responsibilities for:

  • Visual aids:

    • Project drawings

    • Images

    • Schedule

  • A whiteboard or other method to display:

    • Lists

    • Deadlines

    • Meeting details;

    • Miscellaneous information

CM Fusion’s document management feature is the ideal tool to ensure you have everything you need for your meeting. 

With access to images and PDF files and the ability to save files in a secure format, CM Fusion’s document management software not only gets you organized for your pre-construction meeting but also improves job site efficiency once the project is underway.

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#3: Anticipate Potential Pre-Construction Meeting Questions

Thorough pre-construction meeting preparation involves a bit of anticipation.

Anticipating potential questions and issues will show the project team that you are fully prepared and will instill confidence in the parties involved.

Consider potential pre-construction meeting questions on the following topics:

• Scope of the project

• Specifications

• Schedule details

• Safety

• Communication processes

• And more

Questions to confirm details can lay out clear expectations. When this is done well, everyone will be better equipped to understand the project and their part in getting the job done right. 

#4: Prepare and Organize Important Documents for Review

If you followed step 2, you created a list of necessary documents to take to the meeting. Now, with this step, you need to gather all the documents on your checklist and make sure they are prepared and ready for review by the project team.

Anybody in the construction field is familiar with the abundance of construction documents utilized on a job. You won’t need to look at every construction document in a pre-construction meeting, but you’ll want to be sure to review the following key documents:

• The contract lays out all the details about the responsibilities and rights of the parties involved along with other specific expectations of the job.

• Design drawings, blueprints, and models provide a visual of the job and provide necessary callout information.

• The schedule is an important document to review the critical path and pinpoint potential issues.

Construction jobs include all kinds of documents, and keeping track of them all can be a challenge. 

CM Fusion’s document management feature is indispensable in pre-construction meeting preparation and execution. Use our tools to:

• Keep track of your latest document revisions.

• See your documents anywhere with mobile-ready capabilities.

• Upload all your documents to one secure location.

• Produce estimates.

• Create schedules.

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#5: Have Your Desired Meeting Outcome(s) in Mind

Articulating the goals of a meeting beforehand helps direct the flow and make sure all necessary topics are discussed.

It also encourages all parties to communicate at a high level in order to understand each part of the project and where they fit in. 

To determine if your meeting achieved the outcomes you intended, it’s important to keep detailed meeting notes for review.

Manage Your Pre-Construction Meeting Agenda and Notes With CM Fusion

Planning for and executing a pre-construction meeting can get your project off on the right foot and set your whole team up for success.

Take the stress out of pre-construction meeting preparation by taking advantage of the many construction management software features that CM Fusion offers.

Features for …

• Document management

• Scheduling

• Project tasks

• Submittals

• Bidding; and 

• Image management

… can make preparing for your pre-construction meeting easier and more streamlined.

Getting started is easy. Simply create a free account, set up your project, and start tracking.

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