Fraser Valley Distribution Centre

Synergistix priced the work from the tender documents, then spent the pre-award period doing what determines whether a fixed price survives: reading the gaps. Every trade package was compared against its neighbours to find scope that no bidder had carried, allowances were listed with what they were assumed to buy, and each assumption was written into the contract rather than left in an estimator’s file. The result was a price the owner could hold to, and a short, legible list of the items that could still move it.

Buying the job before starting it

Buyout ran ahead of mobilization because the schedule risk on an industrial new build sits almost entirely in procurement. Items with long lead times were released against approved shop drawings as soon as the design supporting them was fixed, and each release date was tracked on the schedule as a milestone in its own right rather than buried inside a trade activity.

• Utility service application, transformer pad and primary duct bank, coordinated with the distribution authority
• Electrical switchgear and distribution equipment at 347/600 volts
• Roof structure steel, joists and deck
• Dock levellers, seals, shelters, bumpers and vehicle restraints
• Fire pump, backflow assembly and ESFR sprinkler heads matched to the approved hydraulic design
• Overhead doors, dock doors and operators
• Rooftop heating and ventilation units serving the warehouse and office areas

Sequencing a tilt-up build

Tilt-up construction rewards a disciplined sequence and punishes an improvised one, because the floor slab doubles as the casting bed for the panels that will eventually enclose it. Foundations and the casting portion of the slab went in first, panels were cast, cured and braced, and the crane pick sequence was planned against panel weight, reach and the bracing that had to stay in place until the roof diaphragm was complete. Roof structure followed the erection sequence directly, so the building could be closed in and the interior slab pours could proceed under cover through the wet season.

The site ran under a project-specific safety plan built on COR-certified practice, with WorkSafeBC registration in place for the British Columbia operation and clearance confirmation available on request. Crane picks, panel bracing and work at height were the controlled high-risk activities, each with a documented plan and a pre-task review. Certificates of insurance naming the required additional insureds, subcontractor coverage confirmations and the schedule of values were issued before mobilization rather than assembled after a request for them. Reporting then followed a fixed cadence the owner could plan around: a monthly progress draw against the schedule of values, a written change log showing cost and schedule impact for every item priced, a four-week look-ahead updated weekly, and a single point of contact who answered for all of it.

The facility was completed and turned over to the operator, with occupancy achieved and the truck court, dock equipment and heavy power service commissioned and in use. The building was handed over on the contract sum plus the changes the owner had approved in writing, with no disputed claims outstanding at final payment and no lost-time incidents recorded across the construction period.

What the owner received at closeout

• As-built drawings and operation and maintenance manuals for every installed system
• Slab flatness and levelness test results for the lift-truck traffic areas
• Sprinkler hydraulic calculations and verification records matched to the installed ESFR design
• Fire alarm verification, electrical commissioning results and permit sign-offs supporting occupancy
• Dock equipment commissioning records, capacity documentation and operator training
• Equipment warranties, the contractor warranty period in writing, and a named after-hours contact

Handing over a warm building is not the same as handing over an operable one. Training was delivered to the staff who would run the dock equipment, heating units and fire protection systems, and the warranty review was scheduled at the outset rather than left to be chased later. Warranty response and routine service run through the same firm that built the facility, which removes the argument about whether a defect belongs to construction or to maintenance.