When it comes to construction, most consumers have been conditioned to accept that even the best laid plans are subject to change. And once the change order floodgates are open there is often no end in sight, with costs adding up quickly and trust eroding like chalk in the rain.

To be blunt, change orders are largely planning failures that can result from any one of the following circumstances:

• Design errors and omissions that slow or prevent constructability
• Unrealistic cost estimates that fail to fully account for costs associated with site conditions, increasing material costs, safety concerns or other factors that can be anticipated at the outset
• A dysfunctional project team that’s allowed to fall behind on scheduled tasks
• Regulatory requirements, a consequence that can be avoided with proper due diligence.

The worst offenders are unscrupulous contractors who bid low to secure work, then strategically and purposely use change orders to increase prices and profit margins as the project progresses. By exaggerating overhead and failing to disclose fees built into product and construction costs these contractors are able to take advantage of construction risks and lax cost controls. Indeed, these exploitative yet long-accepted pricing practices can destroy a project’s bottom line.

At Solidus we’ve chosen a safer and more consistent path forward that demands the open sharing of information, active communication, and shared outcome measures, thus eliminating the risk of oversights and change orders. Designed to coordinate the efforts of what can be disparate teams while eliminating conflicts of interest and perverse financial incentives, our Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach fosters mutual respect, improves productivity, and stops wasted time and effort. In fact, we trust the IPD model so much that we’ve made the unprecedented move of writing a No Change Order guarantee into our standard contract.

A no change order guarantee may sound like industry folklore, but it’s a vow we’ve been proud to uphold for well over a decade. We know from experience that projects of any size and scope can be managed effectively by those skilled in the use of Integrated Project Delivery. And with a long-standing emphasis on transparency and partnership, our ability to secure repeat business hinges on our ability to keep this promise.