Monday, February 24, 2014
- The project timeline for any project of this size will extend beyond the quarter system. Ourproject is still finishing up and is currently on month 22. We expedited our project as much as possible and worked rigorously.
- Most construction projects needs professional stamps. Neither our licensed staff nor the UW Engineers were comfortable stamping our plans because there was no insurance protecting the professionals in case a legal disputehappened. We had to rely on our contractors to provide the license and had to pay extra for this service- not ideal because it makes the legal process quite messy (approving your own work, no 3rd party review process, lost design control for the students.
- For a construction project A contract is KEY to not being sued, and we got lucky, but it could be a legal nightmare if something did happen. Suggestion: projects this size should consider going through small capital projects, of which, while expensive, will craft an airtight contract.
- The Feasibility Phase helped keep our project efficient and manageable. By breaking the project into Feasibility/Design and Construction Phases, CSF did not have to give the students all the funds upfront- helpful if the project was not feasible, or students discovered it was going to be a lot more work than they had anticipated. Suggestion: Encourage feasibility studies for projects this size.
- University Staff were excited to work with students. Many of the staff we talked with found our project refreshing and a fun break from their everyday duties. While we may have extended our “stay” with a few staff, overall, we feel this is an important part of sustainability education on campus. Surprisingly, everyone was quite encouraging of our project!