Capability Statements

Our expertise in this field coupled with our extensive network of suppliers means that we are well-positioned to deliver 'fast track' projects meeting tight deadlines.

Cost Management

Time Management

Maintaining our Edge

Project Management

In 1991, ACE was the first consulting engineering firm in Egypt to establish a dedicated Project Management Unit. The spectrum of services offered, allows ACE to promote a very unique brand of project management skills that emphasize excellence in quality, performance, delivery, and implementation of projects.

 

We are a global provider of professional, technical, and management consultancy services covering a broad range of markets including residential, commercial, utilities, entertainment, sports, aviation, defense, oil and gas, education, environmental, health and pharmaceuticals, transportation, hospitality, power and energy, industrial, wastewater, and water supply projects. Our engineering consultancy and management disciplines span a range of services including urban planning; topographic surveys; geotechnical engineering; architecture; structural, civil, and electromechanical design; program and project management; and construction management and supervision.

 

We established our Project Management Business Unit in 1991, and since then it has successfully managed over 300 engineering projects across a wide range of business sectors. We have also developed the regional construction market by establishing specialized project management divisions, namely Furniture, Fittings and Equipment (FF&E), Development Management, and Banking Services - Construction Due Diligence.

Management Approach

Our management approach is to assign a team to take total ownership of the project. This team then becomes the point of coordination and contact between the client and all project participants, at all stages. The added value for our clients of employing ACE Project Management Business Unit is the back-up provided by their ACE colleagues, who have wide
ranging expertise in technical engineering consultancy worldwide.

 

Our extensive experience combined with high caliber expertise, commitment, and dedication enables us to deliver a quality level of service to our clients. By prioritizing our clients' wishes, collaborating with all members of the project team, and focusing on the project goals, we have successfully delivered complex multi-disciplinary projects.

Management and Control Strategy

ACE's project management services focus on the eight control areas of any project:

1.

Integration management: ensuring that the various project elements are effectively coordinated.

2.

Scope management: identifying all aspects of the project and any issues not included in the terms of reference.

3.

Time management: providing an effective project schedule.

4.

Cost management: identifying key resources, as well as planning and managing the project to maintain budgetary control.

5.

Quality management: ensuring that the clients' quality expectations are met and where possible exceeded.

6.

Communications management: ensuring effective internal and external communications.

7.

Risk management: analysis and mitigation of potential risks.

8.

Procurement management: obtaining necessary resources from external sources.

Development Management

We manage projects from their initial development stage, through to delivery and successful completion. During the project inception, our services include carrying out site location searches and studies, analyzing all development options, researching and drawing up feasibility studies, exploring and considering funding and development possibilities (both in the private and public sector), working alongside our clients in negotiating development agreements, and appointing and managing the professional team.
 

At the project realization stage, we manage and assist clients in setting out the project objectives and brief; managing the town planning, design, and procurement processes; as well as managing the construction teams and the construction process.
 

During the project completion stage, we manage the process of handover and maintenance requirements; supporting the occupier, tenant, or developer; and
handing over the facilities management of the completed buildings.
 

Meeting our clients' scope, achieving their expected return on investment, and delivering on the schedule are fundamental to our delivery objectives.

Project Management

Today's increasingly complex projects demand efficient planning, organization, and time management skills, coupled with superior technical know-how. Our
project management consultants undertake the planning, coordination, and control functions of a project from start to finish. Our goal is to meet our
clients' requirements for well-engineered and financially viable projects, which are completed on time and within budget, whilst also ensuring the highest quality standards. We take care of the day-to-day running of the entire project, drawing upon our extensive knowledge of the engineering and construction process and we are backed up by sophisticated support systems for programming, document control, and monitoring. Our project management service is tailored precisely to our client's needs, enabling them to maintain total control of all major strategic decisions.

 

Our project management professionals come from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, including architecture; commercial property development;
structural, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering; IT and building/quantity surveying.

 

The team assigned for any project will be focused on meeting project deadlines, time, and cost-effectiveness, meeting standards, monitoring occupation costs, and targeting end-user satisfaction.

Design Management

Our extensive engineering and design experience enable us to manage and control the project design, developing design documentation in accordance with client requirements and standards, whilst adhering to the project budget and time constraints. Quality management is undertaken at every step of the project lifecycle.

Our work encompasses:

Advice on the engagement of consultants and designers.

Definition of project objectives and organizational structure.

Preparation of design briefs and appointment details.

Evaluation of delivery options and definition of critical paths for the project.

Value engineering and identification of cost savings.

Establishment of the project's financial structure and controls for the design stage.

Development and monitoring of project execution schedules.

Establishing communication routes and information management procedures.

Contractual and financial monitoring.

Program progress-reporting.

Managing design-discipline interfaces.

Coordinating design team outputs to the client, the construction team, approval authorities, and other external parties.

The development of every project has its own unique set of technical challenges, timescales, and budgetary requirements. As multi-disciplinary engineers, we are highly experienced in the management and cost control of construction projects. Our aim is to achieve cost certainty, right from the outset of the project. Drawing on our in-depth knowledge of the design process, our specialist cost management team will ensure that a project runs to set targets from conception through to completion.

 

Our cost management team ensures that the services offered are tailored to satisfy the needs of each project. We review and control the costs at all stages, from planning to design and throughout the construction process.

 

Our cost management services include:

Cost Estimation.

Cost Management.

Procurement Advice and Management.

Value Management.

Whole Life Costing.

Risk Management.

Change Management.

Our approach is to work closely with the client, and the project design team, to ensure value for money and budgetary control. Working with the client to define clear priorities and project milestones, we are able to develop detailed phasing plans. Using these plans we can ensure that time, manpower, and cash flow are appropriately managed. Depending on the project, this may include making allowances for long-lead procurement planning to enable a logical sequence of construction phasing.

 

We undertake financial analysis throughout the project lifecycle. By carefully monitoring the progress of the project we provide accurate financial and schedule reporting to our clients. Through early identification of project variations likely to result in changes to the program or budget, we are able to suggest appropriate solutions, keeping the project on track.

 

In an era of highly serviced buildings, innovative designs can account for a significant part of the entire construction budget. Besides traditional quantity surveying, we can also advise on procurement methods for unusual and innovative designs.

We believe that every goal should have a reasonable time limit. Our time management consultants develop our clients' ideas and transform them into strategies, programs, and projects. We apply a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems that enable us to make the best use of time to accomplish these programs and projects. These processes include:

Identifying the specific actions to be performed to produce the program/project deliverables.

Identifying and documenting relationships among program/ project activities.

Estimating the quantities and types of materials, equipment, supplies, or number of people required to perform each activity.

Approximating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities, with estimated resources.

Analyzing the sequence, duration, resource requirements and schedule constraints of
activities, to create the program/project schedule.

Monitoring the status of the program/project to update progress, together with managing changes to the schedule baseline.

Procurement Management

Our procurement management service includes recommending the appointment of the project's consultants and designers, contractors, and specialized trade contractors. With 60 years of experience in the construction industry ACE has extensive market knowledge of the sector. Benefiting from long-term relationships with many suppliers, contractors, and specialist consultants, we have developed a well-resourced procurement management system to support our clients' projects. Our procurement management track record demonstrates our capabilities to introduce cost and time savings to the project as well as to streamline its workforce.

 

We focus on our clients' procurement needs, implementing an effective procurement system. This entails a positive sourcing methodology, helping to achieve a mutually satisfying agreement that will provide reasonably priced goods and services, as well as securing good ongoing relationships with suppliers.
Our procurement management services include:

Issuing the tenders and/or the RFP documents.

Managing bidders' questions and answers (Q&As).

Advising clients of the potential impact of bidders' Q&As on the tender documents.

Assessing and reporting the financial impact of the tender Q&As.

Managing and ensuring the effective flow of information and documents among all tender participants.

Performing technical and commercial evaluations.

Performing 'Value Engineering'.

Formulation and issue of contract agreements.

Price, and terms and conditions negotiations.

Issuing recommendations of awards to clients, in the form of reports and/or presentations.

Contracts Management and Administration

We believe that in a construction project, the contract agreements are proven to be feasible and successful only after the project's completion and closure. We
manage and administer these agreements with tact and professionalism, the absence of which could negatively impact the project completion and its
overall success.

 

Our contract management and administration service include issuing and receiving instructions in accordance with the construction contract; receiving
all communications from, and issuing all communications to, the contractor, and acting upon these as appropriate. We also handle the certification
of interim payments to be made in accordance with the contract. Change control procedures are administered and managed, determining the contractor's entitlement in the matter of extensions of time (in accordance with the contract agreement), including schedules of defects or incomplete work. Finally, we certify final account payments and release of retention and carry out inspections of the works to ensure the satisfactory resolution of defects at completion.

Construction and Site Management

We assign professional construction managers to enhance the project with pre-planning, design, construction, engineering, and management expertise, helping deliver the best possible project outcome.

 

Through our rigorous design procedure, we are able to eliminate many costly construction challenges at the conceptual design stage rather than during construction. Our construction management skills help ensure that the project is completed on time, within budget, and in accordance with the level of quality specified. Post-construction, we offer services including monitoring of commissioning, operations, and maintenance. Our input at this stage helps facilitate a successful handover and smooth operation of the facility.

 

Our construction management service provides construction advice, logistics, programming, procurement of trade packages, management and control of the construction site, commercial management and payments, safety management, and quality management, all through our state-of-the-art management procedures and tools.

Dispute Management

Contracting parties can find themselves under immense pressure when faced with changing circumstances, exacting performance and contract requirements, tight profit margins, and complex working relationships. Most of these problems center on money and time-related issues resulting from, for example, design adjustments or construction problems. Such issues result in delay, disruption, and cost escalation.

 

Our aim is to identify any potential problem using our analytical programming and financial management skills. Once identified, we can provide the necessary support and professional advice to enable effective solutions. If the problems escalate to the claim and arbitration stage, we can manage this process through
our certified and specialized Claim and Arbitration Department. We provide litigation and arbitration support to lawyers, developers, construction consultants, financial institutions, government, and contractors.

 

Generally, our dispute management services include claims avoidance advice, variation and change analysis, delay analysis, claims evaluation, counterclaims preparation, project audits, computerized document management, expert witness quantum and planning, expert testimony, arbitrators, adjudicators, and mediators.

FF&E and SOE Management

Our Furniture, Fittings, and Equipment (FF&E) and Small Operating Equipment (SOE) packages directly affect the image of the client and thus require the client's direct involvement in selection and procurement. These packages need to be smoothly integrated with the construction process and require coordination with consultants and suppliers, some of whom may not be directly related to these processes. During the 1990s and early 2000s, we gained a track record for distinguished management services, and in 2004 established our market-leading FF&E Management Department. This team has successfully managed the FF&E and SOE procurement for over 800 contracts, consisting of hundreds of thousands of sourced items from thousands of suppliers and contractors. We act on behalf of our clients on everything related to the procurement of their FF&E and SOE requirements. Our service ideally begins with the interpretation of the interior design consultant requirements and ends with the supervision of placing in-situ potentially thousands of items, sourced from hundreds of suppliers.

 

Experience has taught us that matching clients' expectations with the technical specifications of FF&E is a key milestone towards achieving their goals. Equally, a robust FF&E procurement methodology, with an understanding of the global supplier marketplace is crucial in achieving value for money as well as de-risking projects. We have built strong relationships with a wide range of contract suppliers and high-end bespoke manufacturers, which allows us to deliver a variety of design solutions to suit every budget and design specification.

 

Our FF&E and SOE management services include procurement strategy, large scale procurement, competitive tender management, and evaluation, product value engineering, commercial negotiations, budgeting and quantification, contract and purchase order formulation, mock-ups, prototypes, and process management shop drawing reviews, contracts administration, logistics management, management of the manufacturing processes, quality control, quality assurance and inspection (both during and after manufacturing), payment certification, on-site supervision and inspection, hand-over, and inventory control.

Banking Services and Construction Due Diligence

Our extensive experience in working with funders has led us to develop a range of services including practical advice, informed opinion, risk identification, forward forecasting, early warning, problem-solving, concise reporting, and step-in capability. To ensure that risk factors are addressed and that funders are fully informed, we analyze each element of the construction documentation and the manner in which it has been procured. The key skills, which underpin all our work, project benchmarking, construction cost analysis, program analysis, building contract comparisons, risk assessment, trend analysis, contingency management, and documentation reviews. Upon the completion of our initial review, we can be retained to provide continued support and advice to clients and to provide regular informed progress reports.

Document Management

We believe that the documents relating to a construction project form part of its spine. From the initial stages of the project, we establish a Document Management System (DMS) on behalf of the client. The DMS becomes the central point where all official project documents are dynamically logged, prepared, distributed, tracked, and stored. We establish and define, to all project participants, the required standards for the preparation, format, and content of the project's official documents.
 

The DMS addresses four major areas of document management:

1.

Communication lines.

2.

Document presentation (content and form).

3.

Document flow process.

4.

Archiving system.

The document management team assigned for any project is generally responsible for fulfilling the following fundamental functions:

Reviewing outgoing correspondence for errors and official document's criteria.

Dispatching, copying, stamping, and distributing all outgoing official documents.

Reviewing incoming documents for standard criteria.

Receiving and date-stamping all incoming official documents, whether transmitted electronically or in hard format.

Copying and distributing correspondence to appropriate members in accordance with the document flow matrix.

Maintaining, administering, and updating the document management tracking logs.

Tracking and identifying overdue and critical responses, and/ or missing documents.

Coding all incoming and outgoing correspondence using a key referencing system to ensure
documents are properly filed.

Devising, updating, and maintaining a filing system (in both hard and electronic format) for all official documents, whether incoming or outgoing.

Periodically carrying out quality audits to ensure consistency of implementation.

We recognize that every project is unique and that clients' goals differ. We pride ourselves on our ability to fully assimilate our clients' objectives so that we can deliver a bespoke service designed to meet their exact specifications. In 1991, in response to emerging market demands in the regions in which we operate, we established our market-leading Project Management Division. Since then,

 

Our performance has demonstrated and achieved the following:

An impressive record of expertise.

An extensive list of satisfied stakeholders.

Long-term relationships with our clients.

Strong technical support.

The pool of permanent human resources.

Expatriate and regional expertise.

First in the region to establish an FF&E Management Department.

Access to a comprehensive and up-to-date library of contractors' suppliers and prices.

Long-term relations with many of the construction industry's major participants (contractors, consultants, and vendors).