Our top priority is ensuring that your interior protection project is done right, from start to finish. Exceeding this priority comes back to us having the best information about your project’s needs. When we have the right answers to the right questions regarding your facility’s layout, scheduling requirements, and more, we can provide you with a comprehensive outline of what your project may look like, ultimately saving you time and money.
So what are the most helpful questions for us to have answers to when we’re starting a project? We’re glad you asked.
Pre-Bid Questions
1. What category are you bidding in?
This question can be further dissected to ask some deeper questions:
Is it an open bid? If yes, is there a pre-bid? When will that happen? Is it a national account? For a corporation? For a government organization? What is the role of the person we’re in contact with?
This may feel like a lot of questions, but these answers will give us excellent insights into understanding the full scope of your project.
2. Are you providing a budgetary estimate for your client or firm pricing?
We want to be sure that any quote we give you comes with the right expectations. Understanding whether you’re working with a budget or a set price is an important element for us when planning your project.
3. When is your bid deadline?
Knowing your bid deadline allows us to stay up to date on your project and get started immediately if you complete the job purchase.
Questions for Getting a Quote
4. What type of facility do you have?
Knowing whether your facility is used for manufacturing, retail, warehousing, office space, etc. is vital to predicting the necessary equipment to get the job done correctly and safely.
5. What days and hours can work be completed?
If our crew can only come in twice a week versus five days a week, that will have a significant impact on the timetable of the project. Therefore, it’s important that we know the kind of schedule we need to work around and how we can best serve you as our client. For example, you may say that available times for your business are M-F 7 AM-5 PM / 7 Days Per Week, or Any Hours / Night Shift Only, or even SAT/SUN only.
6. What are the safety standards of your facility?
Some facilities have a written rule specifying ground men and spotter personnel are required for lift use. If that’s the case, we would need to know how many men are required. Other facilities may simply require standard OSHA guidelines to be followed. This is an essential question to be answered due to the heavy impact it can have on cost.
7. Approximate ceiling height and project type?
At ShieldWorks, we can provide equipment for any interior protection project: suspended cover, dust containment wall, exterior weather containment, high structure cleaning, and many more. However, in order for us to give an accurate quote, we need to know what project we’re preparing for and what the height of your building’s ceiling is.
8. Are there any wall or ceiling penetrations?
The presence of vertical conduits, low-hanging light fixtures, pipes, overhead machinery, signs, horizontal pipes, wall light fixtures, and wall machinery can all affect the necessary preparations to complete your project.
In addition to the penetrations, it’s important to consider some other questions as they relate to the wall and ceilings.
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- Walls
- If attaching to a standard truss/bar joist ceiling, can we install to the bottom of the truss line, leaving a 1.5’-3’ gap at the top, or do we need to cut and seal our system all the way to the roof deck with tape? This can be a significant cost factor.
- Can we use mechanical fasteners to attach to the floor and walls? This is highly recommended for durability, quality seal, and cost efficiency.
- Ceilings
- Would you like us to mechanically attach our system to the walls, use tape only, or tie close? Mechanical attachment, while more expensive, is the only way to ensure our system is going to remain fully sealed at the walls. However, mechanical attachment can add about 30% additional labor and 15% cost to a project.
- Walls
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- If a 3-5 inch gap at the walls is acceptable, can we use tie close?
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9. When do you anticipate that the work needs to be completed?
You may say, “I am still in the bidding process and unsure,” or, “I have already been awarded the work and have a general idea ____,” or “I have a specific installation date ____,” or, “Work must be completed any time before ___ date.” Whichever place you find yourself is important for us to know so that we can help you complete your project on time.
10. Is your facility registered with any third-party safety systems that we need to register with before coming to perform our work?
This includes systems like ISNetWorld, Avetta, FM Global Submittals, Government Submittals, or the need to contact a Fire Marshall.
11. Do you have any dimensions, drawings, specifications, photos, or videos that you can send us?
Having this type of information before getting started allows us to give you a much more detailed quote and helps us better understand the space. We often get photos of ceilings, but we generally know how to navigate them. Our best photos would be ones showing floor-to-ceiling so that we can best understand what our lift access will look like to install the protection.
12. Does this facility have a ramp or ground-level access to bring our lifts in, or will this project require a dock delivery?
It’s important to know how we need to bring in our equipment before we ever arrive at your facility. Questions like this, in addition to: Are there any equipment elevators that we will need to use? If so, what are the approximate dimensions of the elevator, and what is the maximum load capacity?
Getting Your Interior Protection Job Done Right
You may look at these questions and feel overwhelmed. However, answering these questions is exactly what will make your job much easier. It allows us to come in and immediately get the ball rolling, saving you time and money. Sometimes, getting the information we need to complete a project can be the most time-consuming part. Our goal is to get the information we need to get the job done and to help you see the importance of interior protection for your business.
At ShieldWorks, we care about ensuring your project is done right, from start to finish. Customer satisfaction is part of our mission. Your project matters to us. Contact us to learn more about how you can get your next project started with ShieldWorks!