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they will be individually affected. Performing this outreach continuously and early also aids in identifying where problems may be encountered so specific actions can be taken.
In the instance that a property owner’ s service entrance does not meet the National Electric Code and needs to be upgraded prior to conversion, several mitigating measures can be taken. First, during the design phase a review of all meters can be performed to determine where code issues may exist. The Town can then notify these property owners that their service entrances are in need of upgrade in advance of the project along with instructions on how to initiate the work. If by the time construction begins that the work has not been completed by the property owner, we recommend that the project budget include an allowance line item for the Town to perform this work on behalf of the property owner. Associated costs would then be assessed against that property by the Town.
Once the conversions are complete, there is a schedule risk that the utility owners do not remove the de-energized overhead wires and poles. This type of work is considered very low priority for the utility companies and they will demobilize from the project if they are needed to respond to any type of service repair or recovery effort elsewhere in
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the system. Experience has shown that pressure applied by Town leadership on the utility companies can be effective in expediting this process. A diligent Construction Manager has also been effective in keeping the process moving forward.
Mitigating risk due to adverse weather conditions can prove difficult. For this project, significant storm events not only hamper the efforts of the Town’ s contractor but they also cause the utility owners to shift focus away from the conversion project and onto recovery efforts. Utility owners will not resume work on the conversion project until recovery efforts are complete. Additionally, utility owners will hoard materials used for conversion projects for use in the recovery efforts. To mitigate against this risk to schedule, the Town could request that FPL provide materials for an entire phase area at the onset of the project area construction. This would allow the Town to control the flow of materials for that phase so the Town’ s contractor could resume work as quickly as possible. This however poses another challenge in providing a location to store all of this material in a secure environment. Some of the materials needed for this project will need to be properly stored to avoid damage from exposure to the elements. For example, the underground conduit may not withstand prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays and would need to be covered or stored indoors. Warehouse / storage yard
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rental could be explored and may be worth the associated costs to mitigate against the risk to schedule.
Budget Risk Mitigation Measures
Design / Pre-Construction Phase
As discussed previously, the risk of overrunning the design budget is relatively small. One of the larger budget risks in the pre-construction phase is related to the easement acquisition process. Property owners who are unwilling to dedicate an easement for equipment on their property may necessitate the Town to commence with eminent domain proceedings. This process can be expensive and time consuming. A method to mitigate this risk is by allowing adequate time to discuss and alleviate concerns with the property owner. Additionally, flexibility in the size, shape, and location of the easement on the property can also be beneficial in a negotiation process. Where possible, equipment should be located in the right-ofway to avoid the need to procure an easement altogether which will reduce risk to both the schedule and the budget.
The construction documents should undergo a continuous value engineering process in order to control construction costs. The design team includes specialty subconsultants that have decades of experience in the power and
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communications distribution industry that can review not only the supplementary conduit plans being produced by Kimley‐Horn, but also the network designs produced by FPL, AT & T, and Comcast. This method provides assurance that the network designs do not contain unnecessary upgrades, are efficient, and are a“ like for like” overhead to underground conversion design.
Construction Phase
Risks to budget are more prevalent during the construction phase of the project. Project schedule delays can be closely correlated to impacts to the budget, so closely managing the schedule and quickly resolving schedule delays is a good mitigating measure to control the budget.
Increases in material costs can be mitigated by a number of ways. This project offers a unique opportunity for the Town to direct purchase materials in large quantities to achieve both volume pricing and tax advantages. For example, conduit and HDPE piping can be purchased directly by the Town who can use their tax-exempt status to save the sales tax. By working with a Construction Manager, bids can be received for these materials from suppliers in an expedited manner with purchase orders being issued directly by the Town. This
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