Chapter 85 Everyone Shows Their Skills
When discussing the plan before, Zhao Xingxing felt that Lao Jiao was very tough and forced the design to make concessions due to engineering. Now with Lao Wang, he realized that the technical master's backing was quite strong. Some of the "optimization" methods proposed by Lao Jiao for the convenience of engineering may have reduced the external quality of the building. Once Lao Wang discovered such signs and clues, he would use his knowledge of design technology to refute Lao Jiao, forcing Lao Jiao to rack his brains to optimize the construction methods.
The key point is that Lao Wang understands all the majors, and Lao Jiao wants to use other majors to replace concepts and fool people, but in the end, no weaknesses can be found in any major, and there is no chance to argue.
At this point, Zhao Xingxing felt relieved. With Lao Wang around, he no longer had to worry about the engineering department making compromises on his shortcomings in construction drawings and technology. The control over the quality of the finished product was finally back in the hands of the design department.
Lin Ruoyan was also dumbfounded. Did the old lady in her fifties in the book work so hard?
Ever since Lao Wang joined the company, a retired technical consultant who had been rehired, she'd been arriving much earlier than regular employees, arriving before 8 a.m., claiming she couldn't sleep because she was older, and wouldn't leave until Lao Jiao got off work. Her excuse was that her husband had passed away, her son worked out of town, and they had no pets, so she felt she'd rather be at the company than idle.
She loved the company's free snacks, state-of-the-art fitness equipment, and office computers. Surrounded by so many young people, her technical skills were fully utilized, and so many people listened attentively to her discussions. This vibrant energy completely cured her retirement syndrome. Gone were the days of loneliness and boredom, and she felt both her body and mind had rejuvenated, a return to youth. This kind of "retirement" life was exactly what she wanted, far superior to dancing in the square or chatting about meaningless family matters with a group of elderly men and women who were older than her.
Now, the design department doesn’t need to apply, as the president’s office has already provided them all with camp beds and sleeping bags.
Old Jiao saw that the design department was already full of eight people, and he was still alone, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He also had to keep an eye on the sales office, and when the luxury housing project started, he would be stationed at the construction site permanently. How would he handle things in District X? So he gave up his reserve and quickly asked the HR department to recruit a few young men majoring in structural and civil engineering, who were willing to endure hardships and live on site.
By then, there will be at least three persons in charge on site for each of the three projects of the Engineering Department, who will eat and live with the construction unit. Other minor professions will be common and will take turns running back and forth on the three projects.
In addition to controlling costs for three projects, Li Jia from the Cost Department also has to develop the construction cost estimation software. He's been forced to hire two people with one or two years of experience, and he's personally mentoring them. Once the construction team arrives on site, cost control will be paramount. Designs can be imaginative, and construction can demand technical expertise without cutting corners, but cost management must always prioritize saving the company money and achieving the most with the least.
Following the design control schedule, the Schematic Design Institute submitted complete schematic design drawings in mid-to-late June. By then, the Construction Drawing Design Institute had also been finalized, and the formal contract had been signed. The contract value was a staggering 10 million yuan, and on the very day of signing, Lin Ruoyan had already transferred 30% of the payment, or 3 million yuan, to the design institute's account.
During the time of the book, the total contract value for construction drawings for a 100,000 square meter residential property in China was only three to four million yuan. This was the highest price during the industry's golden decade. Over the next two decades, Beijing housing prices increased more than tenfold, yet design fees remained unchanged and even saw a discount. Of course, that three to four million yuan construction drawing fee only covers civil engineering drawings. If you want landscape and interior design drawings, as well as other special requirements, you'll need to pay a premium and sign a supplementary agreement based on the specific issues.
Where else in recent years has a domestic design institute seen such a high contract value and such a proactive payment from a client? The heads of the building structure, plumbing, and electrical departments were all top-notch professionals, and even the drafting comrades in each department were graduates from key universities to ensure the quality of the drawings.
At that time, it was inconvenient to access the Internet, and emails could not send drawings larger than a few megabytes. Computer drawing was just beginning to become popular. In most cases, the client would send their own people to the design institute to monitor the designers' drawings and solve problems at any time to avoid wasting time sending drawings back and forth.
So since the construction drawing stage, the people in the design department gradually moved their camp beds and sleeping bags from the company to the construction drawing design institute.
There was no other way. The hard work of filing permits and building permits required him to frequently request interim drawings from the design department so he could communicate with the relevant departments. His father's generation had been leaders in the Planning Bureau, and he was familiar with the Construction Committee, the Landscape Bureau, and other related departments. He was well-versed in the early stages of commercial housing construction, and he clearly outlined the required drawings, both by date and at what level, and gave the design department a clear and urgent deadline.
Without the necessary procedures, construction cannot proceed. The engineering department is anxious and keeps urging us to complete the project every day.
However, the blueprints were already in place, and Lao Jiao was using them to convince the construction companies he had previously worked with, and the bidding process was already underway. The construction companies, seeing the foreigner's blueprints, the construction drawings from a state-owned enterprise compound, and Lao Jiao's presence, all felt like they were serious business. While the project only had 100,000 square meters of above-ground floor space, another 20,000 square meters would be excavated underground. Crucially, the construction companies didn't have to advance any of their own funds; they would receive 30% of the construction fee upon signing the contract.
It's hard to find such a good project, especially in Beijing's future Olympic zone. If this project does well, won't other similar projects nearby have a chance to take over? After all, this project is a luxury residence, and its presence will surely have a much better impact than resettlement housing.
Therefore, Lao Jiao was not worried at all about not being able to find a good construction team for the luxury house project. He even created a sense of urgency and used a little trick to get two or three units to actively compete with each other by lowering their prices. Some units even directly stated that they could advance the funds and skillfully enter the site in advance to organize the earthwork. They were not afraid of three-sided projects and had no problem making changes on the construction site while drawing the construction drawings.
Old Jiao thought, how could he refuse such enthusiastic and proactive work? Of course, he also preferred the contractor with the best construction quality. By using other contractors' price reductions and advance payments as leverage, he persuaded the contractor he favored to lower its price in exchange for the project. He could ensure smooth payments at all stages after the contract was signed, with absolutely no defaults on project funds. He paid in cash, without resorting to commercial bills and acceptances. This made him a conscientious party A in the industry.
After listening to Lao Jiao's talk about the boss's arrangements for construction payments, Li Jia thought carefully for a moment and discussed with Lao Jiao that it was a good thing that the construction unit did not have to advance the money, but how could a construction contract worth hundreds of millions be signed so easily?
It's better to first establish a strategic partnership with the construction company and sign a framework agreement without substantial payment, then split the contract into sections based on the construction process. This way, the initial land leveling, underground construction, and other aspects will give you a good idea of the construction company's capabilities, and they will undoubtedly work hard to secure the larger contract later.
Lao Jiao naturally liked Li Jia's proposal, and the two of them quickly studied a complete set of contract terms together.
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