What Are The Benefits Of Using Turnkey Contractor Services?

If you’ve recently approached a construction company or you are looking at starting a construction project, you may have come across the term ‘Turnkey Construction’ or a ‘Turnkey Contractor’. In either case, you might need some clarity about what these terms mean, what services are on offer and how they will benefit your project.

As building contractors grow their own businesses, they become more diverse and agile in their offerings, and they can help you bring your large, medium or small-scale construction project to completion in a few different ways. This may be through a Turnkey approach, or something known as a Design and Build approach.

So what exactly is this ‘Turnkey’ approach, and what are the benefits of using the Turnkey method?

‘Turnkey’ is one of 2 main project management methods utilised by modern construction contractors to bring your project to life. ‘Turnkey Contractor Services’ means that your project is designed, built and signed off by a single contractor, allowing for better communication and price certainty, but with reduced risk across the project, amongst other valuable benefits.

If you are the owner of a construction project, and you are considering taking on a contractor for your project, then Jarvale Construction are here to help.

What is a Turnkey Project?

A ‘Turnkey Project’ is one where nearly everything is handled by the construction company. Turnkey essentially removes the need for the end-user to get involved in the desktop designs, bid and build aspects of the project.

As you can imagine, Turnkey is a great method if you are looking for a hands-off approach. Turnkey may be more appropriate for a project which is picked off the shelf, pre-designed and uniform in detail.

For Turnkey, the project owner usually supplies the primary design, and the building contractor must follow this design through to completion.

What Are The Benefits of Turnkey Project Management?

The benefits of Turnkey Project Management (as opposed to Design and Build Project Management) include potential efficiencies, improved timeframes and better communication between teams. Let’s take a look at each of the benefits of Turnkey separately, to see how a Construction Company such as Jarvale brings your project to reality and the benefits that this management method will bring.

Certainty of Price and Reduction of Cost Overruns​

As your project will be brought together by a business with established planning, design, construction and procurement teams, you can effectively limit the ‘unknowns’ of your project. As delays to procurement and the availability of teams can often delay large-scale construction projects, allowing everything to be overseen by a single entity allows for better planning, reducing this risk.

Turnkey makes calculating your project finances (think Risk On Investment – ROI) easier, as there is only one business dealing with all the cost variables and time frames involved with the project. Turnkey, therefore, allows for better ROI planning from the outset.

Reduction in Management Challenges and Efforts​

In any project, communication is key. Having your project overseen by a single entity allows for streamlined communication between and within teams. This benefits your project by reducing the need for extra management costs.

Not only is communication easier with Turnkey, but this also reduces inconsistencies in work due to misunderstandings or even change orders.

Condensed Timelines

The ability to condense project timelines stems from improved planning and communication, even before the construction work has started.

Turnkey management essentially allows other teams to work confidently during project downtimes, with less time spent waiting around for other aspects of the project to be delivered.

Reduced Risks for the Project Owner

Working on large-scale construction projects always has a level of risk. However, with Turnkey, the risks and liabilities are the sole responsibility of a sole entity (i.e., the construction company itself). This reduces potential issues or a loss of information.

The project’s schedule, cost and execution are all the sole responsibility of a single entity, and they will report these metrics directly to you, the project owner.

Quality is Consistent​

The responsibility is on one entity, so it follows that all quality control is also the responsibility of that entity. Turnkey Project Management allows a single point of quality control across the entire project. This usually means that adherence to these standards is integrated across the entire project. Learn more about our Turnkey Project Management.

What Are The Potential Setbacks of Using Turnkey Project Management?

Turnkey is a great way to get large projects over the line on time and within budget. However, there are some instances where this approach may offer setbacks to the project as a whole. Let’s take a look at areas we have identified as being potential drawbacks to a construction project, which may require an alternative approach, such as Design and Build.

Reduced Ability to Change Plans

Turnkey may offer limitations to the agility of the project. This means that the scope of the project needs to be clearly defined before entering into construction or design phases, with a reduced ability to make changes to the scope has been defined.

Changes to the design, and therefore the scope of the project, will essentially reduce the benefit of the condensed timelines which we spoke about above. Turnkey Project Management works because of the streamlined approach, so any deviation from this approach can cause extra delays.

Potential Impact on Cost Estimates

When using the Turnkey Management approach, the initial cost estimate provided by the construction company is often designed to cover the entire project from start to finish. To ensure that the company can keep to this fixed price, the contractor might include a buffer in the initial estimate to account for the potential price increase in materials, labour, or other costs that might arise. However, if these cost increases never occur, then the project owner can sometimes struggle to get this overspend back.

This may end up having a negative effect on your ROI calculations as the initial quote is higher than expected, even though the project stayed within its operating budget.

Turnkey Project Management in Summary

In summary, Turnkey Project Management is a great way to bring easily forecastable projects into reality, within timeframes and budgets. If you are picking a project off the shelf, with easily definable borders, components and working situations, then Turnkey is likely to be a good option for you to consider.

If your project is less clearly defined, and you require additions which are bespoke to you and your project, then you may want to consider Design and Build Services.

Design and Build Construction offers a more agile approach to project management; however, it does require the addition of an outside entity to plan the who, what, where and when of the project. This is often the responsibility of the project owner as it allows them to have total control over spending and timeframes, should they wish.

How to Choose Your Turnkey Project Management Service

It is clear at this stage that choosing the correct Turnkey Project Management team is critical for the success of your construction project. When choosing the right Turnkey Construction Management Team, experience is key.

As you are entrusting every aspect of your project to a sole entity, it follows that this sole entity must be able to offer high-quality services across all key areas of the build comprehensively.

Finding a construction company that can offer good Turnkey Project Management can be as simple as reviewing previous projects that they have been involved in, reviewing their services on offer, and finding out which areas the company operates in.

Review Services

Many construction companies offer a list of their services online. Reviewing the dedicated services offered by one company against another may present one company as being above the other.

For instance, if you have a project in the healthcare sector, then a construction company which offers healthcare construction experience will be able to provide you with better scope, deadlines and budgets than one with a limited service offering.

Review Previous Projects

Reviewing previous Turnkey projects will allow you to build an image of the company and their services. It can also give you an idea of previous budgets, standards and quality.

Any construction company with a good working background will offer a list of previous projects (sometimes offered as case studies) through their website, or through a handbook which you may be able to request from them. If your budgets and expectations line up with the company’s previous projects, then they are one to consider for your Turnkey project.

Consider Location

Turnkey Project Management is great for saving money, time and frustrations between teams as the teams are already well established, and have a previous portfolio of work to draw from.

Utilising these teams effectively can reduce these risks further and bring further benefits to your build. This is to say, hiring a construction firm in your area allows you to reduce travel and potential housing costs for the construction team. It also means that existing lines of procurement, as well as established supply chains, can be utilised on the project, saving costs and lowering travel distances.

Many construction companies list locations where they can work most effectively. However, reducing the distance between your project location and the Turnkey Construction Company’s locations may help relieve friction points in all phases of construction.

Turnkey Contractor Services with Jarvale

Turnkey Construction is one service offered by Jarvale, but we also offer Design and Build Construction Services, too. We are located in Dronfield, just south of the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, but we work across Yorkshire, Derbyshire and the North-East Midlands.

Our areas of expertise are in Industrial Construction, Commercial Construction, Healthcare Construction and Educational Construction; however, we are flexible with our approach and confident in our ability to bring your construction project to life.

If you are planning a construction project and you are interested in speaking with the team here at Jarvale, then don’t hesitate to get in contact with us today by using the form below, and we’ll reach out to you at your earliest convenience.