What does the term turnkey mean in construction?
A turnkey construction operator is a company that manages a project, generally on behalf of a client. A turnkey contractor offers to respect a clients requirements in terms of cost, fit for purpose and timescale.
He coordinates everybody involved, including the architect, to achieve a successful completion of the project with respect all the client’s requirements.
Synergy between the architect and the turnkey building operator
RB-Architects know several turnkey operators in France that can help with particular needs to design a building project that is compatible with your administrative and organisational constraints. As with all projects it is important to fully understand the roles of everybody involved, individually as well as within the team.
It is essential to fully understand the advantages and disadvantages of this type of project and especially when it’s not possible. For example, when there is a Permit requirement, French law can require the architect to have a direct contractual link with the client. It’s useful to prioritise the needs of construction quality, budget and timescale because a turnkey operator can simplify your project but at a loss of the control of the construction quality.
A turnkey contractor can simplify the management of your building project because there is one point of contact for whole of the project. Sometimes clients prefer one point of contact and RB-Architects are sufficiently flexible to work with a good turnkey contractor. The idea is to guaranty you a key to the door at the completion of the project where you have defined the budget, timescale and any special requirements. The agreement can work with a budget that is open and variable or be linked to a fixed price; it depends where the risk lies.
Just like an architect, the turnkey operator can work to a critical deadline above all else, but the latter can also take on board the risk and even guaranty a single or phased delivery date of different areas of the project. This would enable you to plan your own logistics and move arrangements so that parts of the building can be used as early as possible.
A good turnkey operator will tailor the project to your anticipated objectives in terms of performance (changes to personnel, optimising processes, running costs, taking account of environmental issues…) and conformity with local regulations (fire safety, tall buildings, buildings open to the public, disabled access, classified installations) In which case the turnkey operator will call on architects, engineers and other specialists.
A turnkey contractor can be more flexible and react quickly to changes in the brief. The building contract can be in a variety of forms such as management contract, construction management, design and build or a more traditional form of contract either with a general contractor or to separate trade contractors that can be signed as the works progress. It can be possible to incorporate changes to the project after the agreement has been made without necessarily affecting progress to the project.
