A pre-construction meeting is a crucial part of the construction process which should be specified and outlined in several sections of the project manual as part of the quality assurance specification. It is paramount to coordinate pre-construction meetings with team members on the building project, as this establishes expectations upfront for the installation and subsequent warranties of the components of the building enclosure. By having a pre-construction meeting prior to the commencement of field operations, the owner, design team, general contractor, sub-contractors, and manufacturers are presented with the opportunity to discuss and resolve issues the various trades might encounter during the construction process. It is the intent of this presentation to explain the foundation of a building enclosure pre construction meeting and to help foster a collaborative approach to information sharing that will minimize construction problems, delays, and manage risks.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand where in the specifications the pre-construction meeting should be specified and what divisions should be referenced.
2.  Understand what trades should be present and why.
3. Understand how to coordinate the building enclosure components and why it’s important to coordinate them.
4.  Understand how to resolve compatibility and installation issues that may arise out of a preconstruction meeting.

Melissa Payne, BECxP, CxA+BE, CDT

Melissa Payne, BECxP, CxA+BE, CDT is a subject matter expert for Midwest Enclosure Consulting, LLC. She specializes in assisting construction managers and general contractors with QA/QC practices and is focused on the construction of high-performance leak-free structures. Melissa provides building envelope commissioning and consulting services, and conducted forensic investigations as a building enclosure consultant. Prior to providing building enclosure consulting, she was an owner’s representative for a municipal utility company where she managed the maintenance, restoration and construction of over 150 structures.
Melissa possesses a strong foundation in industry standards related to building enclosure commissioning processes, building science, performance testing, and building envelope construction. As a Level II Building Science Thermographer she actively uses thermography in the study of building enclosure failures and performance testing. Her owner representative, consulting and commissioning experience, forensic work, and manufacturer internal consultant involvement gives her an encompassing perspective of the construction industry. Currently working with owners, architects, engineers, designers, construction manager/general contractors, and enclosure trades to promote the integrity and performance of building enclosures.