One of the biggest challenges facing property managers and board members of homeowner’s associations is how to best maintain and repair the asphalt and concrete pavement in their community(s). What may seem like only aesthetic maintenance can quickly turn into costly infrastructure repairs. Have you ever found yourself faced with:
- Awarding a contract to the lowest bidder, only to discover that the lowest price isn’t always the lowest cost?
- Confused by the proposed proposals and not confident you know what you will be getting.
- Fighting with a contractor over warranty issues to get a problem resolved once the project is complete.
Well, our team at Black Diamond has not only worked with communities who have experienced this, but with our 27 years of experience in the industry we have helped property managers and board members resolve some of these issues. Our understanding of providing clear, easy to understand proposals, along with industry experts to guide your team every step of the way, has allowed us to develop our Diamond Standard system. We use this on every job, large and small.
The current system many contactors use has several flaws, including:
- Contractors don’t know or bother to ask what the HOA’s reserves are before recommending maintenance and/or repair options.
- The proposal process doesn’t result in comparative scopes of work, and that prevents board members from accurately evaluating competing proposals.
- Contractor proposals often don’t clearly outline the project, the impact that project will have on the community, or the result of what the final product will look like once work is completed.
- HOA boards don’t require or even include clear and consistent construction specifications a contractor must follow—the result being techniques that are not “best practices” and use of materials which are below par.
- Front-end investigation such as core sampling or ambiguous language with the terms “variable thickness” or no depth at all lead to costly change orders and no contractor accountability.
To avoid these flaws, implement reliable pavement management solutions, and give yourself the opportunity for far greater input on your project from start to finish, let Black Diamond show you the Diamond Standard difference with our 4-step plan!
- SET GOALS & UNDERSTAND BUDGETS – Our team will meet with the board to discuss project goals and review the allotted reserves. This will give our team insight as to what’s possible based on budget. This will also allow us to help align your project goals with your budget, it will also give us the ability to set up a phased approach if needed from the start.
- CONDUCT AN ONSITE PAVEMENT ASSESSMENT – Once project goals are determined within the parameters of the reserves an onsite assessment of asphalt and concrete pavement is conducted. Here is where we will use PASER ratings and life cycle charts to properly document the condition of the pavement and finalize goals and budgets for the project.
- SET SCOPE AND SPECIFICATIONS TO DRIVE ROI – Next our team will establish specific scope and specifications for the project. This will allow our team to present you with a proper bid package that can give you the confidence of knowing exactly what needs to be done and falling within your budget from the start.
- CREATE A PLAN TO MANAGE THE WORK – Once the bid is accepted our team sets up a plan to manage the work. This allows our team to get everything we need to get done on time and with the least amount of disruption for the community. This plan includes a clear, color-coded map of the property, work areas, dates and times of closings, a contact name and phone number for the project, a detailed description of what to expect during the project and tips to help the community best navigate the upcoming project. All of this will be sent to the residents and takes the burden off the property manager, which gives the community direct access to the team performing the job.
For more information, check out our Diamond Standard page on our website.