Request a Project

The University Of Oklahoma Department Of Facilities Management has a process to more efficiently handle project requests campus-wide. This process examines how each individual project affects the overall mission of the University and to continue academic excellence. Our goal will continue to be meeting the University’s ever-changing needs by providing construction services. We need the cooperation and participation of Students, Faculty, Staff, and Administration in order for this process to succeed most effectively. As a result, the Department of Facilities Management commits to providing quality projects on-time and under budget.

The following phases consist of the typical project from conception through completion (here is a flowchart of this process (PDF)):

All project requests must be submitted by the deadlines stated in the Facilities Management memo. Request must be made through the project request form located at www.ou.edu/facilities. Pertinent information will be required in order to generate your request. Please be prepared to provide the building name, room numbers, general scope of work, and contact person for this project. These items are required to move forward. The project request will be placed in the Project Queue.

You can complete a project request form here.

The FM estimator will generate a preliminary estimate (ballpark) that will include + / - percentage due to unknown activities that may be required once the project has been evaluated by engineering. The purpose of the preliminary estimate is to provide a budget number to the customer so they can determine the funding and feasibility of the project.

The preliminary estimate will be sent to the customer for review and approval. At this time the customer can sign the preliminary estimate indicating that funds are available or decline indicating that funds are not available. If the preliminary estimate is approved the customer must provide a funding source and a budget account number to have the project placed on the engineering schedule or the construction schedule. If the funding letter is not returned in 14 days, Facilities Management will assume funding is not available and will remove the project from our project request file.

Once the project is placed on the engineering schedule the engineering department will start the design development phase of the process. Design details will be completed and project reviews will be conducted with the customer and the project manager. A minimum of one design review will be conducted at 30 – 50% review. The design drawings will be complete at 95% design.

The 95% design drawings will be provided to the estimator for a construction estimate. The completed estimate and 95% design drawings will be provided to the project manager for review and distribution to the trade supervisors. If the project will be completed by on call contractors or a General Contractor the drawings will be identified as Issued for Bid and the proper process will be followed to obtain competitive pricing. The competitive pricing received will be used as the final estimate.

For FM self-performed projects the trade supervisors will review the 95% design drawings for constructability issues as well as the estimate for accuracy. A follow up meeting with the engineering department, trade supervisors, estimator, and project manager will be scheduled to relay any constructability and estimate issues. 

Construction documents will be produced incorporating any constructability issues identified during the trades review or clarifications identified during the bidding process. The construction documents will be distributed to the inspections department and reviewed / stamped for code conformance. The construction documents will be distributed to the estimator (for FM self-performed projects) and project manager.

The estimator will review the construction documents and incorporate any revisions due to the constructability / estimate review with the trade supervisors. The final estimate will be provided to the project manager for distribution to the customer for approval.

The final estimate will be provided to the customer on a final budget letter. Once the budget letter has been provided it must be returned to the project manager in 14 days or the project will be removed from the project queue. A project cancelled at this point will be liable for any cost associated to date.

Construction schedule is the phase in which the project is assigned a start date, activity durations, and a completion date. At this time all materials have been ordered and a building permit has been obtained.  A project will only be scheduled when all other phases of the project process have been completed. The customer will be notified by the project manager when a start date has been assigned to the project. At this time the project manager will review the construction schedule with the customer. Once construction begins, the project space will become the property of Facilities Management and locks will be changed to construction cores. All non-construction personnel will be required to be escorted by the project manager for site visits. All visitors will be required to wear proper personal protective equipment during site visits.  Depending on the complexity and size of the project the possibility of progress meetings with the customer will be explored. When all construction activities have been completed, a punch list will be developed by the project manager, completed by construction personnel, and custodial services will perform a final clean.  When these activities have been completed a building inspection by Facilities Management inspectors and the University Fire Marshal will be performed to obtain the certificate of occupancy. At this time the project manager will schedule a walk through with the customer for an orientation of the completed project.