How we use transparency to save you time and money

While it’s not quite fair to say that utility design, procurement and installation is shrouded in mystery, it is definitely a sector of construction that has failed to modernise.

It can be unapproachable and complex to people outside the sector – and unfortunately many companies use that to their advantage.

If the client doesn’t know exactly how things work, it’s possible to charge big fees up front and create opaque design and legal processes which allow you to get away with causing delays and cost runovers.

‍Read A better way to procure utilities infrastructure

The antidote to that is transparency, something we have fully embraced at Zenit. 

Bringing the sector into the 21^st century means shining a light on how things have always been done, then creating a better way of operating which saves clients time and money.

Some examples of how we do that include…

Contract terms

Traditionally, appointing a utilities infrastructure partner means accepting the full contract up front. 

This means you’re locked in with that supplier and can’t go elsewhere if they prove to be inadequate for the task.

You’re tied to them and have to rely on them to fix any problems they create no matter how expensive or time consuming that ends up being. 

The lack of flexibility and consideration for the client is a hallmark of utility procurement – but it doesn’t have to be that way.

At Zenit, we design a bespoke contract for you which suits your project, is flexible and minimises delays.

For example, we can offer a range of contract terms, including splitting non-contestable works and design off from the overall offer. 

That means we can lock those in early and get to work on the design of the site for a much smaller amount up front while you secure funding, appoint a main contractor and begin other early stage work.

In other words, you don’t have to wait around and bake in delays on your project while your utility infrastructure company waits to get their whole contract signed up front.

Instead, your job can proceed immediately – eliminating delays that utility company contract terms often create.

Progress updates

Another area where the traditional approach to utility procurement often fails is progress updates.

Rather than offering regular updates and integrating their plans and actions with your workflow, utility companies will often keep it all separate so you can never be entirely up to date with what they are doing, what the deadlines are and whether everything is on track. 

Running a site without visibility over key infrastructure makes no sense and there’s no other area of a construction job where this is accepted. So why utility procurement? 

We don’t think that there should be any secrecy or uncertainty, so we have created a fully transparent process to remove it. 

Our delivery plans from the pre-construction stage onward are co-ordinated in Monday.com to provide you with the following benefits:

• A utility procurement schedule that is very similar to a standard build programme
• Can be overlaid on your own construction programme
• Builds transparency and helps clients arrange their on-site works

With Zenit, you’ll never have to spend time chasing us or trying to understand when the next utility milestone will be reached.

It’s all there to see on demand, presented in a client-friendly way that saves you time and money.