Professional Construction Management and Forensic Services in Boston, Massachusetts

VERTEX’s Massachusetts offices, including the one in Boston, are some of the largest in our office network. Our team’s deep understanding of local permitting, rules, and regulations has cemented us as one of the leading AEC companies on a global level. Decades of experience, consistent quality and excellence, and presence in the industry has allowed us to provide the most accurate and professional consulting services tailored to a myriad of project types.

Our Weymouth location is VERTEX’s headquarters, and opened in 1995.  Our Boston and Norwood offices have been operating since 2009. Our team of multidisciplinary experts can meet the demands of both private and public clients, including large-scale and long-term engineering, construction, and environmental projects. In addition, we are well-versed in all local building codes, regulations, and laws, so you can rest assured that no aspect of your project will get overlooked.

Owner’s Project Management

In Massachusetts, beginning in 2004, state General Law (MGL) Chapter 193 of the Acts of 2004 inserted a new provision into M.G.L. c. 149, § 44, which governs public building procurement, requiring public awarding authorities to engage the services of an Owner’s Project Manager on all building projects estimated to cost $1.5 million or more. Learn more about the law governing this role and the duties of an Owner’s Project Manager in Massachusetts.

Owner’s project management involves planning the construction project and overseeing all phases of its progress. This includes coordination, development plans, managing expenses and budget, and keeping track of schedules. The owner’s project manager also hires and supervises workers and subcontractors, obtains the necessary materials and equipment, and drafts contracts.

Owner’s Representation in Boston

SImilar to an OPM, owners’ representation is a service hired by a project owner to represent and protect their interests during the entire project development process. This includes location selection, design, obtaining permits, and construction. The owners’ representative is the person who serves as a liaison that makes sure that the owners’ interests are looked after and carried out appropriately.

They do so by monitoring, as opposed to managing, different elements, and tasks throughout the development process. This can include making sure that everything is on time and within budget. In addition, VERTEX’s experts and representatives have vast experience with all aspects of civil and structural engineering in Boston and beyond, allowing them to keep the project owner in the loop and report about progress and any potential issues during the entire process.

Expert witness and forensic services in Boston

VERTEX provides forensic consulting and expert witness services to international and domestic clients. Our dependable and knowledgeable team has worked on thousands of development, conduction, and design claims and disputes. In addition, extensive experience in engineering design enables our experts to act as reliable forensic witnesses.

If it comes to depositions and litigation, we can make sure you have the best team on your side; one that has used its construction, architecture, engineering, accounting, and environmental experience to respond to thousands of natural disasters and disputes.

There’s a wide variety of risks in construction and real estate development. Unpredictable events can lead to significant economic loss due to failure to meet established timelines and plans, adapt to market changes, or get involved in litigation. This is particularly true for valuable multimillion-dollar projects, although even smaller investors and contractors can suffer significant losses.

Our construction expert witnesses will ensure you always have the upper hand in all areas, whether you need a forensic mechanical engineer or architect, or electrical engineer expert witness in Boston.

Environmental remediation

Our environmental remediation services in Boston include searching a building site for pollutants that could harm human health. This process is performed and overseen by environmental remediation experts. First, they conduct site evaluations by inspecting the area in question to determine whether and what toxins are present. Then, they map the area and collect soil or groundwater samples to establish the extent of the pollution. According to the collected information, they can then calculate the scope of work needed to eliminate it.

This is one of the essential processes in construction because prolonged exposure to elevated levels from a concentrated source can cause certain chemicals to build up in the human body over time. Therefore, a thorough investigation of the environmental conditions and potential dangers connected with their presence in the soil or groundwater is performed through a due diligence process.

Environmental due diligence

The job of environmental due diligence is to examine and identify any potential recognized environmental conditions (RECs). This is done by a team of experts who follow standards and regulations set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These rules and standards establish necessary evaluation practices according to the particular characteristics of each location and property in Boston and other places across the US. Contractors, land developers, lenders, attorneys, private owners, or certain government entities can request due diligence services.

Industrial hygiene

Industrial hygiene is the process used to identify, assess, and control construction sites and other workplace environmental hazards. Various types of contaminants can negatively affect not only the construction workers’ health and well-being, but also entire communities that are located in the vicinity.

It’s the job of firms like VERTEX to provide industrial hygiene consulting by implementing control measures to respond to potential workplace hazards. Effective practices like these, conducted by industrial hygienist companies, help protect employees and local community members from various injuries, poisonings, or respiratory and skin conditions. One of the ways to protect workers is by using adequate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). This improves safety levels and helps prevent exposure to potential hazards.

Property condition assessments

Property condition assessment (PCA) is a type of real estate investigation. Its purpose is to give clients accurate details about the Boston property they’re interested in buying, leasing, maintaining, or financing. This process is also known as a commercial building or residential property inspection.

The assessment can also include tenant improvement (TI) contracting, which helps commercial building owners to protect their long-term investment goals. TI contractors specialize in rental units and use their construction expertise to improve value for the building owners and increase rentability.

This service can be invaluable in many cases, so investors often use PCAs, as part of the environmental due diligence process. This helps avoid unplanned costs and allows for risk mitigation and the opportunity to renegotiate the price according to the property’s actual condition.