What Are Pre-Construction Activities?

Pre-Construction Activities Checklist: What You Absolutely Must Do

Pre-construction is the most critical phase of any project. It sets the foundation for everything that follows. In this blog, I’ll walk you through the essential activities that must happen during pre-construction. Consider this your go-to checklist, a gut-check list to ensure you’re not missing anything crucial.

Whether you’re approaching this from the builder’s, designer’s, or pre-construction manager’s perspective, these steps will help your team start strong and stay on track.

1. Project Scope Definition:

Clearly define what is being built and why. If it’s a development project, ensure it aligns with the proforma and meets budget and schedule targets. Understand the owner’s conditions of satisfaction, and make sure every stakeholder is aligned to deliver that value.

2. Site Investigation:

Never overlook this. Common site issues like:

• Unsuitable soils.
• Groundwater.
• Hidden utilities.
• Historical preservation.
• Existing structures can delay projects for months. Analyze and verify the site thoroughly before moving forward.

3. Design Development:

Design development isn’t passive; builders must be involved. Help the design team:

• Select optimal systems.
• Design with installability in mind.
• Match design to work packages.
• Prepare a complete model for coordination. This early involvement keeps you on budget and avoids rework in the field.

4. Constructability Reviews:

Don’t settle for surface-level reviews. Bring in:

• VDC experts.
• Field builders.
• Scheduling and planning leads.

You’re looking for bottlenecks and design flaws before they show up on site. This is now part of your job, own it.

5. Cost Estimating & Budgeting:

Gather data from:

• Trade partners.
• Historical comps.
• Cost per square foot estimates.
• Control estimates.

The goal? Real-time feedback so you’re designing to budget not reacting to it. Stop the cycle of design > react. Instead, design with budget constraints from the start.

6. Value Engineering:

True value engineering is not chopping out scope after you’ve overdesigned. It’s:

• Evaluating alternative systems and solutions.
• Maximizing quality and value.
• Minimizing total project cost. Strategically apply VE where it creates meaningful impact.

7. Scheduling & Phasing:

Start your planning early from the interview stage. By design development, you should have:

• A macro-level Takt plan.
• Clear phasing strategies.
• Active procurement tracking.
• At least three iterations of your plan before breaking ground.

8. Procurement Planning:

Start this early and often. Mistakes the industry makes:

• Delaying procurement planning.
• Failing to push for early releases.
• Not tracking procurement weekly.
• Involving the wrong people.

Fix this, and you’ll avoid most supply chain issues before they affect the jobsite.

9. Permitting & Approvals:

This isn’t just about the building permit. You must track:

• Floodplain permits.
• Dust & SWPPP permits.
• Historical preservation.
• Utility & excavation approvals.

Even if the design team owns it, you’re responsible for integrating permitting into your project start plan.

10. Key Tasks for a Smooth Launch:

Lastly, don’t forget these critical team-building and planning tasks:

• Pre-flight & kickoff meetings.
• Builder involvement in pre-con planning.
• Trade partner alignment.
• Team development & culture building.

Final Thoughts:

This blog was meant to give you a rapid-fire checklist of essential pre-construction activities. If you’re missing any of these, now’s the time to course-correct. Score yourself 1–10 on each point and see where you can improve.