Client-First Mentality: Getting Henderson Involved Early Yields Sizable Long-Term Benefits

HENDERSON HEADLINES CLIENT-FIRST MENTALITY: GETTING HENDERSON INVOLVED EARLY YIELDS SIZABLE LONG-TERM BENEFITS Authored by: Jason Wollum & Drew Rimmer | November 17, 2020 At Henderson, our priorities are a little different. We believe that when you put relationships first, people and projects thrive. Our connections with our clients extend throughout the entire design experience and progresses for the life of your building. One unique area where we believe in adding value for our clients is assisting them in reviewing lease agreements and work letters, identifying the precise language to be included based off the needs of the building before a lease is officially signed. Getting Henderson involved early – especially with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems – can be crucial to the success of a project.

The earlier we’re engaged – whether implementing design guidelines, completing an early site assessment, testing equipment, making recommendations on what needs to be replaced, or actually reviewing lease and landlord work letters – the more beneficial we can be, eliminating many potential headaches in the long run, which saves you money and keeps your projects on schedule.

There are a variety of ways we can help our clients’ project run smoothly in the long run, one of note is landlord coordination. Depending on facility type, there are several factors to assess and consider prior to selecting a location. For a luxury retail store, power systems are critical, so discussing utilities up front helps to avoid added project costs later. In a grocery store, it’s important to be mindful of the complicated and integrated building systems, specifically refrigeration, plumbing, mechanical, and dehumidification systems – all of which affect the building’s structure and envelope. Depending on your neighborhood, we may need to account for noise considerations through acoustical planning. And in some cases, we might need to align fire alarm and security systems with existing building systems.

The list goes on and on. When you involve Henderson Engineers and Henderson Building Solutions early in the process, we’ll make sure you have a clear understanding of existing systems and that the proper utility requirements are in place so your landlord can provide what you need, which can reduce surprise additional costs down the line.

One of the best reasons to involve Henderson early in your project is that we thrive in identifying key information that you may not realize you even need. This includes expertise such as understanding and mitigating stack effect in high-rise buildings. We know the operational costs associated with enhanced cleaning, delivery and logistics, and security, and we can help develop up-front costs for things like advanced air filtration, ventilation, humidification, and UV lighting.

CLIENT-FIRST MENTALITY: GETTING HENDERSON INVOLVED EARLY YIELDS SIZABLE LONG-TERM BENEFITS

Site evaluation is another key piece of the process. Our team is trained to recognize shortfalls from a utility standpoint prior to lease negotiations. Selecting the proper location for your business to thrive is every bit as important to us as it is to you.

Henderson Building Solutions — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Henderson Engineers — takes it a step further. Our team can complete site assessment work to look at existing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems to determine what upgrades need to be included in the lease agreement for the client.

Because Henderson Building field staff are hands-on and include certified electricians and technicians, we’re comfortable opening up switchgear, examining breakers, and starting up roof top units. In some cases when upgrades need to occur, Henderson Building Solutions can provide turnkey implementation of those upgrades for the landlord. Henderson Building has even helped clients develop their generic work letter to be included in lease language based on standards that Henderson Engineers has developed.

Many times, part of a lease includes language that the owner must deliver a specific temperature of air to a space. Henderson Building Solutions can help the client by using our retail controls to monitor the promised services included in the lease language.

We also feature elevator and conveyance system experts who can meet your needs transparently with modernization, replacements, and upgrades. As a true partner to our clients, we assess, plan, and deliver the correct elevator and conveyance system solutions to meet your needs in a transparent way. Our solutions work, they’re maintainable, and will provide the ultimate level of safety and comfort for your building occupants.

Henderson Building can also provide multiple construction cost estimating options for you with costs.

This may add a little cost at the start but will ultimately reduce your end costs by providing you with the transparent options early, allowing you to make the right decisions for your project, avoiding changes later.

Once you sign a lease, the clock starts for your project to open. Sometimes lease penalties are incurred for projects that do not open on time. Based on what you need from a systems stance, we can help to drive architecture and site selection. No one wants to look back and say, “We could have done that if we had just known.” Engaging Henderson early alleviates the stress of that potentially happening.

When it comes to properly planning for a new location, we’re uniquely trained with 50 years of experience to provide high value by asking and answering questions that can lead to a deeper understanding of a site and the problems that may need solving. Our goal is to help save everyone involved in the process time and energy to bring about the best project possible. We take being your partner for the life of your building seriously, and the sooner we’re engaged, the greater the impact we can have on the success of your space.

JASON WOLLUM PE, LEED AP BD+C Jason is the embodiment of Henderson’s purpose statement: he definitely creates an environment where people can reach their full potential. When he first started at Henderson in 1997, Jason was entrenched in the day-to-day designs of a variety of retail and mixed-use projects, as well as forensic engineering investigations. Through the years, Jason grew into one of our top leaders.

He’s now a senior vice president responsible for the design, management, and coordination of several programs for some of our most important clients. Managing and mentoring our young engineers is what gives Jason even more fulfillment. He enjoys seeing people succeed, whether that is excelling on a complex project, advancing in their careers, or reaching a lifelong goal.

DREW RIMMER PE, LEED AP BD+C Drew is an executive vice president co-leading Henderson Building Solutions, a company that he helped found. His mix of optimism and logic is the perfect combination to create opportunity for our companies and our clients. With decades of engineering and project experience under his belt, Drew is always thinking outside the box to find the best solution. He truly lives out our vision of being the firm that changes the industry. Specifically, Drew has a passion for collaboration throughout the design and construction process to become a partner for the life of the building, which was his Henderson dream. We love his endless positivity and how he encourages his teams to embrace the client’s point of view. After all, he’s a pilot, so we know vision is his strong suit.