Bringing Your Builder to the Table Early Makes a Difference
Building or expanding a detention facility is one of the most complex capital projects a county can undertake. These facilities operate around the clock and must balance security, officer safety, inmate movement, medical services, technology, durability, maintainability, staffing efficiency, and public accountability.
With that in mind, why wait until the design is finished to involve the people who will actually build it?
Construction Management at Risk (CMAR) and Design-Build delivery methods allow counties to bring in construction expertise during design, when decisions can still shape cost, schedule, constructability, and long-term maintenance of these facilities.
Know What Your Project Costs Before It Becomes Costly
One of the greatest risks in any publicly funded project is finishing design only to learn the project is no longer aligned with available funding. Early builder involvement allows the county to analyze cost estimates throughout design and make scope decisions against the budget.
That changes the conversation from costly change orders after the project is designed to value management while the project is still being designed.
So how can the county prioritize needs in the most cost-effective way?
By Putting the People Who Operate the Facility at the Same Table as the People Designing and Building It
Sheriff’s Department officers and staff use these facilities every day to move inmates, supervise housing units, provide meals and medical care, coordinate visitation, maintain security systems, and respond to emergencies.
The best pre-construction process brings together the county, sheriff’s office, detention officers, facilities personnel, designers, engineers, security consultants, key trade partners, and builder.
Selecting CMAR or Design-Build construction delivery methods is about changing when the most important decisions are made and who is in the room when they are made.
For counties planning a jail, detention center expansion, or major renovation, early builder involvement can provide better cost visibility, stronger constructability, smarter procurement, improved schedule control, and fewer surprises during construction.
Wharton-Smith believes successful detention facility construction projects begin with strong group collaboration. By bringing counties, facility operators, architects, engineers, and construction experts together early, counties can turn complex operational requirements into facilities that are safe, durable, efficient, maintainable, and responsible investments of public dollars.
Mitigating Risks Early with Technology and Expertise
Detention facility construction requires intense coordination. Tools such as LiDAR scanning and Building Information Modeling (BIM) help all stakeholders understand existing conditions and identify conflicts among architectural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and security systems before work reaches the field.
Wharton-Smith combines technology with experience, including focused, in-person plan reviews alongside county staff, architects, and engineers to identify potential conflicts early. Finding those issues before fabrication or installation helps avoid rework, change orders, and schedule delays.
The goal is to identify possible construction risks early enough so they never become construction problems.
Don’t Let Equipment Ordering Control Your Opening Date
For counties facing overcrowding, aging facilities, inmate outsourcing, staffing challenges, or growth, opening months earlier can have meaningful financial and operational value.
Specialized components such as detention doors, security electronics, generators, switchgear, HVAC equipment, and controls can carry extensive delivery times. By utilizing CMAR or Design-Build construction methods, stakeholders work together to identify these items during design and develop early procurement strategies to avoid schedule delays.
Understanding Cost Over the Lifecycle of the Facility
The cost to construct or expand facilities today matters, but it is only part of the equation. A jail may operate continuously for the next 30 to 50 years, and staffing, utilities, maintenance, repairs, equipment replacement, and future expansion and renovation needs can outweigh small differences in initial cost.
Early collaboration allows for decisions to be evaluated for total cost of ownership, including staffing efficiency, material durability, energy use, ease of maintenance, and future expansion.
- Could a different housing configuration improve officer visibility and reduce staffing demands?
- Would a more durable material reduce maintenance requirements?
- Could mechanical or electrical system choices lower energy costs?
- Can equipment be located so maintenance personnel can service it safely and without entering secure areas?
- Could today’s design make a future expansion easier and less expensive?
These are questions our team will explore with county staff before design is finished.
Move Risk to the Front of the Project
Every construction project has risk. The goal is to identify these risks early, quantify them, and develop a plan to manage them.
Through preconstruction, Wharton-Smith tracks all potential risks and their corresponding financial and schedule implications so the county can ensure budget adequacy before the project begins.
Planning Your Next Detention Facility?
If your county is evaluating a new detention facility, expansion, or major renovation, start the conversation early. Understanding construction delivery methods, budget, phasing, risks, and constructability expertise before design advances can help establish a stronger foundation for the project.
Plan Smarter. Build Better.
Wharton-Smith, Inc.
Building communities. Building relationships. Your Construction Group of Choice.
