Quality in design and construction is easy to recognize, but far more complex to achieve. It’s not just about how a building looks when it’s finished, but about the processes that carry a project from concept through construction. In this episode of Side of Design, we sit down with BWBR’s Director of Professional Services Dan Hottinger and Construction Administration Manager Bryan Desma to unpack what “quality” really means in design and construction—and how it begins long before a project breaks ground.
The Fundamentals of Quality
Dan works closely with construction administrators (CA), project managers, specifications writers, and code and quality assurance specialists in his role. “I like to joke that everything we do once we land the project to get it in the office, get it documented, out into the field, and built falls underneath my umbrella,” he says. For Dan, quality starts with the fundamentals: highly coordinated documents, strong alignment with engineering partners, and early, consistent attention to code and constructability. “With that, you know that everything is going to fit within the building. You know that everything is going to come together in the correct manner and you aren’t going to run into a whole bunch of problems out in the field.”
Bryan, whose role helps bridge the gap between designers and contractors to make sure design intent, budget, and schedule remain on track, expands the definition of quality beyond documentation. “There’s also the quality of our service—how we communicate, being responsive, providing solutions in a timely manner. We want to provide value in that respect too,” he says.
Construction Administration as Quality Assurance
It’s critical that quality is maintained through each step of the process—starting with design. “During the design process, we meet with our code officials and we talk through different code scenarios and make sure that the documentation reflects those discussions so that we don’t we don’t run into inspection problems as we go down the road,” Dan explains. “Our specified systems are ones that we know are proven—that they are good, that they are quality, and that they’re going to last for the client.”
The CA team helps protect that standard, making sure that the right conditions are met and the correct systems are installed. “We’re out there making sure that what’s in the drawings gets installed in the field, and we’re answering questions and bringing that vision to the actual built environment,” Bryan says.
Good documentation means a smooth handoff between the design and construction teams. “By the time you’re handing it off to construction administration, the better and more solid the set of documents, the easier it is for a person like Bryan to make sure that the owner comes away with a really good experience,” Dan explains. “It can save money because it’s smoother in the field, and we aren’t constantly having to go backwards and reassess certain details to see if we can make it work better.”
Learning from the Field
The conversation also explores how BWBR measures and improves quality over time. One key tool is the firm’s “report card” process, allowing QA and CA teams to flag issues in the design and process. “At the end of each project, a quality assurance reviewer will go in and log all of our problematic areas in that review,” Dan explains. “The construction administrators take the time to do a report card, and we use the same categories as we do for quality assurance reviews.”
That alignment allows BWBR to see recurring challenges and take a targeted approach to fixing them. “If QA is saying that we’re having hardware problems, Bryan’s teams out in the field are experiencing the same thing and they’re reporting to that to us,” Dan says. “Now we can put continuing education time into door hardware to make sure that this is something that we can teach up within the firm.”
The two share that BWBR employs a host of training and educational sessions where both emerging professionals and firm veterans can grow from colleagues’ specialized knowledge and lessons learned. Bryan also leads knowledge-sharing conversations geared specifically toward the CA group. “It’s a constant process, things are always changing. There’s always new technologies, and we always have new people coming in the office,” Bryan says. “It’s amazing how much investment that we have at this company with education, and it’s a big part of our culture.”
A Culture of Quality
The message is clear: quality doesn’t stem from just one process or role. It’s a continuous effort shaped by preparation, communication, education, and collaboration—and a major part of that is creating a culture that empowers teams to support one another in delivering their best work.
“One of the things that we try to engender at BWBR is just a culture where it’s okay to ask questions,” Dan says. “And also making sure that senior staff feel empowered to take the time to mentor. That right there is the foundation of your quality.”
Bryan highlights another critical—but often overlooked—dimension of quality: relationships. BWBR’s collaborative, solution-oriented approach with contractors and owners helps projects move forward more smoothly. “To get there, you have to invest in these relationships and have a certain amount of trust, and that takes time and it takes effort,” he says. “There’s quality within relationships, and that’s a big part of what we do as well.”
At BWBR, the goal is for quality to show up in every phase of a project—built through documentation, reinforced in the field, and sustained through education and trusted relationships that ultimately lead to better outcomes for clients and communities alike.
