Mechanical Subcontractors

Mechanical scheduling consultant for HVAC and piping subs

Your scope is at the mercy of the building. Gear can't set until the pad, openings and rigging path exist. Duct can't hang until coordination is signed and the ceiling is yours. Startup and TAB wait on permanent power you don't control. We build P6 schedules that track your sequence, durations and float, and document it when someone else's delay lands on you.

Email us for a 20 min call See how we schedule your scope
PSP certified Primavera P6 HVAC & piping CPM Time impact analysis Contemporaneous record AACE RP 52R-06
We know your scope

The constraints that actually drive a mechanical schedule

One “HVAC rough-in” bar can hide procurement, coordination, installation and startup dependencies. Each gate below goes into your CPM, because each can cost you time.

01Long-lead equipment chains. AHUs, chillers, RTUs, boilers and pumps each get a submittal, approval, fabrication, delivery and set sequence, so a stalled approval or late delivery shows its owner and its impact.
02BIM coordination sign-off gating spool fabrication and overhead rough-in. If the model isn't signed, your fab shop and field both wait, and the schedule should say so.
03The overhead hierarchy. Duct mains claim the biggest ceiling envelope and fight sprinkler mains, tray and piping for space, area by area, behind steel and deck.
04Equipment set windows. Crane picks, rigging paths, curbs, and dry-in or roof-ready gates that must exist before major gear moves, and vanish if the structure slips.
05Close-in gates. Duct and piping inspections, pressure and hydro tests, and insulation that must finish before ceilings and walls close, floor by floor or area by area.
06The end-of-job chain. Startup, TAB, controls point-to-point and commissioning, gated by permanent power and a closed-in building, right where every upstream delay lands.
Where the schedule hurts you

Mechanical absorbs the end of the job

When a job runs late, the finish date rarely moves first. Your window does. Between close-in and turnover is where the GC looks for float, and that's your startup, TAB and commissioning time.

+TAB and commissioning squeezed from the weeks you priced to whatever is left, with no change order
+Floors and areas stacked, so rough-in crews balloon from the plan you bid to everything at once
+Equipment set dates held while structure and dry-in slip, then an acceleration push to recover
+Blame for the finish when the real driver was permanent power, a stalled approval, or a predecessor that never released your area

How compression and stacking hit your crews and margin: When schedules get compressed → More on protecting a sub's time: Subcontractor schedule protection →

How we protect you

A scheduler in your corner who has built this scope before

01

A baseline built to your means and methods

Your bid logic, crew flow, procurement chains and startup durations, on record before anyone edits the plan you priced.

02

Monthly updates that keep the record

Narratives that log stacking, compression and held areas as they happen, not reconstructed later.

03

Logic and float audits on the GC schedule

We check for compressed durations, flipped ties and float taken from your scope, and show where your time went.

04

Time impact analysis on changes and delay

TIA per AACE RP 52R-06 on change orders, held areas and compressed windows. The time request rests on the schedule, and cost is documented separately.

Mechanical proof

Recent mechanical work

Names withheld, references available on request.

Mechanical Sub

Sports complex, Virginia

Mechanical scope. Baseline plus logic and float protection on an aggressive, fixed-date build.

Mission Critical

Mass burn waste-to-energy facility, design-build

Full plant scope: boiler, turbine generator, air cooled condenser, ash handling, and major mechanical, piping and electrical packages. Baseline and updates on the resource and quantity loaded P6 schedule.

Industrial

Biosolids-to-fertilizer facility, EPC

Biosolids receiving and dryer system, granulation plant, and chemical and ammonia storage, with heavy mechanical, piping and electrical scopes. Baseline and updates, with subcontractor schedules integrated into the CPM master.

Mechanical FAQ

Questions we get from mechanical subs

Can you build a P6 schedule for just my mechanical scope?
Yes. A trade-level P6 CPM with your submittals, fabrication, deliveries, rough-in by area, equipment set and the startup, TAB and commissioning chain, tied to the GC's accepted schedule so handoffs and gates are explicit.
The GC compressed our TAB and commissioning window. What can we do?
That window absorbs everyone else's delay. We show the compression against the durations you priced in the baseline and prepare a TIA per AACE RP 52R-06 for the time, with cost documented separately.
How do we protect ourselves on long-lead equipment like chillers and AHUs?
Each major piece gets its own procurement chain (submittal, approval, fabrication, delivery, set). When an approval sits or a delivery slips for reasons outside your control, the chain shows the effect on the finish and who owns it.
Our overhead rough-in is stalled behind other trades. Is that our delay?
Not if the record shows otherwise. Duct needs coordination sign-off and ceiling space before you hang. When steel, tray or sprinkler mains hold your area, the monthly narrative should say so as it happens, separating your performance from their delay.

Mechanical subs on data center and power work: see our data center and power EPC scheduling page for cooling plant, startup, and commissioning scheduling.

Is your startup and TAB window quietly disappearing?

Send the GC’s latest update and your bid schedule. Give us 20 minutes on the phone and we'll talk through your startup and TAB window, then lay out what a review covers, how long it takes and what it costs.

Email us for a 20 min call Email us your schedule Call 407-506-5247
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