Harmony Public Schools reviews construction safety and third-party verification before occupancy

At a Sept. 19 meeting of the Harmony Public Schools board, Director of Construction Milanovich presented the district's multi-layered construction safety and verification process that the district uses before occupying new campuses. Milanovich framed the process as beginning with design and submittal reviews, continuing through milestone inspections and finishing with final acceptance, warranty monitoring and recorded trainings for local staff.

Milanovich said contractors submit product submittals to architects and engineers for approval before materials are purchased, and that a pre-installation meeting is required to confirm the correct product is on site. He described milestone inspections by architects, engineers and permitting jurisdictions and said corrective work must be redone before the project proceeds: "you will not be compensated for this work until it's correctly uh completed." The presentation included examples of inspected items ranging from carpet and ceiling tiles to structural welding and roofing water-pressure testing.

Milanovich also described close-out procedures, including a punch-list period at substantial completion, one-year general contractor warranties, material warranties of varying lengths, as-built drawings and recorded training materials for operations staff. He said the district typically gives contractors 30 to 60 days to finish punch-list work and may pursue payment and performance bonds if warranty obligations are not honored. The presentation noted the district conducts a warranty walk at 11 months after occupancy to confirm outstanding items are resolved.

The board asked several clarifying questions about who performs inspections and how code changes are tracked. Milanovich said Harmony hires independent third-party engineers and testing teams distinct from the architect and contractor to provide quality-assurance visits and materials testing. He said architects are placed on alert to follow the latest TEA and local code updates so changes can be caught as early as possible in the design stage rather than retrofitted after construction.