Audie Tarpley Oversees Full-Service Design-Build Services at DCG

Audie Tarpley is an Indianapolis, Indiana, business leader with more than 40 years of experience in the design, build, and construction management spaces. After a decade of leadership roles at Duke Realty Investments, Audie Tarpley joined Dillon Construction Group (DCG) in 2015. He has formed an enduring partnership with company founder Dale Dillon, and together the duo has continuously expanded DCG offerings, developing the business into a full-service design and build firm with an overriding mission of quality service and client satisfaction.

The DCG approach to full-service client support begins with project scheduling, a thorough process that allows the company to consistently deliver projects to clients on time. Project scheduling involves detailed planning and critical path scheduling, but continues throughout the project life cycle in the form of proactive timeline management. DCG provides clients with manageable project milestones and consistently monitors progress toward each benchmark.

To ensure the timely completion of each project, Audie Tarpley and Dale Dillon employ skilled, flexible construction professionals capable of adapting to changing conditions and avoiding lengthy project delays, all while retaining the DCG commitment to quality and preserving clients’ initial visions. Drawing on extensive industry knowledge, the company can further expedite project timelines by helping clients with material selections that reduce delivery times without sacrificing quality.

Material procurement is an important and often overlooked aspect of design-build projects, as long-lead items can cause project delays if the project timeline does not account for delivery schedules and delays, not to mention market volatility, supply chain problems, and material shortages.

In addition, utility coordination must begin during the initial design phase and continue through final inspection. Utility coordination is a complex, time-consuming process that necessitates ongoing communications with service providers. Otherwise, projects may incur expensive redesigns that severely impact the construction schedule.

Despite the DCG commitment to timely, high-quality project completion, the company views safety as the top concern on every project. The project scheduling phase includes extensive safety planning, and projects feature regular site inspections that adhere to local regulations and Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. DCG's safety priorities help maintain employee health and wellness, while also mitigating partner and client liability.

DCG manages extensive documentation throughout the duration of each project, ranging from pre-construction photo documentation to daily logs that continue through project close-out. Other important documents include requests for information and change orders. Careful documentation supports full project transparency, which simultaneously decreases legal risk while streamlining operational efficiency. DCG's long track record of success includes an archive of documentation that project leaders and facility managers can use as valuable reference points.

Consultant and engineer coordination is a critical component of full-service design and build projects. DCG works closely with project partners as they select third-party professionals, with a focus on aligning project goals and optimizing communication. Specific elements of third-party coordination range from the oversight of soil testing and environmental impact assessments to the timely completion of architectural renderings.

Contractor oversight continues from the bid management phase to on-site management. DCG carefully assesses all bids, placing equal importance on value and quality, shielding clients from hidden costs and gaps in scope, and implementing established day-to-day scheduling and quality control initiatives to manage project budgets.

These services represent a small part of the end-to-end project management work DCG puts into each project on behalf of clients. Other critical processes include entitlement and permitting assistance, alternative design consulting and value engineering, and assistance with stakeholder presentations. And services do not cease at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, as Audie Tarpley and his expert team offer tailored warranty programs that provide clients with peace of mind long after project completion.