Trends in Professional Services: Architects Part 4

Cliff Moser: Construction Contracting delivery methods. Typically the profession has packaged its construction documents as Design-Bid-Build -the architect designs and documents the project, submits it to contractors who then price and bid the project, and then the winning bidder builds the project. However the risk associated with this method has been the cost of building the project. While a contractor may try to build the project to the bid dollar amount, extenuating circumstances including building material market conditions, owner changes, and drawing errors, may cause an increase in project cost and schedule. Therefore alternate delivery methods have been created that mitigate this risk. There is fast-track delivery. In this model, parts of the project are delivered earlier -demolition, footings, foundation, and steel design are delivered early to the contractor for costing and permitting.  There is also GMP, or Guaranteed Maximum Pricing. In this model contractors would bid off of an early design package and then guarantee to build the project to a price. Design-Build is another model where the owner contracts the design and construction through the contractor. The contractor in turns hires an architect to build to the specifications and cost of the owner.   All of these delivery options, however, mitigate cost and schedule impacts in favor of the contractor, not the architect, who often must complete and package their design and documentation in an altered manner in order to facilitate the contractor’s needs. True delivery innovation would allow the architect to improve their processes while delivering a better and more reliable product to the owner and contractor.

One organization that is reviewing this idea is the Lean Construction Institute (www.leanconstruction.org), which is promoting use of the Toyota Production System for construction and design. This holds the best opportunity for creating and managing value in the design and construction process, building a collaborative environment between designer/owner/contractors as stakeholders in the entire project. In California some healthcare systems such as Sutter Health and Kaiser are exploring Lean theory in their design and construction projects.

Chief Innovation Officer:  Where in the profession are there opportunities to innovate?

Cliff Moser: Other areas ripe for innovation include 1) electronic submittal of contractor and shop drawings, 2) enterprise and web-based project management systems, 3) real-time 3-Dimensional owner and user walk-throughs of building model, 4) using training found in architecture schools as a way to innovate other professions to create the project-based, team-building rapid prototyping used by such organizations as IDEO.

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