In a traditional project, you need a design, so you hire an Architect that designs an amazing project. You are very excited about all the ideas you have come up with and how nice the project is going to look; in fact, you even had an interior designer helping select the materials. The Architect submits your design in for permits to save time, right! In fact, the Interior Designer even starts ordering material for the project to save some time. You send the construction documents to a couple of Contractors only to find out its about $150K over the budget after burning a couple weeks with them getting the costs together. Your only options now are to find more money, or redesign, both have a significant cost, not to mention the value of the time lost. This is a true story and unfortunately this scenario is played out in our office, too many times a year. Why not consider another approach that could have saved the above project the entire cost overrun? Hire your contractor at the same time you hire your architect.
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a project delivery approach developed by the Architects Institute of America (AIA) that integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a process that collaboratively brings together all the project participants to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste, and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication, and construction at the beginning of the process.
At the core of an integrated project delivery process, as seen in the comparison table below from the AIA, are collaborative, integrated, and productive teams composed of key project participants. All participants become stakeholders in the project. A project succeeds because all participants succeed. In a traditional project process, it is entirely possible for a single participant to succeed, even though a project fails. The key to IPD is building the team up front, and contributions from the entire team are brought to the table in the beginning. Eliminate circling back to redesign or find more money. Goals, objectives and expectations are established “UP FRONT”.
Beyond these benefits, IPD provides positive value propositions for the major stakeholder groups:
Owners—
Early and open sharing of project knowledge streamlines project
communications and allows owners to effectively balance project options to meet their business enterprise goals. Integrated delivery strengthens the project team’s understanding of the owner’s desired outcomes, thus improving the team’s ability to control costs and manage the budget, all of which increase the likelihood that project goals including schedule, life cycle costs, quality and sustainability, will be achieved.
Constructors—
The integrated delivery process allows constructors to contribute their expertise in construction techniques early in the design process resulting in improved project quality and financial performance during the construction phase. The constructor’s participation during the design phase provides the opportunity
for strong pre-construction planning, more timely and informed understanding of the design, anticipating and resolving design-related issues, visualizing construction sequencing prior to construction start, and improving cost control and budget management, all of which increase the likelihood that project goals, including schedule, life cycle costs, quality and sustainability, will be achieved.
Before you start your next construction project, give us a call. We are happy to discuss your project, show how we can keep you in the “Drivers Seat” through the entire project, deliver the project, meet all your expectations, make the entire process a success and maybe make it enjoyable!