Projects are being impacted by industry challenges as well as other macro-level forces at a pace not seen before. While the market conditions may be extraordinary, one thing remains true: A late project impacts revenue and production as well as commitments made to your key customers.
The good news is, setting realistic expectations for both your internal team and the team you hire to manage and build your project will help you avoid common pitfalls so you can experience a better, more predictable outcome.
Here are three characteristics of effective owner project planning:
1. Plan Project Success with Your Internal Team First
Before you engage a designer and contractor, know what you need and where you can (and can't) compromise. Think of it as a pre-plan. Start by defining your specific short-term business needs and your long-term goals. Delaying or skipping this pre-plan process can lead to less flexibility in your decision-making down the road.
Keep in mind that your needs and the order you prioritize them can look very different from project to project. For many clients, avoiding unplanned shutdowns is critical, while for others, cost of schedule (COS) is a driving factor: It defines the daily cost, typically in dollars, for every day the job is not complete.
There are a number of other factors that drive decision making, and a great place to turn for insight is your internal stakeholders who are directly or indirectly impacted by the project; some key areas to plan for might include:
- Environmental, health and safety measures include identifying prequalified contractors and subs who meet your safety requirements.
- Quality control when installing specialized equipment and MEP systems to industry specifications. This could also include the reduction of airborne contamination when working in adjacent areas such as CGMP spaces.
- Coordination of owner-purchased, contractor-installed equipment.
- Planning and communication for shutdowns and tie-ins so interruptions are planned, including an appropriate sign-off process from all impacted parties.
- Ability of the team to test, commission and validate installed systems.
Another critical part of the process is contingency planning. Inevitably, challenges or delays will occur. Establish cost and schedule contingencies to avoid disappointment, especially with external forces like COVID-19, labor shortages, supply chain delays, fluctuating prices, delayed quotes and cost increases on delayed projects that come back online. Keep your design and construction experts on speed dial; reach out to them early and often about market conditions, potential project risks and expectations.
Be careful not to get completely wrapped up in things you can’t control. Take time also to define successes and the key priorities by which these will be measured. Internal and external factors developed from the examples above can help, along with other points like contractor turnover date, design aesthetics, budget and diverse spending. With your definition for success and priorities in hand, work backward to list them from most to least important.
2. Select the Appropriate Contract Delivery Method
Decide which contract delivery method best aligns with your needs and top priorities; this could be design-build, CM-R, design-bid-build, IPD or EPC. Schedule and project design complexity, desire for cost transparency and the ebb and flow of market conditions should all be considered in selecting the appropriate contract delivery method.
Evaluating the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the delivery methods against the project goals is an essential step. Still, it is important to know there is no “go-to” delivery method that fits every owner or every project. Keep an open mind on which delivery method works best and be willing to embrace change.
3. Define Project Goals, Measures and Accountability
Once you select a project team (designer, contractor or design-builder), communicate your goals and needs in writing and create metrics to measure progress. One way to do this is to clearly define your conditions for success. Work with the project team to develop mutually agreeable metrics that align with your project priorities. Monitoring weekly progress will keep tasks on schedule and your priorities at the forefront during construction.
Encourage the project team to quickly voice any concerns before they become significant issues. Establishing an open line of communication between the internal team, designer and contractor provide a “working together” mindset to set the stage for success: When a team has discussions upfront, the project runs smoother, there are fewer changes and unknown costs and there is a better outcome for all in the end.
Describing the objectives of the finished project and the business value the project will achieve makes it crystal clear to all on the team what each member is striving toward. Measuring progress regularly enforces accountability. Specific project metrics will differ for each job, but you can determine an agreeable process for everyone to follow by effectively communicating with the project team.
A successful building project begins well before groundbreaking or moving equipment. It starts from within: within your internal team building consensus on why you are making this investment, within the process to select the best contract method that aligns with your definition of success and within the project team knowing that everyone is walking the same path to that success.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Polshek Partnership unveils design for University of North Texas business building
New York-based architect Polshek Partnership today unveiled its design scheme for the $70 million Business Leadership Building at the University of North Texas in Denton. Designed to provide UNT’s 5,400-plus business majors the highest level of academic instruction and professional training, the 180,000-sf facility will include an open atrium, an internet café, and numerous study and tutoring rooms—all designed to help develop a spirit of collaboration and team-oriented focus.
| Aug 11, 2010
University of Florida aiming for nation’s first LEED Platinum parking garage
If all goes as planned, the University of Florida’s new $20 million Southwest Parking Garage Complex in Gainesville will soon become the first parking facility in the country to earn LEED Platinum status. Designed by the Boca Raton office of PGAL to meet criteria for the highest LEED certification category, the garage complex includes a six-level, 313,000-sf parking garage (927 spaces) and an attached, 10,000-sf, two-story transportation and parking services office building.
| Aug 11, 2010
GSA celebrates 60th anniversary
The U.S. General Services Administration today is commemorating its 60th anniversary as it engages in one of its its most challenging assignments ever—helping to achieve the goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
| Aug 11, 2010
Draft NIST report on Cowboys practice facility collapse released for public comment
A fabric-covered, steel frame practice facility owned by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys collapsed under wind loads significantly less than those required under applicable design standards, according to a report released today for public comment by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
| Aug 11, 2010
Callison, MulvannyG2 among nation's largest retail design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Retail Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
USGBC honors Brad Pitt's Make It Right New Orleans as the ‘largest and greenest single-family community in the world’
U.S. Green Building Council President, CEO and Founding Chair Rick Fedrizzi today declared that the neighborhood being built by Make It Right New Orleans, the post-Katrina housing initiative launched by actor Brad Pitt, is the “largest and greenest community of single-family homes in the world” at the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York.
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA report estimates up to 270,000 construction industry jobs could be created if the American Clean Energy Security Act is passed
With the encouragement of Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) conducted a study to determine how many jobs in the design and construction industry could be created if the American Clean Energy Security Act (H.R. 2454; also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill) is enacted.
| Aug 11, 2010
Nation's first set of green building model codes and standards announced
The International Code Council (ICC), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) announce the launch of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), representing the merger of two national efforts to develop adoptable and enforceable green building codes.