If you are like most people, you bought flat-pack furniture from IKEA at some point in your life. You return home, unpack the pieces and start wondering how on earth this is all going to come together. Luckily, IKEA gives you a picture of the final piece that comes with […]
What Pull Planning in Design and IKEA Have in Common READ MORE
It’s no secret that large-scale building projects have become more and more complex over the years with numerous design disciplines and contractors involved. As a consequence, the need for collaboration and teamwork has increased substantially. More and more teams realize the value of Lean Construction and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)
Leveraging Co-Location and Lean Principles for Design Success READ MORE
Complex capital projects across all industries, from health care, oil, gas, mining, manufacturing and power generation all have at least one thing in common. According to research performed by the Construction Industry Institute, they have a high probability of finishing late and over budget. It seems that the larger and
Building Complex Capital Projects with Lean Integrated Project Delivery READ MORE
The most successful IPD teams can answer 3 questions: Why are we building? How are we building? What are we building? Less successful teams eventually figure out what they are building and they may have spent some time determining how—but they never clearly understand why. After 10 years of structuring
We are often asked whether negotiating an IPD agreement takes longer than negotiating a traditional agreement, such as a construction manager at risk contract. The answer is probably “yes”, although that answer is incomplete.[1] A better answer, would be that negotiating and crafting the IPD agreement is an important step
Negotiation is the First Collaborative Act READ MORE
Tri-Party vs Multi-Party IPD contracts. The tri –party agreement is certainly a step in the right direction by combining the 3 most influential parties in a building project, the Architect (A), CM/GC (C) and Owner. This can certainly help align the major stakeholder interests to one goal and dramatically reduce
When it Comes to Signing Contracts – The More Signatures the Better! READ MORE
This post is the 2nd of a 3 part series looking at Integrated Project Delivery. The first post focuses on IPD agreements (contracts), this post focuses on IPD as a Lean Operating System, and the final post focuses on culture. When a team is aligned financially, traditional operating systems are
What Is Integrated Project Delivery: A Lean Operating System (Part 2 of 3) READ MORE
How validation fixes the problem you didn’t know you had. The construction industry hides a dirty secret. It hides this secret from the public, it hides this secret from the owner, and worst of all, it hides this secret from itself. It is a known and accepted fact that the
The Dirty Secret of Construction READ MORE
An Australian Perspective on Integrated Project Delivery In many parts of the World, contracting can seem like the modern-day equivalent of a Roman gladiatorial battle, where a single project cost blow-out can end a promising political career or bankrupt a once profitable company. The Rules of the Game The rules
Zero Sum to Win – Win READ MORE
Zul- Is soft cost for IPD much higher than design-bid-build? Does the savings in rework or hard cost able to pay off the added soft cost? James– There is not a black and white answer to this question. The biggest difference I think is that you are spending more
Friendship In Construction – Part 2 READ MORE
You need to pick your battles at every step whether you are an owner, a designer or a contractor in construction. Depending if you win or lose the battles affects your bottom line. That’s the adversarial relationship among these parties which plagues the industry so deeply that while the non-farm
Friendship In Construction – Part 1 READ MORE
This is a 3 part series focusing on Integrated Project Delivery as a contract, a lean operating system and a culture. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is gaining popularity among owners, contractors and design teams as a means to unlock creativity, drive reliability, and successfully deliver complex capital projects. With all
What Is Integrated Project Delivery: The Contract (Part 1 of 3) READ MORE
Introduction to Target Value Design and the Importance of Setting Targets A common concept in the construction industry is that there are three legs to a project: Schedule, Cost, and Quality. An owner is advised to pick any two, and thereby sacrifice the third (i.e., you can have cost and
5 Things to Consider when Setting Targets READ MORE