Building in Value: Pre-Design Issues

Rick Best, Gerard de Valence, Rick Best, Gerard de Valence

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415503112
• eBook ISBN: 9781135139049
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

The concept of value in projects is a key issue for everyone involved in the construction industry. Building in Value brings together many experts in the field to outline the wide range of tools, techniques and procedures that can and should be used to make the building procurement phase as efficient as possible. The authors go on to discuss how to ensure that future problems in the design and construction of the buildings are anticipated at the start and to minimise the liklihood of future hiccups. Integrating strategic, financial and construction management techniques, this book provides an essential guide for construction professionals.

1 Getting it right at the start

Rick Best and Gerard de Valencet^†

DOI: 10.4324/9780080500416-1

1.1 Introduction

Everyone likes to think they get value for their money whether they are buying a hamburger, a new car or a. holiday. Clients who commission the design and construction of buildings hope to maximize the value that they obtain for the large sums of money they invest in building procurement.

Modern buildings are complex artefacts, and the design, construction and commissioning of a new building is a long and complicated process that involves input from a great many people. These contributors, or participants, include a wide range of design professionals (e.g., architects, engineers, landscape architects), lawyers, financiers, building contractors and subcontractors, project managers and an array of specialist consultants concerned with such factors as environmental impact, acoustics, fire safety and structural integrity.

Some of the issues that influence building projects and their construction are the ‘one-off’ nature of many projects, the boom-bust cycle characteristic of the industry, short-term thinking and opportunism, the dominance of workplace issues in the minds of many of the participants, and the wide variation in skill levels across the industry which limits the use of new techniques and precludes the use of others.

Analysis of the construction process is commonly expressed in terms of establishing an equilibrium between the three primary concerns of time, cost and quality. The concept is not new but it remains valid: any client would like to construct a facility of the highest quality at minimum cost in the shortest possible time. Therefore, it is the goal of the project team to maximize quality while minimizing cost and time, with various members of the team being responsible, to a greater or lesser degree, for one or more of the three components.

Any change in one component is reflected in changes in the other two, e.g. higher quality may be achieved by the injection of more money and/or an increase in the time allocated to the process; alternatively, an increase in the resources (personnel, plant) applied to a project may reduce the time but increase the cost, and so on.

Many projects are sufficiently unique that they have many of the characteristics of a prototype. With the exception of projects involving repetitive processes (e.g. freeways or pipelines) construction projects are not much like manufactured items, and the owners and users do not have the benefit of extensive testing and refinement of the product. Nevertheless, users and owners are increasingly applying the same standards of performance and reliability, which they apply to manufactured products, to buildings. The individuality of many projects explains, at least partially, the reluctance of clients to expend the same sort of money and effort that would be applied to more repetitive works, because all of the upfront costs have to be allocated to just the one project.

In order to appreciate the role of the client in the building and construction industry it is important firstly to understand the reasons why varying types of clients undertake building and construction work and also to establish the motivations behind their priorities. The reasons for each client embarking on a building or construction project will vary extensively and it is therefore not surprising that the objectives of the client on any particular project may be significantly different from those of other clients on other projects. These motivations will range from the need for shelter to facilities for the production of complex goods and services.

Many clients have become dissatisfied with the performance and level of service they are receiving from the construction industry and, as such, clients are increasingly demanding better value from the industry. This client dissatisfaction has resulted from poor performance in terms of time, cost and quality, adversarial attitudes resulting in claims and disputes, poor constructability, and low levels of innovation combined with a perceived lack of customer focus. It should also be noted that these concerns are not only directed at constructors within the industry but also towards industry professionals acting as consultants and advisers during the construction process. Cox and Townsend (1998, p. 21) identify a number of barriers to achieving value for money, including: low and discontinuous demand, frequent changes in specification, inappropriate (contractor or consultant) selection criteria, inappropriate allocation of risk, poor quality, inefficient methods of construction, poor management, inadequate investment, an adversarial culture, and a fragmented industry structure.

In general, all clients need to find a balance between time, cost and quality. It has been common in the past for clients to place most weight on cost within this balance. However, with the increasing understanding of the importance of the concept of value adding, many clients are now placing significantly less emphasis on cost in terms of price and greater emphasis on cost in terms of value for money.

1.2 Phases of procurement

De Camillis (1988, p. 64) has suggested that ‘… the designing phase is nothing but the correct premise for the correct management of a project …’, however it may be more the case that it is, in fact, the pre-design activities that set this premise for management, as it is during this phase that the real basis for the design process is set, and it is these activities that determine the ‘life’ of the design process and of the building which is the end product of that process.

Building projects are dynamic and complex, passing through several discrete phases of initiation, documentation and delivery. Obviously the life of a building does not cease when it is handed over to the client for occupation; however, once the building has been commissioned it becomes the concern of the client and his or her facility managers to run and maintain the building throughout its working life.

With building projects there is often a tendency for clients to rush the front end and to eliminate or diminish the benefits that could result from the exercise of greater care during the pre-design phase. Factors such as the boom-bust nature of the industry help to reinforce short-term thinking and promote this truncation of the pre-planning phase. Other factors, such as the lack of available skills in option evaluation and feasibility analysis and assessment, together with the tendency for site-based issues to dominate the cost equation and the thinking of those involved in building procurement, have added to the relatively low emphasis on the pre-design phase.

1.3 The pre-design phase

The aim of this book is to examine only the pre-design stage of the process, and to discuss those factors that affect the client’s aim of maximizing the value obtained for money invested in a building and which are part of that pre-design stage. The three underlying ideas on which this book are based are:

1. the need for rigorous early testing of ideas or concepts for function, economic viability and physical suitability
2. the need for a procurement strategy, cost plan, time plan, and project action plan in the pre-design phase
3. the need for clear briefing, particularly in the area of building services, to be provided in the pre-design phase.

Figure 1.1 shows the benefits of good concept development, planning and brief preparation and the decreasing ability to influence final cost as construction proceeds. The aim is to improve the quality of solutions at the earliest stage and thus have the greatest impact on outcomes.

Fig. 1.1 Cost/time influence curves.

The book is divided into three sections: the first section looks at the concept of value in building and why clients choose to build, and goes on to examine various aspects of the regulatory and statutory controls that must be satisfied before design work can commence.

Section 2 outlines a range of analytical techniques that can be employed and which will assist clients in making informed decisions about questions such as project selection, project feasibility, and the use of cost modelling techniques.

Section 3 deals with the mechanics of building procurement – contracts, dispute management, traditional and emerging procurement systems – and discusses a number of management and implementation mechanisms, such as value management and risk management, which can be employed, or at least established, within the project framework at the start of procurement but which flow on into the later stages of the process.

This book, then, is concerned with those things that are done, or can be done, or should be done, before any design work, in the popular sense, is commenced – before even a single sketch for a proposed building is committed to paper or computer screen. Many decisions made during the pre-design phase determine the fundamental nature of many of the final product’s attributes, and in some cases such decisions are made by default, occurring only because important questions are not even addressed during the early stages of the procurement process.

A common example is the decision fully to aircondition a proposed building – building orientation, or window type and area may receive scant attention if it is simply assumed that air conditioning is to be installed. Even though air conditioning may be an appropriate strategy, the size of the plant required will still be heavily dependent on factors such as orientation, fenestration and structure. Many buildings have sub-optimal internal environmental conditions due to inadequate mechanical systems – inadequate due to budgetary constraints, perhaps, but only inadequate because fundamental decisions regarding siting and envelope were made without clear overall design goals being established. The resultant buildings then are not as valuable as they might be; the potential quality of the final product has not been realized.

1.3.1 Project inception

The decision to build may be based on any of several premises – investment, speculative profit-making, and owner occupation are primary drivers for the building process. Whatever the driving force there must be some perception of a need for a facility, whether it is to house a process (such as manufacturing) or an activity, and the decision must be made that a ‘building’ is the best solution for the client’s needs.

It may be the case that an analysis of the needs or functions that the client seeks to satisfy will suggest alternative solutions, and it may become clear that commissioning a new building project may not be the optimum choice. Alternatives such as a BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) arrangement, the refurbishment of an existing building or facility, or contracting with an independent service provider (outsourcing) may be seen as more cost effective. Such departures from the traditional solution, where the client commissions the design and construction of a new building, can have major impacts on the quality, and consequently on the value, of the final product as different stakeholders have different expectations.

At the outset, some careful analysis of the client’s needs is required to establish the best method by which those needs can be satisfied. Techniques such as cost-benefit analysis, feasibility studies, and multicriteria analysis can aid those involved in reaching a balanced decision to build or to pursue other options.

1.3.2 Impact of pre-planning

The success of any venture generally depends on the quality of the planning that occurs before one embarks on the actual project, whether it be organizing a barbecue or putting a man on Mars. Modern buildings are highly complex and sophisticated mechanisms. Some would be better described as organisms, so complex are their sensory and control systems. They are subject to many constraints and characterized by an ever-increasing range of parameters, all of which must addressed, considered, balanced, and ultimately brought into equilibrium in the final built product.

Adequate pre-planning is essential if the project team is to achieve this equilibrium while balancing time, cost and quality against client requirements, economic, legal and statutory constraints and so on. It requires careful analysis of all constraints and the establishment of a robust framework for decision making and communication.

Particular items that need to be addressed at the outset include planning controls, environmental impacts, the possible effects of future controls such as carbon taxes or emission permits, or changes in fuel prices.

1.3.3 Briefing

Once the decision to build has been made, then regardless of the procurement system adopted, the design brief is the key to arriving at a solution that best satisfies the client’s expectations. Inadequate briefing can leave consultants acting in isolation without clearly defined goals and targets. Designers often have difficulty in arriving at successful design solutions as there is insufficient pre-design analysis, i.e. a clear underlying purpose with specific targets is necessary if the final solution is properly to satisfy the client and/or the building occupants (Bordass and Leaman, 1996).

Fundamental to the preparation of a complete and comprehensive brief is the identification of all those constraints that cannot be controlled by the designers. These include:

• physical factors such as the size, shape and location of the site
• financial constraints, usually in the form of a budget or cost limit
• legislative restrictions including zoning and planning constraints, height limits, and floor space ratios
• operational factors such as availability of reticulated services, and hours of operation (which may affect flows of traffic, people or materials into a completed building)
• social concerns including the impacts on others in the neighbourhood, or possible concerns with vandalism
• environmental concerns such as energy use, harmful emissions, and waste disposal
• technological constraints including availability of skilled labour and specialized components and materials.

Functional analysis and needs analysis are techniques that aim to facilitate the briefing process and these techniques should be applied at the outset of the procurement process in order that there is a comprehensive understanding of the needs and constraints that will shape both the design process and the final product of that process.

1.3.4 Assembling the project team

In the same way that a group of individual champions may not make the best sporting team, so an uncoordinated group of brilliant designers may not produce the best buildings. Successful building design requires a great deal of careful management and it is fundamental to the success of the project that the design team be assembled with a view to establishing a cooperative environment based on mutual respect among t...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1 Getting it right at the start
• 1 Strategic and statutory issues
• 2 Value in building
• 3 Project initiation
• 4 Procurement strategies
• 5 Planning for conflict
• 6 Environmental impact assessment
• 7 Environmental planning
• 2 Analytical techniques
• 8 The capital cost fallacy
• 9 Feasibility studies
• 10 Cost or benefit?
• 11 Functional use analysis
• 12 Cost modelling
• 13 Facility quality and performance
• 14 Energy modelling
• 15 Value management
• 16 Risk management
• 3 Implementation and management
• 17 Procurement law
• 18 Information and information management
• 19 Integrated design
• 20 Occupancy cost analysis
• 21 Technology and innovation
• 22 Dispute resolution
• 23 The way forward
• Index