The Design Manager's Handbook

John Eynon

• Editorial: Wiley-Blackwell
• Año: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781118486092
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Technology & Engineering
• Categoría: Construction & Architectural Engineering

Design management as a recognised role in the built environment industry is relatively new, initially arising from the need for better co-ordination and delivery of design information from design teams to main contractors - particularly important as procurement routes involving contractor led design have become much more commonplace. The advent of design packages driven by specialist sub-contractors has also increased the need for co-ordination and management of the design process. With the growing complexity of construction projects, effective design management is increasingly central to project success. BIM, as it gains acceptance across the industry will undoubtedly have a huge impact on project delivery process and the role of the Design Manager.

The CIOB Design Manager's Handbook covers subjects such as design process and management tools, the role of the Design Manager, value management and innovation, procurement routes and implications, people dynamics, and factors that will affect the development of the Design Manager's role in the future, including BIM. It will ensure Design Managers understand the processes, tools and skills that are required to be successful in the role, and will assist them in delivering real value to complex construction projects.

Written for both the Design Manager practitioner and students on construction related degree courses, anyone interested in construction based design management will also find the book useful.

1

Introduction

The CIOB Design Manager’s Handbook

Design – ‘the art or action of conceiving of and producing a plan or drawing of something before it is made’.
Management – ‘the process of dealing with or controlling things or people’.

– Oxford Dictionary of English

Introduction

For as long as humankind has existed we have been making things. Someone has an idea, and then someone makes it. Different people might be involved at different stages.

This process of conceiving an idea, designing, planning and making something a reality has always been managed by someone, perhaps at first only intuitively. The master-builders of old had to provide information in some form at the right time for the craftsmen to carry out their work. The Pyramids, the Pantheon, the Acropolis, St Paul’s Cathedral – all required a designer, but also needed someone to convey and translate that information over to the craftsmen and builders.

Where there is a design process happening, a management process needs to be happening in parallel to enable the design to reach fruition successfully. However, sometimes this does not happen, because there is a vacuum through lack of recognition of the issues or through a lack of understanding or expertise.

There is a whole area of discussion around the necessity for a discipline or defined role of the ‘Design Manager’. Does a DMer add value to a project? Is this a new discipline, or is it a part or a subset of an existing skill set?

When design is happening as a process, then Design Management as an activity needs to take place. I will leave the discussion about who should do it until a little later!

I have found that there is too much focus on roles. If instead in looking at these we focus on activities – ‘What needs to happen?’, ‘Who is then best placed to do it?’ – that gives clarity to structuring an approach.

This Handbook is the culmination of several years’ work within the CIOB, principally within the Faculty of Architecture and Surveying. It is specifically written for those brave souls actually carrying out the DM role within the Construction and Built Environment Sector. You might be based on a construction site, or in an office working on tenders or pre-construction stages, or in a designer’s office or perhaps as part of a customer’s in-house team. You might be a young graduate just starting out on your first job, or someone much older and more experienced. Most of the terminology and perspective I have used derive probably more from a contracting viewpoint, which reflects my experience, so I make no apologies for that. Whatever your role is in the project team or that of your organisation, I am sure you will bump into a lot of this on a daily basis!

Nevertheless, whatever stage you’re at in your career, this Handbook is for you. I hope you will find it of use as an aide-memoire and that you will dip into it to see what the growth and development areas for DM in the future might be, as well as finding some ideas that will help in your daily job.

So … what is Design Management?

Definition

The CIOB DM working group, after much discussion, settled on the following working definition:

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A definition of Design Management – The Activity

Design Management includes the management of all project-related design activities, people, processes and resources:

• Enabling the effective flow and production of design information
• Contributing to achieving the successful delivery of the completed project, on time, on budget and in fulfilment of the customer’s requirements on quality and function in a sustainable manner
• Delivering value through integration, planning, co-ordination, reduction of risk and innovation
• Achieved through collaborative and integrated working and value-management processes.

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We need to recognise that all sorts of people now populate the territory of ‘Design’ – traditionally the realm of professional designers such as architects, technologists, and structural, civil and MEP services engineers. However, we have seen the rise of specialist subcontractor designers, particularly in the fields of cladding, building envelope design, MEP building services and latterly environmental technologies. Also there are the specialist consultants, such as those for planning, acoustics, environmental matters and so on. The finished design of any building project will be the result of the efforts of possibly hundreds of people involved at various stages. All of these people need leadership and co-ordination to achieve the end result. This is the stage on which DM performs.

So Who Is the Design Manager?

Traditionally the architects would have seen themselves as natural leaders of the project team, organising, co-ordinating and administering the contract – taking the brief from the customer, organising the team and leading the design and contract processes through to completion. However, as we know, on all but the simplest and smallest of projects, the process is no longer that simple!

Procurement of building projects has become more complex and technically demanding. It seems that at the drop of a hat, another specialism appears. The Quantity Surveyor, Project Manager, Construction Manager, CDM-C, Planning Consultant, Party Wall Surveyor and others all have to be integrated into the project delivery process. In this context, is DM simply just another ‘discipline’?

The role and activity of Design Management has gained ground and risen in profile, particularly through the widespread adoption of Design and Build-style procurement, and the rise of the specialist subcontractor. Is it significant that over this time span, as the education of the architect has moved into the realm of academia, the need for the DMer has emerged? Could there be a link? As a consequence of this shift in education and training, the architect’s influence on the design and construction processes has declined. The role of architects has become distanced from the actual process of building through the education process and a lack of practical experience and knowledge. Looked at in this way, the disconnect between design and construction is revealed and, strangely, it is precisely this ‘gap’ that the Design Manager can fill.

The professional designers such as architects and engineers are now incredibly reliant on specialist subcontractors to realise their visions. Much of the procurement process is about selection of the right supply-chain members with the necessary expertise to complete the design for manufacture, installation and construction. The supply-chain resources and expertise are marshalled by the main contractor, and within their team will probably be a Design Manager helping to manage and co-ordinate all these inputs.

Consumer Contractor

Several years ago, on a large commercial building project in central London, the client’s project manager explained it to me thus:

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‘As the main contractor, you are the consumer of the design information produced by the design team. Therefore it is appropriate that you (i.e. me!) manage the process.’

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So from that time on, I chaired all the meetings, produced the minutes, and followed up on the actions – he had a point!

Irrespective of how a project starts, the execution and delivery of the building phase will be led by the contractor, who carries most of the attendant risk. There is a strong argument for the contractor dictating the nature of the design process to enable information to be produced correctly and on time, and to ensure that the procurement and construction processes proceed as efficiently and economically as possible. I know that some designers will disagree, but rarely are designers exposed to anywhere near the magnitude of commercial risk to their business that contractors generally carry in the delivery process.

Perhaps the jury is still out on the matter, but I think over the last decade the pendulum has swung decisively in this respect. Most major projects are now delivered by contractor-led teams, supported by an army of specialists including designers and subcontractors. We have seen this particularly on public-sector frameworks and with major commercial-sector clients. I suspect it will be a long time before the pendulum swings back, if it ever does. Clients require certainty of delivery, in terms of time, cost and quality. Early engagement of the contractor in the process is one of the main ingredients in providing this certainty and reducing the client’s risk.

Project circumstances vary, but probably for a large proportion the DM role sits with the contractor. Whether this is a defined role, or part of, say, a project manager’s brief, is another discussion; but the role and the activity need to take place for the project to be successful. Certainly anecdotally, probably most ‘design managers’ in the UK are within contracting and supply-chain organisations.

Production of design information that is accurate, co-ordinated, buildable and in line with the budget is a mission-critical activity – so it is an activity that is probably best left in the hands of someone who understands the processes, the requirements and tools needed to deliver successfully. If the design fails at any stage for whatever reason, be it poor quality, late, over budget, etc., then the results of that failure will impact on the project delivery, sometimes with catastrophic effect.

Design Quality

Detractors of contractor-led delivery will cite the dumbing-down of design quality for design-and-build contracts. That opinion might have held some weight several years ago, but now there are numerous examples of high-quality buildings delivered through Design and Build-style procurement with leading architects as part of the team, and also those projects are winning design and industry awards in the process.

Sadly there are still exceptions, and usually they are the result of conflicting project drivers for the scheme. What is most important to the client? Finishing early, being under budget, or having a building designed with a world-class signature architect? In defining the parameters for delivering the project, sometimes something has to give and frequently the contractor, after a hard-won tender process, is the bearer of bad news on the cost plan!

Most major contractors are now exemplary in their approaches to corporate social responsibility, sustainability, the environment and health and safety. Indeed, they have to be, as these are frequently part of the scoring criteria for awarding contracts.

Where contractors perhaps need to step u...