Integrated Project Delivery - What Does That Mean to You?

[Aaron Bourgoin]

There's been a lot of Industry News lately talking about the Manufacturing Sector and their adoption of technologies around the concept of Project Data Management. Most of the respected "CAD" pundits talk of nothing else these days, but I wonder if the amount of column inches devoted to teh manufacturing sector is happening at the expense of a discussion about data management in the design and construction of buildings.

The A/E/C Economy touts BIM as its methodology of choice and this has recently evolved into a concept called Integrated Project Delivery.

IPD should have benefits for all the constituents of the Construction Economy - clients, designers, builders. The integration part of this is they key piece. The one that might actually see the sharing of data by all parties and in all phases of work.

Are PDM and IDP the same thing? Does one truly inform the other. Where do the parallels start and end?

I'd like to ask BDC as a Builder to start this thread by sharing what he has learned about IPD and to discuss what he/she she thinks needs to happen to bring this about.

Of course, I'd invite everyone else to weigh in on this topic as well.

[Anonymous]

Intergrated Practices are the future for Design Engineering and Construction. Fragmented data and file translations are the past.For me math based dynamic data analysis is an area I'm interested in and researching at the moment it should link into the 3d models at some stage but until then.Sorry,I cant say much more than that.
Cheers

[Anonymous]

I was having this discussion with the project manager on one of our jobs. I was telling him about "single purpose entities" which in the US is a legal entity that includes the client, the architect and all the engineers. People on this team are seconded to the SPE for work on the project. Data is shared on the same network.

The project manager with whom I was speaking said, they probably do that so that after the SPE is disbanded after the project, there's no one to sue (it's the US after all!). And I thought, oh yeah -- that.

So maybe it's about reducing liability during design, construction and occupancy. The lawyers cometh! Beware!

[Anonymous]

First of all - thank you, Aaron, for some of very interesting links you have posted recently.

Answering the topic you raised and first responses - sure, data exchange among all involved parties in all stages of project is a very important thing. Yet, it alone won't make Integrated projects happen. From mine as an architect perspective - for truly integrated project crucial is its vision. And then all involved human parties can shift their efforts to that direction with having more or less constraints.

Let me give two hypothetical examples. First one is the one, where vision is very much rooted in ambition, first of all - client's, then - architect's. There is some kind of crazy idea, and then it is only the question how to get there. The integrative character of project and its delivery lies in 1) in ability of consultants and others involved to support that vision and 2) architect's or leader's ability to push the boundary in the given support as far as possible.

The second example is much more modest and are much more rooted in constraints. The client is having some money for a building, yet not a penny more, and to fulfill this intent architect, consultants and contractor teams up. Architect is developing some ideas - how the program can be arranged in the given context, in the given land-usage constraints, is modelling it, and tossing it to the others. The others are giving their input too, f.e. constractors are saying something like - you know, steep roof is cheaper than horizontal, so why not change it? And possibly, architect makes it a bit more steep, so to save money that can be spend in public space, etc. Here the integrative character of project lies somewhere in "the middle".

Going back to the topic in this forum - I wish that the overall vision (which is evolving together with project) is clearly known to everyone involved. (And it can be documented and comunicated with some kind of software) Similarily the constraints from each one of the parties are easily transmitted to the others as well.

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Best wishes!
Zigurds.

[Anonymous]

Zigurds wrote:
Going back to the topic in this forum - I wish that the overall vision (which is evolving together with project) is clearly known to everyone involved. (And it can be documented and comunicated with some kind of software) Similarily the constraints from each one of the parties are easily transmitted to the others as well.

---
Best wishes!
Zigurds.

You are right it boils down to how the changing data is communicated and then documented to the team which includes the client.You incorrectly assume that the BIM software company will take responsibilities in the contract...hey mate they'll gladly take profits without responsibility.
Would you trust Autocad and Nemetschek with your business,they cant get the parametrics right how on earth are they going to do matrix calculations? Constraints are viewed as upper and lower boundaries
They are easily dealt with.

[Rob]

BDC...oh for god sake - the troll is back

guys do not answer this ... BDC is a well known troll on this forum.

[Anonymous]

Rob wrote:
BDC...oh for god sake - the troll is back

guys do not answer this ... BDC is a well known troll on this forum.

Well I was invited to comment,and unless you're got something to contribute then F.O. Talking about trolling get rid of that outfit,Dude.

[Aaron Bourgoin]

OK. Let's try again. BDC was invited to share his ex[ertise on a topic.

BDC. Over to you.

Again.

[Anonymous]

Aaron wrote:
OK. Let's try again. BDC was invited to share his ex[ertise on a topic.

BDC. Over to you.

Again.

Look you guys are the ones with the most to loose if there is no collaboration and sharing of data, and you can dig in and maintain the status quo and only Use the Architects Model and Data. As for Nemetschek they are wasting precious resources in pitting each program against each other. For what It's worth you need to watch out for Bentley their programes are very efficent in dealing with 3D data and intergrated disciplines(Sorry Im stating the obvious).I can keep going on about the 3D model,it is only a small part albeit important.but eventually it will be simplified/automated.(Rant)
Its not about me.

[Aaron Bourgoin]

Stop being so baffling. Good writing is done with an audience in mind and I wish I weren't compelled to say that you like to write solely for yourself.

I'm not anything but curious. And I have yet to understand how what you write here is germane to the question.