design and construction teammates committed to an integrated partnership.
Once the team is in place, owners must
empower the core team to make quick
decisions without reliance on external
departments or unnecessary bureaucratic
delay. It’s essential the owner is given adequate information to enable quick go/no-go
decisions so the process keeps moving. The
design and construction teams must have
dedicated, “hands-on” personnel. They provide real-time feedback on design, cost and
schedule issues as the project progresses.
John Fitzpatrick, PE, Senior Director, Fa-
cilities for the Jackson Laboratory, describes
our recent collaboration: “Challenges
throughout the fast-track multi-package
CMR (Code of Maine Rules) project were
faced head on by the entire project team
by quickly identifying issues, developing
a range of potential solutions and quickly
making a decision allowing progress to
continue unimpeded.”
Especially on complex lab projects, deliv-
ery is only successful through a well-integrat-
ed team.
PREPARE A SOLID SCHEDULE
In a fast-track process, the project team
must recognize the schedule frequently
drives the decision-making process. Designers must understand the schedule may limit
design alternatives and material selections.
Construction managers must be prepared
to hire major subcontractors and vendors
in non-traditional procurement options.
In order to make these determinations, the
project’s master schedule must include all
key design deliverable dates, permitting
review periods, procurement lead times
and construction durations that drive the
project’s critical path.
By: Steve Gurtel, Senior Project Manager,
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. and
Stephen Palumbo, AIA, LEED AP (BD+C),
Tsoi/Kobus & Associates
When done right, fast-track con- struction delivery methods can bring enormous benefits to the
owner and the entire project team. They
can significantly reduce the overall project
design and construction schedule. Poor
execution of a fast-track project will most
certainly lead to problems, cost overruns,
adversarial relationships and schedule
delays.
The reason for selecting a fast-track
delivery for a project is often because a
fixed deadline exists that makes traditional
delivery methods impossible. But there are
also other reasons an owner may want to
accelerate the schedule. Regardless of the
ultimate reason, the methodology to ensure
a successful project isn’t so obvious and
can pose significant challenges to the entire
project team.
How do you balance schedule, budget
and quality? Below are key decisions and
processes that should be understood by any
owner contemplating fast-track delivery.
Many of these ideas were instrumental
in the successful, on time and on budget
completion of our recent work at The
Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine,
a collaborative design partnership between
Centerbrook Architects & Planners and
Tsoi/Kobus & Associates.
WHY GO FAST-TRACK?
In the post-recession period of the past
four to five years, more and more owners
insist on accelerated schedules. Institutions
that needed to delay execution of important
projects in 2008 to 2010 are pressured to
“reel in” the delays, and fast-track is often
the solution. Others see a competitive advantage in improving their speed-to-market
to establish or increase their foothold in an
emerging field. Finally, some are attempting
to reduce escalation of construction costs
in a now-growing market or eliminate the
“lost profit” of uncompleted, revenue-gen-erating facilities.
SELECT THE RIGHT TEAM
Every project needs a good team, but the
fast-track process elevates the requirements
for collaborative teamwork. The most
important first step after deciding on a fast-
track methodology is selecting experienced
It’s essential that the construction man-
ager expands and develops an extremely
detailed schedule very early in the design
process—often with little or no informa-
tion—based on prior experience on similar
fast-track projects. This schedule is then
used to drive decisions, and the entire team
must commit to meet or beat the required
dates. During construction, knowledgeable
design and owner representatives must
commit to being at the project site, with
the authority to make confident and timely
decisions.
Keys to success:
• Reframe the instinctive fear of “speed”
as a necessary and helpful boundary
of creativity and innovation. There’s
nothing quite like a looming deadline
to focus a team’s efforts on a collective
goal.
• Establish a working group of the entire
owner/architect/contractor team early
in the process. The owner team must be
inclusive of both executive-level “
strategic” thinkers and technically focused
users to provide the breadth of perspective needed for quick decisions. In the
absence of existing users for a future
facility, select a group of “surrogates” to
act on their behalf.
• Don’t sacrifice design quality. Fast projects need not be reduced to a rectangular box with no visual impact. It may
help achieve the schedule, but likely will
run counter to other equally important
project goals.
• Make the design comfortable—not in
the sense of color tones or soft furniture (which is always a good idea);
BIM Model of The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine. Images: Whiting-Turner Construction
Company