The Enterprise F25 April 29, 2019 CONSTRUCTION Overcoming Old Habits Contractors are getting past decades-old process models and bringing construction tech in-house Beyond a set of project drawings fewer change orders. And because of revealing the signifi cant upward trend creasingly, pressure was placed on the created by the design team, there is a this, opportunities abound for those of in-house construction design, the construction team for cost and sched- second set of construction designs that who hold an evolved vision of design market will soon demand widespread ule overrun. As a result, construction are rapidly changing the way commer- coordination, including contractors and adoption. Contractors with solid VDC teams began to use models to coordi- cial building projects are being man- architects already poised to provide in- experience under their belts are well- nate and lay out projects so that build- aged — and it may surprise tegrated VDC services to their positioned to deliver higher-quality ing systems were constructible before some to learn that these com- clients. projects with record speeds. fabricating any systems. Eventually, plementary plans are coming Addressing a Problem How We Got Here top contractors began providing coor- from contractors’ in-house Because contractor tech- In the early 2000s, early versions dination services to effi ciently man- tech experts. nology has rapidly advanced of design software were introduced age the process and act as a liaison Virtual design construc- over the past several years, it which — for the fi rst time — allowed between the construction team and the design team of record (architects and tion (VDC) departments are MARK has outpaced a decades-old buildings to be designed in a true 1:1 the modern builder’s not-so- DECKER process model. At issue are scale in three dimensions. As design engineers), creating some responsibil- secret weapon in the war on veteran decision-makers that workfl ows evolved, better visibility of ity tensions. construction ineffi ciencies, tend to hold on to long-stand- design intent and spatial layout be- By 2012, model usage was nor- and partner roles are beginning to react ing practices and an employment mar- came available and coordination issues malized and effi ciencies were made to the addition of this modern tech. ket that is beginning to fi ll with tech- began to become obvious. Because the that allowed contractors to use the Historically speaking, roles were savvy VDC practitioners. software was fi rst used to replicate the design team’s model to fabricate the kept in completely separate lanes — it Complicating matters even fur- same workfl ows and management prac- building system. But even with a more were architects and engineers who de- ther, contracts and fee structures are tices of the past, it created system-spe- streamlined process, inherent prob- signed and contractors who built. How- not yet routinely adapted to fully real- cifi c, scaled drawings from the model lems arise when contracts, developed ever, with development op- from decades-old practices, portunities and construction still separate design from con- pressures at an all-time high, struction. a 2019 survey from the Asso- Going 3D in a 2D World ciated General Contractors of Currently, contractors are still America (AGC) and the FMI seeing mechanical engineer- Corp. shows an accelerating ing plans and subcontractor trend toward contractors han- shop drawings submitted in dling and overseeing certain 2D. To solve this issue with design elements in response minimal budget increase, tech- to the speed and complexity savvy contractors are lean- needed to meet developers’ ing on software that provides expectations. In fact, survey layered markups and custom- numbers reveal that more column features to integrate than 43 percent of contractors the varying levels of informa- are ramping up to perform tion modeling used across a design work in-house — a 5 construction project. In addi- percent increase from 2018 tion to harnessing the power — with another 25 percent of software to handle complex stating they are considering integration and communica- making this change “soon.” tion between multiple stake- Adding Value holders in real time, contrac- The risk-mitigation value tors are using tech to leverage of VDC technology is prov- their own 3D VDC data with ing to be a golden opportunity — aid- ize VDC’s advantages while manag- but referenced other building systems the 2D data provided by their subcon- ing contractors in expediting devel- ing its costs. Currently, design teams as simple 2D overlays. No effort was tractors. opment and fabrication, just as our who don’t account for modern reali- placed on using the tool to better col- This coordination effort allows industry struggles to adapt to tighter ties can hide behind contracts that have laborate and lay out building systems subcontractors to confi dently prefabri- schedules, smaller budgets, higher-tol- not included design-confl ict resolu- which needed to be routed to fi t within cate building systems off-site, result- erance building systems and a shrink- tion. This can give a temporary, false the building’s 3D space. Instead, tradi- ing in quicker installation and safer, ing labor force. More is being done by sense of comfort to owners and pushes tional and uncoordinated 2D drawings less-congested construction sites and fewer people, and at a faster pace than the responsibility of unintended design were produced and the coordination more on-time deliveries. Additionally, ever before — which without VDC, confl icts downstream to contractors to responsibility was passed on to the con- by uploading documents to 2D-3D can result in reduced quality of work. resolve later. struction team as “means and meth- coordination software, construction There are enormous benefi ts as- With owners and builders catch- ods.” teams are able to speed up concrete sociated with VDC’s high-tech tools. ing on to the disadvantages of build- What followed were change orders, work and start rough-ins earlier. VDC’sHale predictive Center infrastructureTheatre in Sandy clash- ing without VDC coordination, such needed to resolve many of the prob- detection consistently produces a issues are likely to be less well-hidden lems inherent to the design — changes see HIGH TECH page F26 higher-quality result with impressively in the future. And with survey numbers that cost the owner time and money. In- F26 · April 29, 2019 · FOCUS: Construction · The Enterprise - Utah's Business Journal HIGH TECH from page F25 The Future: Design-Build More and more, knowledgeable developers and owners are turning to a modern construction solution for effi ciencies and quality known as “design-build.” It’s a process that starts with an updated contract struc- ture which favors the idea that de- sign coordination responsibilities are best managed, for the benefi t of all, by the construction team. This bet- ter allows for the construction budget and schedule to manage the com- plete building process, while experts from both the design and construc- tion worlds are better utilized at the correct time, and coordination issues are addressed when most effi cient for owners. While some contractors may feel like design-build is a forced marriage between the designer and contrac- tor, corporate risk directors believe today’s contractors have little choice but to embrace it. Design-build is here to stay, they say, because own- ers like it. While acknowledging that fact, experts advise owners to look for contractors with high-tech, integrated design experience. “A contractor needs to be a strong leader, and learning that role takes time,” said Kristin Hill, director of educational programs for the Lean Construction Institute. She notes that leading an integrated construction design process demands a culture of commitment and trust that isn’t devel- oped overnight. Additionally, other experts agree that builders should expect their in- house design capabilities to evolve to keep pace with the changing construction environment, and that design-build is an iterative process that will spin unless contractors have the right information that best comes from VDC knowledge and planning. Outlook Because collaboration is fun- damental to the design-build deliv- PRODUCTION-CLASS BULLIES. ery model, it’s not a surprise that the 2019 AGC/FMI survey found com- munication and oversight to be the Our heavy equipment is backed by more than just dealers stocked with tools, parts, and technicians. prime motivators for contractors add- It’s also backed by 24/7 factory tech support, regional parts depots, prioritized case handling, JDLink™ ing in-house design. machine-monitoring technology, and a ReLife Plus program to add extended life to your Deere As construction continues to heat machines. Get your hands on big iron that will handle the biggest of jobs, call us today. up this year, it will become increas- ing obvious that builders who are prepared to lead with integrated tech tools will consistently outperform those still trying to catch the con- struction tech wave sweeping our in- dustry. COLORADO - WYOMING - UTAH - IDAHO Mark Decker is a 12-year design and con- struction veteran who leads Jacobsen Con- 1-800-646-6636 www.Honnen.com struction Co.’s VDC department. His latest area of focus is holistic software that docu- ments best workfl ow coordination. The Enterprise - Utah's Business Journal · FOCUS: Construction · April 29, 2019 · F27 F28 · April 29, 2019 · FOCUS: Construction · The Enterprise - Utah's Business Journal ENGINEERING FIRMS Ranked by Number of Licensed Engineers List Development Laneace Gregersen | [email protected] Company Name Phone Owner/Top Address Web Services Offered Notable Utah Projects 2018 Executive No. UT Licensed No. UT Licensed Engineers No. Graduate Engineers No. of Utah Employees Civil, structural, Ensign Engineering & Land Surveying UVU Performing Arts, Pluralsight Offi ce, Rome LDS Temple, 801-255-0529 surveying, water, 10000 S.