By Kerri Souilliard, The NEBB Professional — Q4 2018
First introduced in the 1990s and later trademarked in the year 2000, the integrated project delivery (IPD) process was originally devised to empower owners, incentivize lower project costs, increase transparency across the project team, and enhance overall project value. Like any new and unfamiliar method in the traditional world of construction, IPD adoption rates by both owners and contractors were initially slow, as it took time to gain widespread recognition, and much of the industry had yet to be educated on what it was.
However, taking certain construction industry statistics into account, there is no question that a better way to execute projects was desperately needed. In 1998, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published a now popular statistic stating construction was the only major non-farming industry to show a decrease in productivity over a thirty-year period. According to an article in The Economist in 2000, those inefficiencies, mistakes, and delays account for almost one-third of the total dollar amount spent on construction in America each year.
Through the help of multiple task forces, including parties from all phases of a project lifecycle, options for tackling this extreme level of waste through transforming project delivery were investigated across the industry. From design to construction to maintenance and operations, each of those groups discovered, in some form or another, that an integrated, team-based approach aligning interests and objectives for the greater good of a project outcome as a whole was a viable solution.
The Intentions of IPD
According to the American Institute of Architects (AIA), IPD is a project delivery approach that integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a process that collaboratively harnesses the talents and insights of all participants to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste, and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication, and construction.
Typically, IPD works best with projects that are large, complex, or repetitive—or any combination of the three. Respectively, this is due to the long-standing relationships needed for larger projects with a longer duration, the unified team effort and problem-solving capabilities required for complex projects, and the ability to produce consistent—or improved—results with a repeat team and existing knowledge of one another’s strengths. Bill Edwards, President and Chief Engineer of MESA3 adds, “We see it a lot in labs and data centers. The pharmaceutical and mission-critical industries have been utilizing IPD for some time.”
A true IPD job is one that works to establish time savings, enhance quality, and lower risk—benefits that are not only advantageous to the owner but to the entire project team. In the best cases, IPD projects lead to the implementation of lean methods, innovative outcomes, and a better project experience for all. In more cases than not, IPD projects are a breeding ground for new ideas and a place to find some of the most progressive players in the industry.
“Owners that choose IPD are generally more open-minded, which leads to a more progressive project team,” states Jim Whorton, NEBB President-Elect and Vice-President of ViroCon, Inc.
For nearly two decades, forward-thinking owners, architects, engineers, and contractors have been working in the IPD realm, but what about those that provide services like commissioning and testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB)? As a NEBB Commissioning or TAB Certified Professional, what opportunities for involvement in IPD should you expect?
For starters, the capacity in which commissioning and TAB professionals are invited to participate in IPD may vary slightly from the typical IPD experience of other trades. Commissioning and TAB contractors might not be selected by the owners, like some other partners are, but will instead work directly for the general contractor or mechanical contractor.
Likewise, most project team members sign a multi-party contract, such as an integrated form of agreement (IFOA) or profit-sharing contract, to ensure potential risks—as well as incentives in the case of effective teamwork to cut project costs and schedule—are distributed across the team. Unlike most project team members, it is somewhat rare for a commissioning or TAB contractor to sign a multi-party agreement.
Early Involvement to Deliver Valued Input
Two of the many pillars of success for an IPD project are early involvement of key partners and early goal definition. As a commissioning or TAB provider, you will be brought in much earlier than in a traditional project setting and heavily relied upon to deliver input during the design phase.
“The IPD process does require a greater engagement by the NEBB professional early in the project. This should be part of the contract negotiation so that you have the time and fee available to ‘consult’ with the design and construction teams during those parts of the project in which the NEBB professional – especially in the TAB and commissioning disciplines – may not normally be engaged,” mentions Jerry Bauers, P.E., NEBB Marketing Chair and Vice President of NV5.
“It may seem like IPD causes higher TAB fees, and therefore project costs, because of the time and fees required for initial, frequent meetings—But these discussions occur when issues are easy to fix. If TAB finds one issue to correct early on, compared to 50 instances of that one issue after once it is installed, overall project costs and schedule time are both reduced,” Whorton adds.
In its published guide to IPD, the AIA suggests, “Where quantitative criteria are used, the closeout procedures should be determined during the process design. Specific commissioning protocols and calculations should be developed during project design.”
“Both TAB and commissioning providers—whether working in traditional TAB, fume hood, clean room, or other discipline-specific processes—are particularly well suited to advise the team on sequences of construction that facilitate early and effective system testing and adjustments to perform in accordance with the IPD team’s expectations. We can influence both construction schedule and sequence by collaboratively identifying the benefits that other parties to the process will accrue if the work is completed in a way that promotes a patient and disciplined start-up process,” Bauers continues.
By collaborating with the other parties that make up the project team, the TAB and commissioning providers’ assistance in defining the conditions of satisfaction for the owner is essential.
“According to CA building codes, codified in 2013, a commissioning agent is required to be hired by the owner and publish the owner project requirements document, as well as review basis of design from the architect before the design is released,” comments Operations Manager and Principal Engineer of Pragmatic Professionals Engineers Sargon Ishaya, P.E. “On a biotech job I experienced, the commissioning agent was actually part of contract agreement due to their role in ensuring the design met owner requirements.”
Building Trusted Relationships
Regardless of your role, before an IPD team is able to act as a cohesive unit focused on identifying and achieving the owner’s goals, trust comes into play. Without trust, a true IPD environment where all are free to share ideas and thoughts—without fear of criticism or backlash from a partner concerned only about their own bottom line—is not possible.
“There are a few simple but important components to trust—honesty, reliability, and respect. We build trust in the IPD environment by being a proactive team member with a positive attitude. Both positivity and negativity can spread like wildfire in a collaboration effort—we prefer the positive approach,” says Tyler Hall, Director of Commissioning at Atlantic Testing and founding member of NEBB’s Young Professionals Network Ad Hoc Committee.
Combine those traits with a little humility and a consistent effort to get to know your peers, and trust is easy to establish across the IPD project team. Oftentimes, it is the result of building key partnerships off-site that leads to improved trust on-site during project meetings.
“It’s important to eat together once per week and go out maybe one night each month (to a ball game, hockey, whatever) to build friendships and comradery. Team members should not be self-seeking and should have an air of unpretentious confidence. Be humble enough to not get offended if someone points out an issue with your work,” states Ishaya.
Open Communication to Enhance Problem Solving
With increased trust comes better communication. Barriers, like fear of offending another party by pointing out key issues in their work or a partner’s over-the-top assertiveness simply to prove his own worth, quickly become non-issues. With trusted relationships, the IPD Big Room—a collocation environment that supports brainstorming and innovation—becomes a much more informal setting, facilitating solution-oriented exchanges that allow all parties to actively solve problems for the sake of the project as a whole.
“Feeling more comfortable asserting operational and commissioning expertise goes back to the comfort of the IPD environment—a place with no judgement, where it feels like a peer is talking versus someone pointing out issues or critiquing. It’s more conversational and solution-oriented. In IPD, the team has more respect for your area of knowledge. Even supers for the GC felt easy to talk to and receptive to suggestions,” Edwards points out.
In comparing the IPD environment to that of a more traditional delivery method, Hall mentions, “The primary difference we have seen is improved workflows through enhanced communication. There is an emphasis on working as a team in lieu of one party solely taking the lead role. From the owner to the subcontractor of a subcontractor, team members collaborate and improve productivity by systematically planning and executing tasks throughout the construction process. With the focus IPD has on team collaboration, addressing issues early is simplified with the established communication protocols.”
Advanced Technology and Streamlined Planning
Once early involvement leads to delivering valued design input and trusted relationships pave the way to better communication, it’s time to focus on the cutting-edge components of the IPD environment: the utilization of appropriate tools and technology and intensified planning.
Each IPD project team selects different technological tools based on availability and project requirements, but building information modeling (BIM) is almost always preferred. BIM not only has the capability to show a project before it is built on-site, but it also allows for the proper planning of different trades’ work with clash detection visualizing issues prior to installation.
“BIM has proven to be fantastic for improving workflows and reducing issues prior to construction. We review and identify installation conflicts and maintainability issues before systems even arrive on-site. Additionally, web-based file sharing technology has monumentally improved the collaborative process,” defines Hall.
NEBB Vice President-Elect and Vice President of Fisher Balancing Jeffrey Schools agrees, “BIM allows trades to pull in information and changes as they occur. It also helps with having a final ‘as built’ drawing.”
As IPD projects tend to dedicate more time to the design and planning stages, the goal is to shorten and increase productivity during the costlier construction stage. Pull-planning, or reverse scheduling, is another popular IPD tactic for increased efficiency. Edwards explains, “We had post-it notes all over the walls, moving their order, as we jointly planned out when we needed to start worrying about this or that. The way we laid out the tasks in the IPD environment, working together with everyone’s ideas and opinions, helped ensure a better workflow and productivity for the project.”
Mutual Benefits and Rewards
At its core, the success of IPD relies on several different partners of varied skillsets and experiences, working as a single, collaborative unit to share information, ideas, and expertise in a way that yields innovation and betters the project outcome as a whole. This integrated effort clearly produces benefits for the project and its owners, but it is most valuable because it offers mutual benefits and rewards to all involved.
Ishaya notes, “From an engineering perspective, the IPD process is helpful because you can talk to commissioning and find out what they’re going to be checking. You know what’s on the test or what the hot buttons are, so you prepare and know you’re meeting owner’s needs ahead of time.”
As a commissioning or TAB provider, the IPD setting is like a breath of fresh air just by knowing that the entire project team values—and encourages—your input. That early involvement leads to the enormous benefit of proactive problem-solving and project planning, meaning you do not have to scramble to fix others’ mistakes at the end of the project.
“During a commissioning level design review, we discovered an issue where a boiler’s heating capacity was designed for 25 percent of the total system load. Had we not been involved early and found this simple typo prior to the contract documents being finalized for construction, there would have been significant thermal comfort issues, delays in project schedule, and an expensive change order,” describes Hall.
“We were able to identify by the drawings, submittals, and sequence of operation that a negative space would have never been able to control to its design pressure. Changes were made early, so the room was able to perform as intended,” Schools recalls. “When we came to the end of the project, there were very few open items that had to be closed out. As the end date approached, we met in person or by teleconference to make sure everyone closed out their outstanding issues—with a week to spare,” Schools continues.
The bottom line is that the IPD process produces better project outcomes that meet owner expectations, lead to superior project turnover, and improve savings and schedule while offering a better project experience to all members of the project team. As Whorton notes, “It’s a big deal to get all these people together—97 percent of the time, you don’t get this chance on projects.”
