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Much is said about integrated project delivery’s (IPD) dependence on greater transparency, information sharing, accountability and use of building information modeling. While culture and contracts play huge roles in promoting the ideals of IPD, technology has a big part to play, too. The following three thumbnail case studies illustrate how using the right technology is critical for successful IPD.

Case 1: Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Orlando, Fla.
Approach to IPD: Colocate project data for transparency and seamless information sharing
Just as colocation of IPD team members facilitates quick answers to questions, colocation of project information facilitates quick access to shared resources. Joint access makes it possible for team members to search, find and act upon data without going through the steps of asking, waiting and receiving data. The transparency afforded by simplifying the permissions model benefits everyone on the project.

For example, RLF Inc. and Ellerbe Becket have entered into a joint venture to design and provide construction phase services a new Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Orlando, Fla. They created shared file servers where team members save all project data, and have extended domain access and user permissions appropriately. This approach can benefit any project delivery model, but it requires trust in your partners, which is an intrinsic expectation of IPD.

What’s more, colocation of data can be beneficial even in those instances when it’s impractical or just not cost effective to physically colocate team members.

Whether the project data itself is on a public or private cloud versus a domain file server is irrelevant as long as the user experience is close to that of a local area network.

Because different RLF/Ellerbe Becket JV team members use different software tools and follow varied organizational conventions for files and folders, the common location removes confusion and simplifies the finding of information by using Newforma’s project information management (PIM) software.

A PIM solution can also facilitate team members’ ability to file email with project documents, exchange large files, manage action items and search for information. It makes project information a shared resource for the entire team, creating less dependency on the person who originated the information.

Case 2: Children's Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Center in Bellevue, Wash.
Approach to IPD: Manage information about the model for more productive BIM
BIM and IPD go hand-in-hand. The models created from the BIM process are great repositories of information about the physical structure being designed or built. What these models do not do well is capture and organize the discussions and decisions that led to designing the model in its current form. Here again, PIM software has a key role to play.

PCS Structural Solutions, for example, uses Revit Structure for BIM and PIM software to help with the quality assurance process for ensuring models are reviewed internally and coordinated with others.

Let’s say a project manager needs to revise the structural plan, as PCS did in a recent IPD collaboration with NBBJ on the Children's Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Center in Bellevue, Wash. Rather than print and mark up two or three drawings to identify the necessary changes, the project manager simply marks up a screen capture of the model itself.

Newforma Project Center, the brand of integrated PIM software used by PCS, includes a snapshot tool that can capture views of the models. During IPD coordination meetings, project managers and principals can quickly mark up these views electronically and have them automatically retained as a part of the record of requested changes. These records are used by the BIM design team to incorporate into the models and provide a checklist for the model quality assurance.

PIM software also permits PCS to maintain a log of email exchanges, which remain one of the primary means of documenting design decisions. With PIM, this record of decisions can be easily accessed, should any questions arise at a later date.

Case 3: Various projects
Approach to IPD: Use lean construction methods to foster accountability
Applying principles promoted by the Lean Construction Institute, Boulder Associates recently completed a $4 million medical imaging center in 85 percent of the time originally scheduled. Boulder Associates’ adoption of lean principles fosters the accountability that’s vital to successful IPD.

Lean construction hinges on the concept of Last Planner, which holds that the people doing the work are best qualified to schedule their work. Boulder Associates uses Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets and Newforma Project Center software for PIM to capture and track team members’ commitments:

1. Boulder Associates uses the spreadsheet to capture commitments in meetings.
2. Team members import the spreadsheet into Newforma’s PIM software to sort and manage data.
3. At the next meeting, data is exported into another spreadsheet and commitments are reported.

Following this process mitigates waste, avoiding overproduction and rework.

Summary:
Culture, contracts and computing software
Transparency, information sharing, accountability and effective use of BIM are essential components of a successful IPD project. But these results don’t just happen because all parties agree that they’re worthwhile. It takes innovative technology that can help IPD teams constantly evolve their work processes to help facilitate those desired results.

Newforma Project Center arose as the result of extensive discussions among architects, engineers, builders and software designers. However, the industry is constantly changing, as IPD attests. Software developers like Newforma are engaging in ongoing conversations with IPD thought leaders such as the above-mentioned firms to make sure that the capabilities of PIM software continue to develop in step with evolving approaches to IPD.

About the companies cited
RLF Inc. is a nationally recognized architecture, engineering and interior design firm located in Winter Park, Florida, serving the regional, national and international community. (www.rlfae.com)

Ellerbe Becket is a 100-year-old architecture, interiors and engineering firm with offices in five offices in the United States and two offices in the Middle East. (www.ellerbebecket.com)

PCS Structural Solutions is a single-focus specialist in structural engineering for buildings. The firm maintains offices in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. (www.pcs-structural.com)

NBBJ is a global architecture, planning and design firm with offices in Beijing, Boston, Columbus, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Shanghai. (www.nbbj.com)

Boulder Associates Architects, based in Boulder, Colorado, specializes in healthcare and senior living architecture and design. (www.boulderassociates.com)

About the author
Jim Forester, P.E., is a co-founder of Newforma Inc. As a senior technical advisor, Forester works closely with customers to optimize their business processes. He has contributed data modeling and engineering domain expertise to the International buildingSMART community since its inception, and remains active in industry organizations, including the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the America Society of Mechanical Engineers. Forester holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UCLA.