Engineered Systems - June 2008 - (Page 70)

What Can IPD Do For You? The value or cost of a decision should be known, even if the decision may be cost-neutral. n If the cost for a decision is not t d l mentioned, the normal assumption by all parties is that it is “free,” or that the owner e” does not care what the cost is and does not care how it might affect schedule or functional attributes already in place. A decision is never free and ii d always affects something, and the owner cares. analysis, and to create models and concepts as a guide to the design team so that plans can be accurately developed and maintained within budget. The steps essential to cost targeting are as follows. Cost benchmarking and modeling. Comparative analysis to understand, demonstrate, and receive consensus for the relationship of descriptive product and cost. Detailed quantification (with qualification). Using the resources of the entire team to qualify and quantify early and often on a project (with the owner involved). Quantify information in as detailed a manner as possible. This adds to the security of the cost model and to the decisions being made by the owner. Advanced value promotion. Using the cost targeting process to advocate assemblies, products, processes, and details by which to reach or maintain a budget. This requires a team approach. 4) INITIATE SYSTEMS INTEGRATION AND SPACE OPTIMIZATION (EARLY) Control of the project also comes from an early and thorough understanding of how systems must integrate at a detailed level. The integration must serve the basic principle of the functional activity, which is defined and described by the rooms within which activity takes place. Formerly, this activity was called generic functional work and patient work environments, but “room diagrams” seems easily understood. Room diagrams. The definition of the functional work environments is the basis for a complete understanding of the project. Programming and planning practices usually generate only listings of spaces which provide the risk of a communication gap that exists between design teams and users of the facility. Developing room diagrams, which depict floor plans and preferably all six surfaces, helps to clarify the functions, utilities, equipment, and furnishings used in the delivery of that function in that room. This is also an activity with which user groups are easily able to identify, and therefore, leads to more informative communications at an earlier stage for all parties. Equipment lists. The room diagram shows the equipment used while the equipment list tracks cost, utility, and other requirements 70 En gi neer ed Sy stem s June 2008 related to equipment in the room. This process helps clarify the work processes in the room and validates a functional understanding for the space. This also allows for quantification and a much better basis for an accurate project cost model. Fixture schedules and counts. As with equipment lists, fixture schedules and counts generated by the engineering disciplines helps the design and client team understand the functions in the room and in non-room environments (such as corridors). Fixture schedules and counts are vital to an accurate cost model. 5) UNDERSTAND AND EMBRACE DECISION MANAGEMENT Management of decisions is the heart of understanding how to manage a project or development program. As with the discussion on integrated processes, decision management is based on the ability to organize intellectual capital at the outset of the project: not later when problems arise. To influence decision management, there needs to be a simple understanding of decisionmaking. There are three components to decision making: memory, reasoning, and concept formation. To affect consensus and group decisionmaking that results in durable decisions, it is necessary to create common memory, common reasoning, and group concept formation. The following are thoughts on decisionmaking and decision management as it relates to this subject. Zone management. Very few people can easily remember more than a few categories of information, usually five at the most. A method is needed that builds common memory, categorizes information, and organizes it in a form that accommodates easy retrieval (no more than five categories). In health care, we divide the facility into five zones: inpatient, diagnostic and treatment, ambulatory, public and administrative, and support services. Each project has a zone leader who is responsible for each zone. Consequently, the zones are organized roughly in the same manner the user organization is organized, and this leads to better design team / user communication with regard to operations and issues. These zone leaders, usually with an assistant, provide the leadership for all programming and planning activities, including involvement and integration of the other team members, analysis of current operations, current net to gross, process mapping, development of all room diagrams, equipment lists, and fixture counts. Zone leaders also integrate and work with each other. As an example, the standard room diagrams for offices developed and maintained by the public and administrative zone leader (mostly office and conference environments) are the standard used by all zones that have office space. The same can be said of the zone leader for diagnostic and treatment, who develops imaging rooms and shares it with the ambulatory zone leader who needs X-ray rooms in the emergency department. An advance team for meeting organization and scheduling. It is both costly and an ineffective use of skill sets to ask architects and engineers to schedule their own meetings. Nor should meetings be scheduled on a regular basis without a decision management plan for the meeting. The organization of meetings should be managed on the basis of the decisions needed to move the project ahead. A team (advance team) of individuals (usually two) has been found to be very effective in scheduling and confirming detailed meetings between users and planners (zone leaders and zone planners).

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Engineered Systems - June 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Letters To The Editor Back2Basics HVAC Challenge Case In Point Commissioning Efficiency Incentives HydroTech Building Automation Energy Wiz HVACR Designer Tips Notre Dame Tackles the Heat State Of The Arts Time For A Transplant? Project Delivery: What Can IPD Do For You? Issues & Events Computers & Software Products Application Checklist Glossary Classifieds Advertiser Index Tomorrow’s Engineer

Engineered Systems - June 2008

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