Build Better Faster: 6 Ways Integrated Project Delivery Boosts Results and Cuts Costs in Construction

A CONSTRUCTION DIVE PLAYBOOK

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Construction companies constantly seek ways to improve project efficiencies and avoid cost and schedule overruns. Integrated proj-ect delivery (IPD), a proven practice employed in many industries, is emerging as a highly effective approach for reducing construction inefficiencies, labor and extra costs while boosting project outcomes.In a traditional design-bid-build arrangement, the developer/own-er hires an architect to produce a full set of construction plans and specifications. Then the owner solicits bids from general contractors for the project. In a design-build arrangement, the contractor has the lead role for design and project execution.

IPD takes quite a different approach. It involves the builder, architect and owner entering into a single contract, but the group also can in-clude engineers, large subcontractors and suppliers. Together, they determine the project’s objectives, goals and costs, as well as the stakeholders’ responsibilities, risk sharing and compensation.

IPD arrangements promote effective communication and collabora-tion among the builder, architect and owner, commencing at the early stages and continuing through to the project handover. Everyone in the group has incentives to do what’s best for the project, and in the end, the IPD stakeholders all reap the rewards of their robust teamwork.

What is IPD?

IPD Arrangements

Once the builder and architect are selected for the project, the group typically enters into an informal or a formal multi-party arrangement. In formal arrangements, stakeholders usually do one of two things:

• Form a limited liability company (LLC). All owners have “limited liability,” and usually are not personally responsible for debts and liabilities. LLCs also are more flexible than corporations because they aren’t bound by rigid rules.

• Sign an American Institute of Architects’ IPD document. The AIA offers three types of IPD agreements that allow for varying levels of project delivery. Agreements and downloadable documents are available here.

“IPD arrangements promote effective communication and collaboration among the builder, architect and owner, commencing at the early stages and continuing through to the project handover.

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6 Benefits of IPD Construction

Traditional construction projects can be fraught with issues, including, among other things, a “cheaper-is-better” mentality among general contractors bidding for the work, design change delays and added costs and debilitating conflict among the builder, architect and owner. IPD does away with those issues and many more, offering the project stakeholders a multitude of benefits.

Creates buy-in from all stakeholdersThe owner, architect and builder and possibly subcontractors offer ideas and opinions in the project’s early stages and together set objectives, goals, timetables and budgets. The stakeholders work closely and have buy-in right from the start. This team approach allows informed decision-making early in the project where the most value can be created.

Fosters collaborative decision-making IPD encourages open communication and shared decision-making because all team members are involved from the project’s inception and closely work together through the project handoff. It also reduc-es or eliminates conflict, lessens redundancies and optimizes efforts.

Likewise, IPD encourages creative approaches to addressing the owner’s needs and taps tradespeople’s skills and knowledge. The

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“It creates an emotional buy-in to meet key objectives.”Layne Thompson, vice president, Magleby Construction

IPD team typically comes together in charrettes to, among other things, develop design ideas, review the architect’s drawings and find innovative solutions to construction problems.

Generates jointly developed targets In an IPD agreement, the team develops plans, schedules, deadlines and details. The shared effort positively impacts the design and documentation, allowing for accelerated timetables because con-struction isn’t bogged down by change-order delays. This results in lower costs and a project within budget.

Offers fiscal transparencyIPD spawns an open environment that increases trust among the stakeholders and keeps contingencies visible and controllable. The arrangement also provides transparency for understanding cost decisions and for agile cost shifting.

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Thunder Spring, a luxury condo community in Sun Valley, Idaho, is a stellar result of IPD. Starting with a basic schematic design, the builder, architect and owner brought together their subcon-tractors and others in a charrette. During this gathering, the parties collaboratively worked out detailed plans, resolved conflicts and mapped out potential construction solutions.

“How often do your trade contractors get a vision of what the project will look and feel like before working on it? I’d guess not a lot,” Layne Thompson, vice president of Magleby Construction, the builder, said during a presentation. “By using tools and describing the vision, these guys got really excited about the project and bought into it.”

As a result of the charrette, all participants took “a greater owner-ship in the project,” Thompson said. “It creates an emotional buy-in to meet key objectives.”

CASE STUDY

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Reduces disputes and conflictIn design-bid-build or design-build projects, potential liability causes builders, architects and owners to control their communication with the others. In contrast, liability waivers in IPD arrangements reduce inter-team disputes and encourage the free flow of information and ideas that can lead to creativity, innovation and solutions to problems. Produces shared risks and rewardsAll team members are incentivized to reach common objectives and goals because they share risks and rewards. Each party’s success is tied to the performance of the others. For example, covering budget overages with each stakeholder’s overhead and profit is a shared risk, but if the project comes in under budget, the members may each receive a bonus.

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“All team members are incentivized to reach common objectives and goals because they share risks and rewards. Each party’s success is tied to the performance of the others.

Barriers to IPD Implementation

IPD offers builders, architects and owners the ability to produce exceptional project results while reducing schedule delays, cost overruns, conflicts and other issues often associated with design-bid-build and design-build projects. But despite its many benefits, IPD faces two main obstacles to widespread implementation in the construction industry:

New project model Unlike design-bid-build and design-build arrangements, IPD stake-holders engage before the designs are drawn and must work in con-cert through the project handoff. That’s a new way of thinking in an industry that has an aversion to change. However, builders, architects and owners that have taken the leap are touting their IPD successes.

Legal issuesBuilders, architects and owners unfamiliar with IPD may worry about the legal risks associated with the arrangement. However, a multi-par-ty contract that clearly outlines the project’s purpose and objectives mitigates the risks for all stakeholders.

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How the Nureva™ Span™ System Enables IPDMore ideas yield more possibilities. With the Nureva Span system, construction IPD teams can harness the creative energy of collabo-ration and ideate seamlessly alongside teammates on a shared dig-ital canvas. The Span system incorporates real-time input from team members working on their devices – whether they are in the same room or in another state.

The system offers builders, architects and owners a plethora of benefits: Enhances a proven ideation process Using the Nureva Span visual collaboration system, IPD teams move a familiar process of collaborating in meetings with sticky notes and flip charts into the digital age. The team can capture notes, documents, architectural designs and images, edit and manipulate them, and share, group and iterate them effortlessly. The Span system enables each team member to step back to see the big picture, where they can instantly review the completed components of the process and next steps of the project while expanding and adding to the canvas. “The Span system makes it easy for groups to amalgamate expertise from many contributors, stay on the same page amidst many moving parts and adapt to evolving project conditions,” says Nureva CEO Nancy Knowlton. “The freedom and flexibility it brings to proven collaboration processes make the system an ideal fit for cross-functional construction teams seeking to upgrade their approach via IPD and other new ways of working.”

“The Span system makes it easy for groups to amalgamate expertise from many contributors, stay on the same page amidst many moving parts and adapt to evolving project conditions.”Nancy Knowlton, CEO, Nureva

Puts walls to workThe Span system is available with an industry-leading 10' 2", 20' 2" and 30' 2" wide projected image with software that provides 40" by 4" of digital workspace. The display transforms any wall into a virtual playing field for idea exploration and document review, allowing for possibilities to unfurl, mushroom and merge.

Allows access through personal devices Content that’s contributed through a canvas can be easily edited and manipulated, and it incorporates real-time contributions from all team members – in the room or working remotely.

Span software is accessible on Chrome™ and Safari® browsers and as apps for iOS and Android™ tablets. This enables users to continue working on the shared canvas at any time.

Nureva recently launched the mobile Span MC306i visual collaboration system, which was purpose-built for Span software. The mobile Span system integrates a full HD 1080p solid-state, interactive projector and a IPD team member’s PC to transform almost any wall into a 6' 2" (1.88 m) wide interactive workspace. Two or three carts can be linked seamlessly together using Span software to produce 12' 4" and 18' 6" (3.76 m and 5.64 m) interactive digital workspaces.

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Makes it easy for all members to contribute IPD team members can contribute to the canvas anytime, from anywhere, and as often as needed. Working in the cloud, all members contribute in real time so the canvas always is up to date. Creativity and collaboration can be planned or ad hoc, and work is never lost. 

“This goes well beyond having someone broadcast their desktop while their colleagues watch,” says Nancy Knowlton. “The Span system enables groups to actively collaborate with virtually no obstacles – prepping contributions before a session or contributing in the moment, organizing and editing material together in real time, and continuing work outside of a group session as needed. It’s true, unrestrained teamwork regardless of location or time.”

Layne Thompson has worked on integrated construction projects for the past few years, and he’s sold on their ability to boost efficiencies, cut costs and save on labor that is in short supply in many areas.

Thompson, vice president of Magleby Construction, employed such a process on a large residential project in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, allowing the team to slash $1 million in budgeted costs.

Thompson, who likes to plaster his walls with sticky notes, says the Nureva Span system can help IPD teams collaborate more effectively, especially when team members aren’t local.

One Builder’s Viewpoint:How the Span system improves project outcomes

“So many times we are doing a project where an engineer is in another town,” says Thompson, whose firm was the NAHB’s custom builder of the year in 2006 and 2016. “With the Span system, they can participate remotely – that’s key.”

The builder also says that the system’s ability to project the architect’s 3-D model on one part of a wall and the engineer’s documents on another allows all team members to see how they work together, enabling collaborative ideas and solutions.

“In construction, there isn’t always a clear path to follow,” Thompson says. The Span system’s ability to “build a scrum atmosphere that shows ideas and tasks and what’s completed greatly helps the process.”

EducationBra nd St udio

Half of all states allocate higher education dollars based on student performance rather than full-time student enrollment. And, ac-cording to the National Conference of State Legislatures, another five states are transition-ing to performance-based funding models. In the past, colleges and universities simply had to enroll students to acquire state money, but today’s institutions are being asked to do

m o r e .Half of all states allocate higher education dollars based on student performance rather than full-time student enrollment. And, ac-cording to the National Conference of State Legislatures, another five states are transition-ing to performance-based funding models. In the past, colleges and universities simply had to enroll students to acquire state money, but

today’s institutions are being asked to do m o r e .Half of all states allocate higher education dollars based on student performance rather than full-time student enrollment. And, ac-cording to the National Conference of State Legislatures, another five states are transition-ing to performance-based funding models. In the past, colleges and universities simply had to enroll students to acquire state money, but today’s institutions are being asked to do m o r e .

Half of all states allocate higher education dollars based on student performance rather than full-time student enrollment. And, ac-cording to the National Conference of State

USING DATA TO GET STUDENTS ACROSS THE FINISH LINE

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Conclusion

IPD and the Span system – boosting collaboration and resultsIntegrated Project Delivery is a new way of thinking in the construction industry that’s producing impressive results. IPD promotes effective collaboration and cooperation among the builder, architect and owner, starting in the project’s early stages and continuing through its completion. Together, IPD team members determine goals, responsibilities, costs, risk sharing and compensation, and work collaboratively in charrettes on design ideas and construction solutions that reduce delays, overages and labor and buoy the end result.

The Nureva Span system allows IPD construction teams to collaborate at a whole new level – whether the members are in the same room or across the country. The system’s unique cloud-based technology boosts teamwork and idea generation during charrettes and meetings, helping the team deliver exceptional on-time, within-budget projects.

Together, IPD and the Span system offer the construction industry a new, exciting way of building, and they are delivering impressive outcomes for the builder, architect and owner.

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About NurevaNureva Inc. develops collaboration solutions where content-rich ideation and problem-solving can flourish. The company focuses on delighting customers with simple, thoughtful hardware, software and services. A passion for deep customer understanding and a com-mitment to innovation drive the company’s product road map. For more information, visit www.nureva.com.

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