Design Assist

There is a term out there that I think very well defines PDMi as a firm: "Design/Assist". The term came from a seminar about managing and leveraging information needed to design and construct buildings through the use of Data Bases and 3D Modeling. As part of the seminar, the presenter talked about the three standard project delivery methods: Design-Bid-Build, Construction Management, and Design/Build. PDMi lives within one of those methods in every project that we do. The presenter went on to say professional firms do not build, but assist the owner and contractor in the successful completion of building their facility projects.

In reflecting on the topics of managing and leveraging information from the seminar, my mind keeps going back to the delivery method discussion and the idea that we assist in the building process by using data bases and 3D modeling to communicate the design information to the owner and contractors. Project Design & Management, Inc. is committed to Assist our clients during:

• Site Selection - We are not Real Estate Brokers, but we understand the real estate market and can assist in site selection, zoning/regulation requirements, and return on investment analysis.

• Planning - Our 3D modeling process assists our clients in visualizing the plan. Projects are not built in 2D so why would you plan them in 2D.

• Detailed Design - As licensed professionals, our detailed documents assist the contractor in translating the plan into a tangible facility.

• Construction - We are not contractors, but our knowledge and respect for construction assists the contractor during the building process.

If we can "Design/Assist" your next Facility project give us a call; we are ready and willing to be of service.

Things I should have known yesterday…

Several years ago we were in the process of planning a warehouse expansion for a long time client. Over the course of several months we had interacted with the building owner and tenant to determine the building size, height, column spacing and racking layout. Then just as we were wrapping up the planning phase and getting started on the construction document phase, the tenant’s safety group got involved. They requested a pedestrian walkway alongside the fork truck aisles, which caused some major changes. Unlike Adam Sandler in the movie “The Wedding Singer”, no one was mad about the last minute addition to the design criteria, but it did put a kink in the planning process. In reality, this happens somewhat regularly in the design world. It’s rare that our first set of planning documents translates to match the final construction documents.

There are many thing we have found to be true about planning, designing and constructing new facilities and additions to existing facilities, two of them are…

• “Sequence Matters”. When projects are planned, then designed/engineered, then constructed you end up with a successful project. When those three functions are done out of sequence, the project struggles, the stakeholders get frustrated and budgets are affected.

• “Scope x Quality = Budget”. This formula never fails. On any project you can control a max of two of the factors in the equation (not all three) and someone else will control the third. The game is to be sure you are always controlling two of the factors. We talk about this formula often because it is such an important thing to keep in perspective.

The “Things I Should Have Known Yesterday” items can affect both schedule and cost. Give us a call and we will help you identify scope items early and establish workable solutions.

Good Documentation

We are in the process of doing a space planning project for an ongoing client. They have purchased an existing building that actually came with a set of the original blue prints (that almost never happens!). The issue is that there have been several internal renovations done over the years and no one documented the changes. We are now tasked with surveying the existing building and putting together an accurate set of existing documents so that we can effectively complete the space planning. This is an example of doing a set of “As-Builts” well after the fact. Had the previous owner documented the renovations “yesterday”, it would be easier to do planning “today”.

Both space measurement and “As-Built” documents are very important components to the building renovation process. Space measurement normally occurs early in the project in order to establish existing layouts, wall locations and overall building size. “As-Builts” are normally done when a project is completed to document exactly what was built, as it may differ from the original construction documents. Having good documentation is key to any successful project. It can come in the form of space measurement up front or “As-Built” documents at the end, but either way it’s important.

If you’d like to know more about good documentation, give us a call. We’d be happy to help you with all of your planning and design needs.