Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is structured around a highly collaborative team of owner, architect, contractor, and other key stakeholders. It promotes widespread collaboration, open sharing of project goals and risks, and maximizes the talents and insights of all participants. The result is increased value to the owner and reduced waste and inefficiencies throughout all phases of design, fabrication, and construction.

While some companies are already practicing some of the fundamentals of project integration, others are just getting started.  Regardless of how far along in the process a company is, simple steps can help facilitate the journey towards IPD.

Assemble the right team and foster an environment of collaboration. The fundamental principle of project integration dictates that the traditional method of “design- bid-build” be replaced with a team approach made up of all project stakeholders from planning to close-out.  To be effective, members of the team must commit to a true partnership that requires a higher degree of trust and engagement from not only the AEC team members, but also from the project owner/user/client.

Involve all key participants early on.  Early input from the construction manager and key trades greatly reduces the number and scope of design changes down the road. This small step saves money, increases the quality of the job, and shortens the construction schedule. Another time and cost-savings tip is to whenever possible share offices or “co-locate” with team members to reduce delays and accelerate decision-making.

Intensify planning with all participants – create team buy-in.  On one project, initiating a collaborative team that included the architect, the CM, the mechanical subcontractor, the electrical sub, and even the trades who were going to design the air handling unit onsite turned a typical seven month project into one that only took three and a half months. The team credits an organized plan that they created together, re-enforced through regular meetings and up-front problem-solving.

Communicate openly and frequently. The collaboration required by IPD depends upon direct, candid, and frequent communications between parties. It’s critical to ensure that all voices are heard, information flows easily, and disputes are resolved quickly.  Phone and E-mail contacts among participants serve a purpose, but nothing takes the place of regular face-to-face meetings, where parties can share information and ideas.

Upgrade your technology.  The ability to share data between stakeholders is essential to an integrated project team. Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows such as program validation, 4D scheduling, Micro and Macro system clash detection, Sustainability, and Operations and Maintenance, offer key benefits to the project team and ultimately owners.  BIM also provides the ability to warehouse data and design, a functionality that helps clients maintain the building over its lifecycle.

What are the concerns?  According to the AIA, a completely integrated project includes a contractual agreement to share risk and reward. Attorneys, risk management experts, clients, designers and contractors continue to struggle with the myriad of issues associated with such compensation structures.  Other issues arise from the use of BIM– Who owns the model? Which model controls? Who owns the data? Industry leaders are exploring solutions to these and other questions, as they pilot different business models to determine which offers the most potential.

What’s the future?  One of the greatest opportunities in project integration lies in sustainability. Teams can think about life cycle costing and energy use. Of course, in terms of cost, scheduling and quality benefits, the sky is the limit. If you can assemble the right team using the right technology, you can be smarter about design, engineering, waste management, and increase the predictability of projects.

Project integration is a path to the future of the construction industry. For those who have begun the journey, the rewards are already starting to pay off.