An Architects Guide to Construction 141204-2 copy

An#Architect's#Guide#to#Construc1on#2#Tales#
from#the#Trenches#
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Copyright#2014#Brian#Palmquist# 1#
DECEMBER 5, 2014
BRIAN PALMQUIST
ARCHITECT AIBC MRAIC INTL ASSOC AIA BEP CP LEED AP
DIRECTOR OF QUALITY
LEDCOR CONSTRUCTION
AN ARCHITECT’S GUIDE
TO CONSTRUCTION
TALES FROM THE TRENCHES
©2014&Brian&Palmquist#
INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION – OBJECTIVES (IN PROGRAM)
•  Explain how designers and builders can work more
collaboratively and efficiently towards the common goal
of a project successful for designer, builder, client and
end user.
•  Cover topics such as how to be more efficient in your
work by applying four universal principles, three
integrated web-based “toolsets” optimized for the
rugged tablet computer environment
•  The nitty gritty of field/general review, submittals,
mockups and relations between the players.
•  Learn how to evaluate the many hardware/software
offerings in the marketplace leading to greater
efficiency and profitability during the construction
phase.
!  Lots to Talk About
– What’s on Your
Mind?
!  There are many
construction Tales
available to discuss
– I will not have time
to cover them all. To
maximize the value
of my presentation
to you,
!  What are the items
of most interest to
you and I will try to
include them in the
presentation I am
already planning to
cover those ticked
(x) below.
Two ways of thinking about the same thing: The Designer
sees a mess of the site plan; the Builder sees that not
enough room was left for the crane and lay down area

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We’ll&Come&back&to&this&in&a&few&moments&
JUST TO GET YOU STARTED
Source:#2013#
Na1onal#CALA#
Survey#
Source:#Architect’s#Journal#Survey#2014#

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JUST TO GET YOU STARTED
We are not well prepared for Construction#
This is what we think of
our construction abilities!
Consultants##
WE DO MORE CONSTRUCTION THAN ANYTHING ELSE
This is all construction!
Consultants##
Administration##

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WE DO MORE CONSTRUCTION THAN ANYTHING ELSE
Consultants##
Administration##
In#the#post2industrial,#pre2
digital#era,#managing#just#the#
construc1on#phase#of#even#a#
moderately#complex#building#
project#involves#at#least:##
•  35#steps/func1ons#
requiring#almost#as#many#
logs###
•  At#least#850#individually#
prepared#forms,#templates#
and#reports.#
•  Using#several#diﬀerent#
disconnected#applica1ons#
4 PRINCIPLES TO MANAGE DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
1.  RECORD the journey – “Say what you do, do it and
record it.”
•  Contractor’s Operations Manual
•  Consultants’ “the way we’ve always done it.”
2.  RESOLVE the issues – emergent challenges that
need to be resolved systematically and within the
project in order to keep the project moving and build
client, consultant and contractor partnerships.
3.  REVIEW the results - the importance of continuous
measurement so that project teams and management
can identify how they are doing and have the ability to
make improvements and refinements during the
course of each project.
4.  REMEMBER & learn to improve - identifying and
capturing new or refined knowledge, then integrating it
into the existing body of processes and procedures
and deploying the new knowledge to all current and
future projects.
•  the biggest process challenge in to-day’s “just in
time” design and construction environment ©2014&Brian&Palmquist#

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3 TOOL SETS
1.  i-WorkPlan (i-WP)– the interactive web-
based work plan that underlies each
project, comprising procedures from
design through construction that create the
project roadmap.
2.  i-Action (i-A)– the set of transient
communications that captures i-WP work
product and deals with emergent issues
3.  i-KnowHow (i-KH)- the experience,
expertise and knowledge database that
each designer and builder needs to
assemble in order to evolve, become
efficient and more competitive.
We’re&back!&What’s&in&red&is&already&“on”& ©2014&Brian&Palmquist#

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#70 – EVALUATING TABLET & SMARTPHONE SOFTWARE
“Every day I turn around and there is a new app saying it
will solve all my problems – how can I make a decision?”
– Just about anyone

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Some applications that
might manage work plans/
work flows:
•  Aconex
•  Procore
•  Newforma
•  Salesforce
•  K2
•  Contracts Manager
•  Quality-Works.net

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BIM#360#Field#mobile#only#
Works#on#iPad#
Apple&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Android&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Windows&

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#35 – CRITICAL NEW & FOREIGN PRODUCTS
“So the curtain wall is manufactured in Asia and shipped all the way from there to our site
ten miles away. They say it meets spec, that’s all I care about.” – Architect to Client or
Client to Architect
“We have never used this material in our practice, how shall we evaluate it?” – Project
Architect to Principal Architect
Hard to return once you’ve bought it!
#35 – CRITICAL NEW & FOREIGN PRODUCTS (CNFP)
Key steps:
1.  Do you have CNFP?
2.  Obtain the quality control manual & evaluate it like a submittal
3.  Verify using folks you know and trust – may involve a visit
4.  Be clear about field review, testing & inspection expectations
5.  Get the language right
6.  Check the checklists (?)
7.  Make sure you have the best completion/warranty records

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#42 – EVERYTHING ON THE TABLET – CONTINUOUS AS-BUILTS
“We set up the drawings and specs so our
team could walk around the site and find any
details they need on an iPad. Then we linked
in RFI’s and Submittals. Now the client, the
consultants and the building inspector bring
their iPads when they visit site and
synchronize the latest updates in a few
moments while checking in at the trailer.
They know they will always have
latest/greatest information. And
they can mark up observations on
their copy of the documents and
communicate them without
affecting our masters. It cost the
equivalent of 2% of my salary
during the duration of this project
to set up.” – Proud Superintendent
to impressed Quality Director.

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#51 – HIGH VOLUME ISSUE TRACKING
Let your fingers take the notes
“We find an average
of 10 deficiencies
per room. There are
6,000 rooms in the
project –You do the
math!”
-Quality Director to
Project Manager

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Let the software
slice & dice the
results
!  25 trades x 1
floor per week x
1,000 items per
floor
!  Ident
!  FinishLine
!  BIM 360 Field
#51 – HIGH VOLUME
ISSUE TRACKING
#44 – FIELD REVIEW USING TECHNOLOGY
1. Use HTML to get it onto your phone
“I#just#walk#
around#the#site,#
talk#and#take#
pictures.#If#it’s#
urgent#I#can#
send#it#on#the#
spot.”#
2#Superintendent#
to#Consultant#

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2. Dictate your notes
3. Get the width right

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#44 – FIELD REVIEW USING
TECHNOLOGY
4. Send it on its
Way – immediately
!  Dictate the
words
!  Capture the
images or
markups
!  Assign and email
!  Keep records
!  “Just look it up on their website, it’s really well done.
I’m sure you’ll find the information you need there.
Besides, they’re just the same” – Contractor to
Architect
#32 – ALTERNATIVES & SUBSTITUTIONS

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#11 – INITIAL SITE MEETING TIPS – BEGIN AS YOU MEAN TO CONTINUE
“If the Owner,
Architect or
Contractor are not
made aware of a
design or
construction
change, then it
never happened,
does not exist and
will be remedied
at no cost to any
of those three.” –
Architect/Prime
Consultant to First
Site Meeting
Attendees
!  “The evidence before this
Commission is clear that the
waterproofing of the roof failed
virtually from the outset. The
logical course of action would have
been to undertake early and
effective remedial measures to
protect a valuable asset.
Successive owners neglected to do
so, and the consequences of that
neglect were tragic.” - The
Honourable Paul R. Belanger,
Commissioner, Report of the Elliot
Lake Commission of Inquiry, 2014
#01 – ASSURANCE LETTERS AFTER ELLIOT LAKE?

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!  “Their report attributes the
cause of failure to an
undersized steel beam in a
Cantilever-Suspended Span
arrangement and
inadequate buckling
resistance of the beam
compression flange. In
addition to the technical
errors were a number of
procedural deficiencies in
the project delivery system.”
– Station Square
Commission Report, 1988
!  Three sets of assurance letters in BC:
!  A – Owner + CRP commitment
!  B – Consultant commitments to design to code and provide field
review
!  C – Confirmation that they did

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!  “We have substantial completion – why can’t we move
in?” – Owner to Architect
#64 – SUBSTANTIAL VS. OCCUPANCY
#19 – THE DREADED RFI
“I feel like the contractor is picking apart my design, looking for extra’s” –
Architect to colleague
“So many construction document sets are not sets at all – they’re incomplete
and poorly coordinated. I need some way to figure out how to build the
building!” – Contractor to colleague

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CONCLUSIONS + 10 RULES GOING FORWARD
1.  Organize practice & the projects will
follow
2.  Keep the complex simple
3.  Understand what has been agreed to
4.  Help others understand what’s agreed
5.  Begin as you mean to continue
6.  Share the work, especially when it
changes
7.  Work with the builder
8.  Work with the community
9.  Review the construction of your design
10.  End as you began
The original tablet computerThank you!
To share your Tales,
Contact:
 Brian Palmquist
 Architect AIBC
 MRAIC Intl Assoc AIA
 BEP CP LEED AP
 Brian.Palmquist@ledcor.com
 C +1604-786-8908

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