Overcoming Common Facilities Management Challenges – 2019 and Beyond!

Common facilities management challenges can be mitigated using LEAN alternative construction planning, procurement, and project delivery.

Common Facilities Management Challenges:

1. Limited Budget
2. Limited Resources & Staff
3. Deferred Maintenance
4. Prioritizing Projects
5. Meeting Project Timelines

All of these issues and more are addressed using LEAN alternative construction.

Early collaboration and other associated key requirements of LEAN construction delivery methods virtually eliminate waste and deliver the highest project value to owners and AEC service providers. By reducing waste, existing budgets and staff can be optimized and deferred maintenance reduction accelerated.

There are currently two (2) proven forms of LEAN construction delivery, Integrated Project Delivery, IPD, for major new construction, and Job Order Contracting, JOC, for repair, renovation, maintenance, sustainability, and “minor” new construction. All the associated products, tools, and services are also readily available to support consistent, best value implementation.

That said, their are multiple roadblocks to an industry-wide shift towards these best value solutions:

1. Need for higher levels of real property owner leadership and competency
2. Not all tools, products, and services associated with LEAN construction delivery are the same
3. Unfortunate industry focus upon technology versus process improvement
4. Traditional primary consideration of “first costs” versus “life-cycle costs” or “total costs”
   

Project Delivery Method

A project/construction delivery method/system is defined as “the system that defines the relationship between different contracting parties and the timing of involvement in that relationship”. (Hanna 2010). It is the project delivery system that ultimately impacts eventual success or failure more than any other single element.

Traditional project delivery methods include, but are not limited to the following: construction management at risk (CMR), design-build (DB), and design-bid-build (DBB). While DBB is the least integrated approach, none of these methods consistently deliver the superior quality, productivity, and satisfaction of either IPD or JOC.

The proven ability of LEAN construction planning, procurement, and projects delivery methods to consistently deliver quality repair, renovation, and new construction project on-time and on-budget, should result in more owners considering their use. Hopefully the adoption process will accelerate to help limited the 30%+ of waste rampant across the construction sector.

Characteristics of Integrated Project Delivery

• Mutual respect and trust 
• Key participants bound together as equals 
• Shared financial risk and reward based on project outcomes 
• Liability waivers between key participants 
• Fiscal transparency between key participants (Example: Use of locally researched detailed line item unit price book, UPB)
• Early involvement of key participants 
• Intensified design 
• Jointly developed project target criteria (Example: Joint site visit and shared UPB use)
• Collaborative decision making 
• Open communication

Unit Price Book

The importance of a locally researched detailed unit price book, in combination with an LEAN integrated project delivery approach can not be overstated. Labor is the largest cost component of a construction project accounting for 40-60% of total cost. It is therefore critical to first accurately determine labor costs, and secondly to assure that labor is used efficiently. The use of lump sum contractor or subcontractor quotes, or national average price data (with or without location factors) do not provide the cost visibility of a locally researched unit price book. Furthermore, as only 42% of labor to is typically value added to a construction project using traditional project delivery, the need for LEAN construction adoption becomes clear.

Benefits of LEAN Construction Delivery Methods – IPD/JOC… (Various quantitative and qualitative surveys)

• Reduced number of change orders
• Overall cost savings
• Shorter total project delivery schedules
• Fewer requests for information
• Lower construction administrative costs and burden
• Greater overall satisfaction of all participants and stakeholders