10B — November 22 - December 5, 2013 — Owners, Developers & Managers — Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
C onstruction M anagement
By Glenn Ebersole, P.E., Hollenbach Construction, Inc. How technology strategically enhances Design/Build project delivery to meet owners’ desired outcomes
A
Design/Build project delivery system is an integrated approach
sistently successful form of integrated project delivery to meet the desired outcomes of owners and their projects. What are the desired major outcomes of owners in their building projects? Here are seven (7) major outcomes that I believe owners are seeking in their projects: improved decision making; improved contract docu- mentation; improved pre- construction estimating; improved procurement & scheduling; improved cost
efficiency; improved closeout documents. What are the strategic ad- vantages that Design/Build offers to an owner? Here are seven (7) that I have selected: a proactive vs. reactive ap- proach; focus on team success vs. individual success; goal focus vs. task focus; looking at strategic issues vs. opera- tional issues; qualitative vs. quantitative measures; col- laboration vs. confrontation value-based vs. cost-based thinking
How does technology play a strategic role in the effective use of Design/Build? Three (3) major areas where I be- lieve technology strategically impacts Design/Build are: Collaboration software: It streamlines flows of docu- mentation, communications, drawings, forms and data; facilitates remote consoli- dated organized workspaces; and increases consistency & coordination that saves time, increases productivity & strengthens deliverables.
Integrated web-based applications: Internet host- ed collaboration tools keep project teams connected and able to access information as needed and provide ad- ministrative controls for managing storage & Web infrastructure. Building Information Modeling (BIM) : efficiently incorporates and integrates data for project design, com- ponent fabrication&building erection instruction and proj- ect management logistics. And what strategic en- hancements do these tech- nologies provide to the De- sign/Build process? Here are nine (9) examples I chose to share:ability to find ex- act document version being sought; ability to find the right person to contact in reference to the document; identifying the best way to contact the person to retrieve the needed information; en- hanced access & retrieval of historical data and re- sources; increased productiv- ity; improved management performance; enhanced end product with collaboration that spans building design, construction & project de- livery; open sharing of in- formation; full utilization of technological capabilities and support. We are still in the early stages of discovery of the full potential of the power of technology to enhance the Design/Build process. New technologies will be- come available and will be deployed in the construc- tion industry in general and Design/Build project delivery in particular so that further strategic en- hancements can be realized in the future to meet own- ers’ desired outcomes. Glenn Ebersole, pro- fessional engineer, is s t rategi c vi ce pres i - dent, business develop- ment/marketing and a member of the Strategic Leadership Team at Hol- lenbach Construction Inc., an award winning professional construc- tion management, de- sign/build, general con- tractor and development services organization headquartered in Boy- ertown, PA. n
to align in- terests, ob- jectives and p r a c t i c e s through a c o l l abo ra - t i ve t eam app r o a c h . O v e r t h e past 30 years
Glenn Ebersole
my experience with Design/ Build projects has been one where Design/Build is a con-
800-877-7475
24 Hour Service
s $ESIGN s )NSTALLATION s #OMPACTORS s #HUTES #HUTE $OORS s "ALERS s #HUTE #LEANING 2EPAIR s 0REVENTATIVE -AINTENANCE
www.PCS-Green.com
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker