UNIT 3: MANAGING DESIGN (6 academic hours)

I. SKILL FOCUS

Read the following text and find out the main idea of each paragraph and
answer some questions as below

A. DESIGN PROCESS

The process of design development starts by a detailed analysis of a brief,

from which an initial design scheme is formulated. It progresses to a
preliminary design phase where the scheme is firmed up and confirmed as
the most appropriate solution to the stipulated design requirements. Design
work is then finalized and the necessary documentation prepared.

The three important phases of a design process, namely schematic,

preliminary and final, will now be examined in detail.

Schematic design

The objective of this phase is to convert the specific requirements of the

project described in the brief into an appropriate initial design scheme that
best suits the available site and its environment.

Preliminary design

The aim of a preliminary design phase is to formalize the approved design

scheme into a coherent concept that includes more detailed sketches of
architectural, structural, and services components. The outcome of this stage
is a spatial solution of design requirements and the development of an
exterior design of the project.

Final design and documentation

With the preliminary work on design completed, the design will now be
finalized across architectural, structural, services, interior, and landscape
tasks, and design documentation produced. This the crucial phase of design
development. Different design tasks must now be brought together, co-
ordinated and integrated into a design with error-free documentation. The final
design is expected to satisfy the project objectives and meet the required
technical, functional and aesthetic requirements, and to comply with all the
appropriate codes and regulations. The outcome of the design stage is a set
of fully coordinated and integrated design documents that include:

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 - Working drawings
- A schedule of materials and finishes
- Specifications of materials and equipment
- A bill of quantities
- General conditions of contract

Effective management of the final design phase is of the utmost importance

considering the extent of work to be accomplished within a limited time-frame
on large projects. Hundreds of working drawings will be produced, showing
all the information that a contractor requires for construction of project.
There will also be thousands of pages of specifications, describing in detail
types and qualities of materials and equipment used in the project. This
information must be completed, unambiguous and accurate.

The general conditions of contract would define the legal obligations of client
and contractor, describe how the contract will be administrated, and allocate
risks. These general conditions of contract must be closely aligned with a
delivery method. Clauses in standard conditions of contract provide more
certainty in meaning, since they will have been tested many times in courts
of law. However, special conditions are often added for specific or unique
circumstances,

The last document that is commonly produced is a bill of quantities. The

production of this document depends on the completion of working drawing
and specifications. If their production is delayed, the quantity surveyor would
need to accelerate the rate of work in order to complete the bill of quantities
on time. This is commonly problem that often reduces accuracy of the bill.

B. DEVELOPING A DESIGN MANAGEMENT PLAN

The purpose of a design management plan is to set out clearly a strategy for
achieving the best possible design and documentation that will meet the
client’s needs and the project’s objectives, also to resolve any technical and
coordination problems and to satisfy legal and environmental requirements.
The important steps in developing a design management plan will be as
below:

1. Review of a project brief, a client’s needs and project objectives

2. Development of a design schedule

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One of the main components of de design management plan is a schedule of the
design work, clearly showing what is to be done, by whom and how long and
when. This schedule can be developed through the relevant issues which are
discussed in detail and decision confirmed. They include:

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and when. This schedule can be developed through the relevant issues which
are discussed in detail and decision confirmed. They include:

- Breaking the design process down into elements from which a detailed
list of activities is compiled
- Identifying risks at the design stage, assessing their likely impact, and
developing suitable mitigation strategies.
- Developing a preliminary schedule of design activities
- Finalizing a schedule in the form of a critical path program or bar chart
- Allocating sufficient resources to the schedule
- Obtaining commitment to the schedule from each design team member
- Agreeing on regular updating of the schedule.

3. Firming up of a cost budget

A project cost budget was prepared at the conceptual stage, usually by the
quantity surveyor. It was built up from estimates of costs of individual stages
of a project lifecycle and an estimate of a contingency. A contingency sum is
usually included to allow for unexpected items that will always arise as the
project develops. Basically, a contingency can only be used to pay for the
cost of risks, unforeseen events, and specific tasks that have not been fully
defined in a brief. A design contingency should not be used to pay for design
mistakes or over-the-budget costs unless specifically approved by the client.

4. Fast- tracking

A project may be developed by advancing it sequentially throughout its

individual lifecycle stages. When some of the stages, most commonly design,
tendering and construction, are overlapped, a substantial saving in the
overall project period can be achieved. This is commonly referred to as ‘fast-
tracking’. The aim is to reduce the overall development period by starting
construction earlier, with design and documentation only partially completed.
By shortening a period, the client is able to commission the project earlier,
which usually has significant financial benefits.

Fast-tracking a project is, however, a rather risky proposition. Changes to or

errors in the design of those parts of a project already under construction are
likely to cause serious cost and time overruns. Managing a fast-tracking project
requires a highly disciplined approach to the formulation of a brief, which must
remain unchanged and to the development of the design and documentation to
strict schedule.

5. Packing the work

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Packing the work is the process of breaking up the construction work into a
number of reasonably large parts which are individually designed. The
decision on fast-tracking and packaging is made at the conceptual stage and
is defined in the project brief.

The aim of packaging is to design and document each segment or package of

a project separately and build it separately. Once the design of a first
package has been completed, it is let to a contractor who starts building it.
When the design of the next package is completed, it will be let to another
contractor, and so on.

How a project is broken up into packages largely depends on its sizes, type
and complexity. It may also be influenced by the personal preference of the
project manager.

For example, a high-rise office building may be divided into six packages, each
let sequentially to a separate contractor:

- Package 1: ground works (demolition, excavation, underpinning, de-

watering, temporary access road)
- Package 2: structure (footings, slabs, beams, columns, stairwells, lift
shafts, external walls)
- Package 3: services (electrical, mechanical, fire protection, hydraulics, IT)
- Package 4: façade and roof
- Package 5: internal walls
- Package 6: internal finishes

In the particular case, the packages are awarded to separate contractors in a

predetermined order dictated by the logic of construction. The actual
construction sequence adopted defines the parameters of a design schedule.
In managing the design stage, the project manager’s task is to adhere strictly
to the design schedule to ensure delivery of each package on time.

Packages are usually awarded to contractors by competitive tendering on a

lump-sum basis. This means that the design of each package must be
accompanied by full documentation. It is the project manager’s responsibility
to ensure that the tender documentation for each package is complete and
accurate.

6. Design appraisal

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The design and documentation of a project takes a considerable time and
has a tendency to influence project outcomes. The importance of project
effective management of the design stage has already been emphasized.

To ensure the designers develop schemes that satisfy the client’s needs and
requirements and meet stipulated project objectives, yet at the same time
search for innovative and aesthetically pleasing solutions, it is necessary to
provide them with a tool that appraises and is capable of adding value to
their design. Such a tool is the concept of ‘value management’. Value
management can be defined as a structured approach to defining what value
means to a client in meeting a perceived need by establishing a clear
consensus about the project objectives and how they can be achieved.

A fundamental approach of value management is to create work breakdown

structure or a value tree structure of a design problem by separating
objectives into sub-objectives, which are further subdivided into relevant
elements and sub-elements. Each objective, sub-objective, element, sub-
element in a value-tree is the weighted.

This method of design appraisal can also be used to compare different

design options as well as to compare designs of different projects.

7. Monitoring and control

The project manager maintains process by closely monitoring and controlling

design activities through regular meetings with members of the design team.
Apart from assessing performance and progress, these meetings provide a
forum for identifying issues and problems and developing appropriate
solutions. The project manager also regularly reports to the client on
progress achieved.

Questions:

1. How many stages are there in the design process?

2. From the reading, who is responsible for the management of the design
stage? Does the project suffer cost and time overruns as a result of a
poorly managed and documented design stage?
3. What are the main components of a design management plan?
4. What is fast-tracking? What is the relationship between fast-tracking and
work packages?
5. Do you agree that it is necessary to appraise design using a concept of
value management? How can value management improve the efficiency
of design consultants?

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6. You are a project manager in charge of a design team. What specific
strategy would you put in place to ensure that the design process is
controlled and monitored?

II. FOCUS ON FUNCTIONS

1. Listening

Listen to three videos that describe each stage in the design process and
summarize the main duties of the architect in each.

2. Logical thinking

Reading the case-study: ‘Minimizing construction waste through project design’

and then discussing how to reduce the construction waste in the design
phase. (Reading article as the attached document)

III. GRAMMAR

Exercise 1

Put the words in the correct orders and make correct sentences

1. It/ this is/ high specification/ because/ for a low price/has.

2. Because/ the periodic nature/ of the component/this could be/of
3. Due to/ this is/ acting/ the friction force/ on the plate surface
4. This is/ due to/ of hours of daylight/ at this latitude/a greater number

Choose the correct phrase to fill into the gap

5. This is the high levels of accuracy and tolerance that need

to be achieved cannot be achieved without using these devices.
(because/ because of)
6. There is no steady state pattern present in the simulation. This is
the fact that it takes different amounts of time to travel to
each vendor. (because/due to).
7. Difficulties in machining this profile can be the swarf being
pulled into the path of the cutter. (because/due to).
8. Short-term fading is multipath propagation, and is also
known as multipath induced fading. (because/due to).
9. This is defined as the centre-line average Ra and can be by
the following equation. (Measured/ calculated/determined).
10. The range of the force sensor is by Hooke's Law.
(Measured/ calculated/determined).
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11. The type of the node will be by whether the value of C is
less than or greater than the value of R. (Measured/
calculated/determined).
12. The resistance within the strain gauges changes and this variation can
be by a Wheatstone deflection bridge. (Measured/
calculated/determined).
13. The sensitivity of the force sensor can be by using equation
7. (Measured/ calculated/determined).

Exercise 2: Varying sentence length

Using the word listed below, join the sentences into a single sentence. Don’t
change the order in which the clauses are given. In some cases, there may
be more than one way to join the sentences

So but who or

Even though which although and

Since because

1. One of the most important holidays in my country is Independence Day.

It is celebrated on September 2 nd (which)
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2. Young children have a special talent for language learning. Children
should be taught other languages at an early age (so, because)
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3. My brother began studying at the university. He has taken several large
classes. (since, and)
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4. Some forms of advertising serve a useful purpose. Many forms of
advertising do not (but, even though)
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5. A friend is an acquaintance. He or she will help you whenever possible
(who)

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6. I believe corporations should do more to recycle materials. I believe they
should do more to reduce air pollution (and)
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7. Small classes are the best environment for learning. Sometimes

universities must have large classes (although, but)
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8. We must develop alternative sources of energy. Air pollution will get

worse and worse (or)
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