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Client, architect, and Construction
manager must perform a delicate balancing act to shrink the
construction process and save time and money.
By Barbara Knecht
Even faster tracking
A mere 15 years ago, faxes and overnight air delivery were
state of the art in communication support systems. Details
could be sent nearly instantly, and drawings could be delivered
between cities rapidly. Advancements in communication technology
have been a huge assistance to fast tracking. For any sizable
project, documents, including meeting notes and other records,
are routinely put on the Internet for all team members to
access and modify. Changes can be recorded in a matter of
hours instead of days.
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The new Phillies Stadium (above and
below) will be located on a site below the water
table, so the geotechnical bid packages were issued
nine months after the start of the design. Fast
tracking many of the bid packages shortened the
schedule by more than a year.
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Phillies Ballpark
Philadelphia
Architect: Ewing Cole Cherry Brott, Philadelphia
(Pradeep Patel, principal and project director;
Don Jones,
project manager and designer; Robert McConnell,
project architect and planner)
Consulting architect: HOK Sports Facilities Group,
Kansas City, Mo.
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Date of completion: April 2004
Construction manager: L.F. Driscoll
Renderings Courtesy Ewing
Cole Cherry Brott
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Reebok has more lessons to teach in this area. Many of the
complex forms were created using 3D computer modeling (see
Digital Architect, page 133, for more information about digital
fast tracking). Digital data from the object-based modeling
was transmitted directly to fabricators and suppliers to be
used in making the forms. The need for a savvy and coherent
triumvirate of owner, construction manager, and architect
becomes more apparent when the stakes are higher. Construction
methods assure that, no matter how many standard parts and
repetitive components a building has, every one is still a
handmade product, subject to volatile conditions. Modeling
technologies, construction innovations, and communication
tools will reduce unforeseen problems in critical construction
time lines and support design innovation.
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Knowing how much time costs
Sarah Slaughter, CEO and president of Models of Construction
Activities (MOCA) Systems, Inc. (http://www.mocasystems.com),
has developed a microsimulation environment that models
the entire construction process. It provides comparative
information on design and construction alternatives
at a high level of detail, usually experienced only
during actual construction. According to Slaughter,
“The power of the hardware allows us to do this
kind of analysis quickly and efficiently.” The
analysis can be employed at the conceptual design stage
to make basic decisions about the size and scale of
a building and, as the design progresses, to select
the best systems based on first and ongoing costs as
well as performance under actual conditions. MOCA can
analyze the impact on the overall schedule of any one
trade or construction method. With this tool, time can
be saved where it will have the most financial impact.
“Time has a low monetary cost at the beginning,
during design, but when [construction] is delayed two
weeks, and no one can move in, that time is very expensive,”
explained Slaughter. Performing the work of a trade
or a phase in half the time has no value unless it shortens
the overall schedule. The microsimulation enables the
construction team to perform such analysis prior to
construction start. B.K.
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