Existing labs are increasingly not fit for purpose, incompatible with new science, technology, or regulations, or are simply in poor condition.. Supply-chain issues that are also impacting the wider construction industry, such as a shortage of materials or skilled labour, and which are increasingly competing against other major global challenges such as climate change or the housing crisis..
We firstly looked to use a critical chain approach to planning, which naturally allows for flexibility in the schedule.The ideas were helpful and certainly better fit the real world.
Combined with the concepts of “Focus and Finish” rather than “Meet the commitments” it provided a better collaborative and coordinated approach.. What we realised though was that there were parts of the schedule which were even more organic than buffers or “Focus and finish” could accommodate.We therefore striated our schedule into four layers:.Integration of scope and design and delivery process.
Key interactions.The critical chain ran through Integration Strategy (1.)
and Design Sprint (2.).
The actual tasks for Integrating Strategy were very tricky to tie down.For example, we should be tracking how much movement there was in a column as it was being pulled in, and the bending.
We need to be asking questions about how the concrete cured.This type of work has an important impact in terms of predictive maintenance.
If we understand exactly how the concrete cured and what went on in that process, we’ll know what stresses might be left in the building, thereby creating a long-term, high-value impact of that data.In fact, some of the sensors needed to undertake this type of work are incredibly inexpensive.