Constructability Reviews
According to the Construction Industry Institute[4] constructability is the:
"[O]ptimum use of construction knowledge and experience in planning, design, and procurement and field operations to achieve overall project objectives".[5]
Constructability is realized through an input process that supports the traditional communication between construction managers and designers during the pre-construction phase of the project and is enhanced with feedback from the on-site construction management personnel during the construction phase of the project.
Savings are created because:
- The design is checked for practicality for the spatial, staging and schedule constraints of the project. This minimizes the need to redesign during construction.
- Recommendations are championed for design changes that take advantage of less expensive and more effective construction materials, methods and staging.
- Unnecessarily complicated design details are identified for alteration, as are those that are incompatible with standard construction practices.
- Lessons learned from previous reviews and construction projects are considered in order to initiate design improvements and avoid repeating costly mistakes; and
- Elements of the design likely to be perceived as "high risk" components by the bidders are analyzed and reduced.
Constructability reviews and feedback are most useful before the documentation is 30% complete; reviews conducted past this stage tend not to be as effective because changes at a later stage usually involve additional design costs.
4. A consortium of owner, engineering-contractor, and supplier firms, based at The University of Texas at Austin.
5. https://www.construction-institute.org/scriptcontent/more/sd5_more.cfm
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The Shift Away from Cost Reimbursable Contracts
