INTEGRATED PROJECT

Integrated Project “Little Heath Development”



Integrated Project “Little Heath Development”

 Introduction

This paper will be criticizing the project plan of “Little Heath Development”. We will be assessing all the related components of the project plan in dept.

Design and Construction as an Integrated System

In the planning of facilities, it is important to recognize the close relationship between design and construction. These processes can best be viewed as an integrated system. Broadly speaking, design is a process of creating the description of a new facility, usually represented by detailed plans and specifications; construction planning is a process of identifying activities and resources required to make the design a physical reality. Hence, construction is the implementation of a design envisioned by architects and engineers. In both design and construction, numerous operational tasks must be performed with a variety of precedence and other relationships among the different tasks. Several characteristics are unique to the planning of constructed facilities and should be kept in mind even at the very early stage of the project life cycle. These include the following:

Nearly every facility is custom designed and constructed, and often requires a long time to complete.

Both the design and construction of a facility must satisfy the conditions peculiar to a specific site.

Because each project is site specific, its execution is influenced by natural, social and other locational conditions such as weather, labor supply, local building codes, etc.

Since the service life of a facility is long, the anticipation of future requirements is inherently difficult.

Responsibility for Shop Drawings

The willingness to assume responsibilities does not come easily from any party in the current litigious climate of the construction industry in the United States. On the other hand, if owner, architect, engineer, contractor and other groups that represent parts of the industry do not jointly fix the responsibilities of various tasks to appropriate parties, the standards of practice will eventually be set by court decisions. In an attempt to provide a guide to the entire spectrum of participants in a construction project, the American Society of Civil Engineers issued a Manual of Professional Practice entitled Quality in the Constructed Project in 1990. This manual is intended to help bring a turnaround of the fragmentation of activities in the design and construction process.

This justification was ruled unacceptable by a court in connection with the walkway failure at the Hyatt Hotel in Kansas City in 1985. In preparing the ASCE Manual of Professional Practice for Quality in the Constructed Project, the responsibilities for preparation of shop drawings proved to be the most difficult to develop. The reason for this situation is not difficult to fathom since the responsibilities for the task are diffused, and all parties must agree to the new responsibilities assigned to each in the recommended risk-reward relations shown in Table 3-1.

Table 3-1  Recommended Responsibility for Shop Drawings

Task

Responsible Party

Owner

Design Professional

Construction Contractor

Provide adequate time and funding for shop drawing preparation and review

Prime

 

 

Arrange for structural design

Prime

 

 

Establish overall responsibility for connection design

 

Prime

 

Accomplish connection design (by design professional)

 

Prime

 

Alternatively, provide loading requirement and other information necessary for shop drawing ...