Happily Ever After … just a dream or light on the horizon?

Construction relationships have been contentious from the beginning of time. I’m quite confident that even as the first lean-to was being built, there was likely conflict involved. So is the construction industry fated to be forever plagued by unresolved conflict?

As I have mentioned before, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) brings all of the parties in a typical construction project—owner, architect, and builder—together as early as possible in a more robust partnership than is traditionally seen in construction. IPD is a paradigm that takes steps toward healing the relationships that have historically been strained at best, and potentially disastrous for a project at worst.

A paradigm alone cannot solve the age old conflicts in the construction process. IPD has been on the scene since the mid-1990’s and implementation of the processes alone have had limited effect on project role relationships. Over the last few years, new technologies have begun to emerge that, when paired with techniques such as IPD, facilitate more amicable and productive relationships between contractors, architects and owners.

The Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) has published a whitepaper, “Managing Integrated Project Delivery”, that discusses these technologies and how they contribute to IPD in more detail. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a key tool, of course. Another equally important technology tool, but one that has received less attention so far, is the concept of a centralized web-based database system that provides project team information, documents, workflows, reporting, and accountability.

The CMAA whitepaper refers to these web-based systems as “Project Management Information Systems” (PMIS), but I personally feel this term is misleading and too easily confused with traditional “project management” or “project information management” tools, which have come to refer to internal software that focuses primarily on one team member (like the A/E or the CM) and not the entire integrated team. Others in the industry instead use the term “Integrated Project Collaboration” (IPC) software, and I agree that this title is a better fit to describe a new class of technology.

IPC software allows all project team members to sit at the same virtual table, hosted on the Internet, with access and accountability for each participant. IPC does not replace other software solutions, but complements them by providing a central location for information generated in other systems to be shared and responded to by the full integrated project team.

How does this new technology make a difference on the ground? My company, Submittal Exchange, provides IPC software services to construction projects nationwide, and our clients have told us the transparency and accountability within the system makes an enormous difference in their day-to-day interactions. For example, the electronic document logs are shared at weekly project team meetings, and for many clients, this reduces arguments over who got what when because the document transactions and statuses are clearly documented by the system. There are no more questions or loose ends hanging.

IPC will not have everyone on a project slapping each other on the back at the end of every day, however, it’s one more step toward that elusive “perfect project”, or at least one that doesn’t end with all sides frustrated and ultimately, a project that suffers.