Bouwdata

The ‘pressure test’ from Masterchef Australia illustrates nicely how amateur chefs, in a well-defined period – which is never, ever extended by even one second! – via X number of precisely defined steps to reproduce a memorable dish made by a top chef.
The construction industry can also learn things from this: timing, prep time & service.

Everything depends on proper preparation, whether it is a dish or a building. With digitisation, the construction industry, especially for new construction projects, no longer has any excuse for exceeding its execution time!

But to achieve this, we are going to have to make a ‘tilt’ in the way we work.

To date, we have architects and engineering firms working on on their own in a ‘design’ phase, then proceed to a tender (‘bid’) and only then, in the ‘build’ phase, the contractors get involved. The facility managers receive, after completion and without too much clarity, the often very sloppy as-built file with which they will manage the building until it is either demolished or repurposed and the cycle begins again.

This has to change radically !

The ‘prep time’ from Masterchef corresponds with virtual building and is executed by architects, engineering firms, manufacturers & contractors, with advisory of facility managers. National Geographic once showed a report about a large office building in London near St Paul’s Cathedral. At the time, they built the building virtually 20 times until assembly was seamless and there was a minute-by-minute (!) script that was scrupulously followed during execution.

In other words, the better the preparation, the more confident the builder can be that he can commission his facility at the scheduled time.

The ‘service’ from Masterchef is the actual construction. In other words, executing the script, preferably with as few unnecessary improvisations as possible.

The difference between the catering industry and the construction industry is the importance attached to customer service. For restaurateurs, ‘customer experience’ is of prime importance; the construction sector is far too little concerned about this!

As a proof: the famous as-built files that facility managers apprehend.

Suppose we want to improve our work : what standard can help us ?

In 2013, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) created a Plan of Work where the life cycle of a building is represented in a matrix form with phases on the X-axis and tasks on the Y-axis.

The main things that stand out here are:

• It starts with a PHASE 0 STRATEGIC DEFINITION

A phase in which the client needs to think very thouroughly ! 

Besides the classic investment issue, this includes the following: does he/she want all information to be on a central groupware or should everyone arrange their own administration? And in the first case, will he/she pay and arrange this himself/herself or leave it to another party? Will he/she opt for a classic tender process or for an integrated  construction team? Etc.

• Once this is clear, one goes on to define this in PHASE 1 PROJECT DEFINITON & BRIEF. This is the moment when John Torode in Masterchef UK would shout ‘Let’s Cook!’ after which ‘prep time’ begins.
• In RIBA workplan, there is no question of ‘preliminary design’ and ‘detailed design’ but the virtual building process I was referring to earlier splits into three phases:
• PHASE 2 CONCEPT DESIGN in which the main load-bearing structure and implantation of the technical shaft are defined
• PHASE 3 SPATIAL COORDINATION1 in which the non-load-bearing walls are given their final location
• PHASE 4 TECHNICAL DESIGN which also includes the contractor’s work preparation. Beware : ‘procurement’ is not a phase!

‘Procurement’ is a task that runs over the entire life cycle!

• The actual construction mentioned earlier is contained in PHASE 5 MANUFACTURING2 & CONSTRUCTION

1 New terminology in version 2020, in previous versions this was ‘developed design’

2 ‘Manufacturing’ has been added in version 2020, in previous versions it was titled only  ‘construction’

• ‘handover’ is then again not one single moment! 
• PHASE 6 HANDOVER 1is a full-fledged phase in which the building manager/user is taught everything about the installed techniques. Given the increasing proportion of intelligent techniques in a building, this is no luxury! In Masterchef terms, they then shout ‘Service!’ and the plate slides over ‘the pass’ to the restaurant where the customer waits.
• Then comes the longest part of the life cycle namely PHASE 7 USE

It will be up to each architect, engineering firm and contractor to work out for themselves exactly what ‘prep time’ & ‘service’ will mean to them in the New Normal. Perhaps some visions, missions and strategies need to be rewritten now that classic roles are about to disappear?

More information on RIBA plan of work can be found at https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/riba-plan-of-work