CREJ

34 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / December 2020 ELEMENTS IPD Integrated Project Delivery: Setting the Foundation T he design and construction industry is all too often delin- eated as the laggard, as noted on the “Diffusion of Innovation The- ory” developed in 1962 by E.M. Rogers. This theory examines how and why new ideas are adopted and eventually accept- ed into general use. As an industry that is slow to change, construction is wrought with productivity issues. According to the 2017 McKinsey Global Institute report Re- inventing Construction through a Produc- tivity Revolution, labor-productivity growth in construction has averaged only 1% a year over the past two decades globally, compared with growth of 2.8% for the total world economy and 3.6% in the case of manufacturing. The question then remains: How do you imple- ment true change in a historically unchangeable industry? One solution includes changing the contract language itself to motivate all project teammembers to collaborate in such a way that it saves time and money and allows for innovation. One such contract is the integrated project deliv- ery method, defined as “a delivery methodology that fully integrates project teams in order to take advantage of the knowledge of all team members to maximize the project outcome.” This is accord- ing to the Integrated Project Delivery for Public & Private Owners report sponsored by the Associat- ed General Contractors of America. As with any contract, it is only a document with meaningless words until it is actually put into practice and team members can change their be- haviors. An IPD contract sets the foundation to hold all teammembers accountable with profit in- centives, but it takes a culture of integration and the teammembers themselves to truly implement change and execute a fully integrated project. • IPD multiparty agreement. The Children’s Hos- pital Colorado – North Campus is a 190,000-square- foot new construction project that originated in 2018 as an IPD project utilizing a multiparty agree- ment between the Owner, Children’s Hospital Col- orado, and several team members, including GH Phipps as the general contractor, TreanorHL as the architect, and KL&A as the structural engineer, steel detailer and steel construction manager. Additional firms involved in the multiparty agreement includ- ed: Design Studio Blue, ICI, ISEC Inc., Olson Plumb- ing and Heating, RMH Group, Sturgeon Electric and U.S. Engineering. • “Real-time” problem solving. One behavioral component that resulted from this IPD project was the opportunity for “real-time” problem solving. This notion is often spoken of metaphorically or as a more hopeful outcome of what “could be” possible. Some examples of how the individual team mem- bers of the Children’s Hospital Colorado – North Campus project came together to problem-solve in a timely manner include the following. Brant Lahnert, PE Principal Engineer and Chief Financial Officer, KL&A Engineers & Builders Children's Hospital Colorado – North Campus utlizied IPD. IPD is a holistic approach to construction.