CONTRACTUAL WORKSTREAM - SESSION 1-20220425

MARCUS of BALFOUR BEATTY is introduced to the workstream participants.

PAUL and SPEAKER 2 (MARTIN) had communicated via email to try and link up the thinking that’s contained within the M&E version of REBA, exploring the BG6 document and exploring how to use stage 4 to govern better.

GEORGE talks about the roundtable workshops they have been asked to organise by the UK Bim alliance at Digital Construction Week. There are 5 tables with 10 people at each, dedicated to the different working groups: development, design, construction, operations, manufacturing. The different stake holder groups will be involved. A particular risk will be looked at: the spread of smoke. To look at how a fire door can mitigate that risk. The objective of the discussion is to end up with an example of the challenges of the industry and the golden thread.

SPEAKER 2 (MARTIN) asks George if it will be done in a way that illustrates what happens when different groups do not communicate with each other e.g. an example of how to fail. ‘Is it a roundtable exercise? Or a roundtable discussion?’.

GEORGE says it will be a discussion – there is only 45 minutes allocated (and no whiteboards).

Regarding the letters that have gone between Michael Gove and the CPA, George thinks Gove is taking a very hard line. The CPA’s response to Gove was good and coherent, but did not give Gove the answer he needed. The work in the information quality group is extremely important, otherwise we’ll be run ragged by lawyers.

PAUL shows his slides. GEORGE’S view from an information management perspective is that all of this is in different documents that are not related properly to each other and the only way of relating them is by a human looking at them and making an interpretation: if you’ve got three people looking at them, you’ll get three different answers. This needs to be distilled down into something simpler.

GEORGE: ‘we need to arrive at something known in the manufacturing industry as progressive fixity, or mass standardisation. If you have a project that it using standardisation throughout (including documentation) when you vary from that then the risk is higher.’

SPEAKER 2 (MARTIN) says standardised contracts already exist...but they get amended. PAUL says it wouldn’t matter how they get amended if the design was alright in the first place.

44 mins 37 secs

IAN (SPEAKER 7) ‘I think we’ve got to specifically go at one package, and I think dry line is the obvious one for us, and say it’s crystal clear at Gateway two that unless we’ve got this information it is completely unreasonable to ask anyone to start work.’

IAN (Speaker 7) mentions the connection between the design and construction of a building and its potential to be insured: at what stage should it be insured? Should it be insured if it’s not built the way the insurance company would think is right?

PAUL shows more slides. He talks about the common phenomenon of people delaying the procurement process because that way they get a better price.

IAN (Speaker 7) thinks it’s all about what the system is and who owns it...the owner of the system isn’t necessarily aligned to the way that we control the packages. We have to get to a system-based approach, it’s a different way of thinking about it. PAUL agrees and talks about an example of how you need to know every single detail about a wall (symmetrical/asymmetrical/what’s within the wall?/dampers/duct work) ‘then you can systemize that design, but it has to be taken back to the start of stage 4 once you’ve got the specialist information involved’.

GEORGE agrees with the importance of a systems-based approach. He then shows a graphic that looks at the process that his company Active Plan are following to look at an individual component e.g. a door, re asset information requirement. The properties of the door are described and also there is a unique identifier/ a digital key called a GUID which gets passed to the product. It can be tested at any stage against a manufactured product. This ensures what you are requiring can actually be provided in the market. This info is given to the designer (modelled in work stage 4), there are types tied back to the original requirement. This info can go to the contractors, if changes have to take place there can be a more robust technical submission process. Once it’s been approved it can be purchased.’ GEORGE is working with Travis Perkins on this.

GEORGE thinks the technical deviation process is a critical area.

SPEAKER 5 thinks that specifying products (perhaps) too early in the design process can potentially be a commercial difficulty...when it comes to the procurement stage suddenly things may change in terms of the number.

The team debates whether equal and approved products (to install assets) is a good way to go.

PAUL thinks everyone has the same 2 problems: 1) there is a schedule, but what’s on it? Is it right, wrong, or indifferent? 2) there is no schedule. Even if you do have a schedule (there are all kinds of problems)

GEORGE discusses the risk involved in installing the initially design-included assets with equal and approved products, especially after the process has moved on to the next stage.

In general, the group disagrees with George’s suggestion of potentially bringing in the M&E co-ordination engineers before the installation contractors are procured. ‘I’m not seeing the benefit of bringing another party into the process’...

GEORGE thinks the group agrees that the early selection of products and materials is going to be important. ‘If we can make it seamless and easy to sway out one product for another’ (that would be good). To replace with ‘not just a generic product, but a manufactured product designed according to the requirements’...then we’ve got a digital object we can actually work with’.

GEORGE: If we try and conflate the legacy with the future I think we’ll get nowhere because it’s just too big a job.’

SPEAKER 2 (MARTIN) has written a number of points that have come out of today’s meeting: 1) early selection of products 2) System-based approach/system owner 3) better understanding of the design/ earlier design/ why are we progressing without proper designs in place 4) the rules we need to post upstream and downstream that people need to abide by 5) Ian’s point to be mindful of the legacy issues as we push ahead 6) digitising things...

SPEAKER 2 (MARTIN) will invite Ian Abli to the next meeting.