Architectural designs and Constructability Issues

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ISSUES
in the planning and design processes is a major factor that
leads to constructability problems during the construction
stage. This is because many design professionals have little
experience in construction practices, local considerations, the
availability of different resources, and are not necessarily
experts in construction means and methods. During the
procurement phase, contractor reliance on contract documents
to visualize the construction process and decide on appropriate
construction methods is limited to 2D drawings. This approach
limits the contractor’s ability to be more familiar with the project
at this early stage and prior to the start of actual construction.
During the construction stage, constructability issues such
as safety, storage access, security, quality, and schedule
updating are major factors that influence the accomplishment
of a successful project.
II. NEED FOR STUDY
Purpose
As projects get more and more complex the issue of
constructability becomes important. Constructability infiltrates
all parts of a project, especially those related to the engineering
and architectural professions. With projects becoming more
and more complex and time frames shorter and shorter, implied
warranty and severe professional liability issues may arise.
Design professionals need to be aware of the potential issues
and claims implied by a design’s constructability or build ability
profile. When a project has inherent constructability issues,
resulting litigation can involve delay claims, change order
issues and disputes, and owner’s dissatisfaction with delivery.
In extreme situations, direct claims may be made against the
design principal for poor plans, specifications or estimates, or
schedules that have made the project difficult to build, or more
costly or time consuming than anticipated.
The issue is well recognized in the construction industry, but
what is not so well recognized is when to do constructability
reviews, who should do them and how they should be done.
This Practice Note provides suggestions and a methodology
for conducting constructability reviews of projects of all types
and sizes. Constructability issues not only involve issues of
build ability, but also the sequence of construction and
integration of systems in a logical sequence using standard
substructures.
There are two purposes for the formation of the collecting of
Constructability issues. These include:
• To create an ongoing forum for the definition of a
constructability body of knowledge through the
compilation of case studies related to architectural
designs
• To provide a case study data set for academic education
in architectural engineering
Features
Constructability is a project management technique for
reviewing construction processes from start to finish during
the pre-construction phrase[13]. It will identify obstacles before
a project is actually built to reduce or prevent error, delays and
cost overruns. The term “constructability” is referred to as:
• The extent to which the design of the building facilitates
ease of construction, subject to the overall requirements
for the completed building[13]
• A system for achieving optimum integration of
construction knowledge and experience in planning,
engineering, procurement and field operations in the
building process, and balancing the various project and
environmental constraints to achieve overall
objectives[13]
• A system for achieving optimum integration of
construction knowledge in the building process and
balancing the various project and environmental
constraints to maximize achievement of project goals and
building performance[13]
III. LITERATURE REVIEW
Following points emerged from the literatures review:
1. Constructability improvement strategies: Several strategies
and concepts have been presented to improve the project
constructability during the different phases of the preconstruction
stage. Tatum recommended the use of the
“backward pass” approach to planning to ensure that the
schedule is driven by the construction needs. Galvanic
described two methods for improving constructability and
decreasing design-related problems during the construction
process: (1) Design Phase Scheduling, and (2) In-House
Design-Phase Constructability Review. O’Connor et al
identified seven concepts for improving constructability
during the design/procurement phases of a project: (1) a
Construction-Driven schedule, (2) Simplified Design, (3)
standardization of design, (4) Pre-assembly work should be
scoped in advance and pre-assembly designs should be
prepared to facilitate fabrication, transport, and installation,
and thus to enhance project constructability. (5) Accessibility,
(6) Adverse Weather, (7) Specifications.[1]
2. Constructability improvement solution models: Different
solution models for constructability improvement were
implemented to assist the project team in integrating
construction knowledge/experience during the preconstruction
stage. Fischer presented a Construction
Knowledge Expert (COKE) that guides designers towards
designing structures that are more constructible. Patty et al.
presented a computer tool that utilizes a multimedia to give the
designer the capability of accessing constructability
information at the point of design. Moore and Tunnicliffe
described aspects of the production of an Automated Design
Aid (ADA) that provides the designer with useful decision
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