Effective project management is the result of thorough planning, which leads to cost-efficient project delivery. To achieve this, many companies will focus on additional project controls. However, this overlooks one of the most crucial ways to save money – by implementing design-led construction.
The design-led method helps contractors, developers and architects save money, reduce labour, and create more effective schedules and programmes.
How Does Design-Led Construction Help?
Accelerated Design
Technology that significantly accelerates the detailed design stage exists, and it creates a highly accurate design from the very start of the project. Advanced engineering software performs the engineering calculations and also checks Code compliance so corrections can be made immediately. This computer-aided automation speeds up the specification and compliance process for a streamlined design stage that is easier to manage and control, while also saving money.
Improved Change Management
Managing scope changes plays havoc with budgets and completion dates, as well as disrupting other project timelines. But thanks to the computer-aided automation, the impact from scope changes is minimised, allowing changes to be incorporated and new drawings and reports created in a fraction of the time compared to traditional methods.
Better-Informed Schedules
Not only does the design-led method provide a fully detailed and engineered solution with minimal revisions, it also provides accurate quantities and cost certainty from the outset. With this information, a thorough project schedule can be created with the confidence that key dates can be achieved.
Quick and Accurate Estimates
The ability to generate accurate quantities without the need for a detailed design is a powerful benefit when bidding or tendering for a project. Estimates can be created quickly based on sound information for both costs and duration, reducing the cost and duration of the bidding process.
Efficiently Manage Multiple Projects
The design-led method ensures that precise information is available so that multi-project programmes are accurately planned, both in terms of construction duration and construction costs. Missed completion dates are also less likely to occur thanks to the precisely engineered designs, providing confidence that the programme is a complete picture of the upcoming project pipeline.
Economical Materials Management
Using materials efficiently helps keep project budgets on track. As the engineering software prepares the workshop drawings and bill of materials, there are fewer errors when fabricating and ordering materials. And software is also available that will optimise the material use and integrate with the manufacturing process so there is virtually zero waste.
The Bottom Line
They say that prior planning and prevention prevents poor performance, and nowhere is this truer than in construction. Taking advantage of the advanced technology available gives you all the tools you need for effective project management to deliver projects on time, on budget, every time. The design-led method helps save money, reduce labour, and effectively plan and manage projects for a faster return on investment for you and your customers. To learn more about the advantages of the design-led approach to modern construction, download our eBook, Leading by Design.
