Levels of Design / Development / Detail - Beyond just Design

Contractors can improve business results by applying many of the same processes and vocabulary to their business that the industry is applying to projects.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share
Leadership Tools: Levels of Development Design, and Detail (LOD).

Consider how the different Levels of Design / Development / Detail (LOD) could be applied to your planning processes.  Starting with a basic high-level value-stream map of how your company acquires and delivers projects to your customers.  Think about a simple diagram with 10-20 components; level 100.  

Now consider the series of meetings and teams you would setup on a project that will take that high-level diagram through increasingly granular design details.  Consider all the frustrations of working through that design-development process going from concept to details and specifications that are fabrication / construction ready.  Consider the process rigor including RFIs and change management including value-engineering.  

Imagine your business with a complete set of plans, specs, as-builts, inspections and O&M manuals with training upon turnover similar to what we have on every project.  That is Level 500 of the BIM standards.   


What if you applied that much rigor to your business management processes?   

Schedule a call to learn how




Not All Growth is Visible Above the Surface
Deep roots equal strong trees, and the same is true for strong people. Those roots include relationships and skills that are largely invisible for years while they are being built. Like an iceberg, there is always a lot more going on under the surface.
Weekly Design Meetings and Protecting Finishes
Finishes and other key design elements are important for both the project owner and architect. A contractor providing preconstruction services must focus on protecting these throughout the design-development process.
A Broader Definition of a Change on a Construction Project
The first step for contractors improving their management of changes on a project is simply earlier identification. This starts with a better definition of what a change really is, and then setting standards within your company around that definition.