RT-DCC-06

A project delivery system (PDS) defines the overall project execution framework, the roles and responsibilities of project participants, the language in the contract, and the timing of its signing. The selection of a PDS is a fundamental decision that must be made in the early stages of project development. CII Research Team 165 provided a structured procedure for PDS selection almost 20 years ago and captured its findings in Implementation Resource 165-2, Owner’s Tool for Project Delivery and Contract Strategy Selection User’s Guide.

Since IR165-2, there has been a significant increase in industry interest in the finer points of PDSs. The renewed attention included the rise of more collaborative PDSs, such as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Integrated Industrial Project Delivery (I2PD), which was IPD tailored specifically for industrial projects. Members of the downstream and chemicals (DCC) sector have more options than ever when they consider project delivery system selection, motivating factors, and conditions for success.

To this end, Research Team DCC-06 (RT-DCC-06) reexamined the PDS selection methods currently being used in the DCC sector, advanced the understanding of how a PDS is selected, standardized commonplace terminology in PDS, and quantitatively evaluated the benefits and limitations of different PDS options in use. The team identified four PDS categories and 11 subsystems, then developed a PDS assessment rubric and decision support tool, which takes the form of 36 driving statements within 10 factor groups. The tool presents predictive scores for the four PDSs’ ability to succeed in achieving each specific driving statement’s objective. Using the assessment rubric will reinforce the selection of principal PDS, and the series of decision trees provided in the subsystem selection tool help the reader winnow down the subsystems available for that PDS.