PDRIx for MLS

Project Definition Rating Index (PDRIx) for Manufacturing & Life Sciences Projects is a scope definition tool developed specifically by the MLS sector. It is designed to help project teams with both a building and an industrial process inside the facility measure the degree of scope definition, identify gaps, and take appropriate actions to reduce risk during front end planning. PDRIx for MLS is a derivative of PDRI Industrial and PDRI for Buildings that follows the same recommended practices for conducting PDRI assessments, but has been updated to include current project delivery elements. The element list has been updated by this research team to address critical scope definition needs of capital projects that:      

Involve manufacturing of products within a facility.     

Include both process- and building- related design elements.     

Follow a rigorous commissioning and qualification process in a highly regulated environment (e.g., FDA, EPA, FERC, USDA, OSHA).     

Make extensive use of enterprise and control systems for business and process automation.     

Adhere to strict environmental controls.  

This summary provides an overview of the research and development of PDRIx for MLS. The research team identified several new elements to address critical scope definition needs of the MLS sector. The team updated PDRI–Industrial elements and added new ones to address technological, design, and project management innovations that have become industry standards since PDRI–Industrial was first published in 1995. Overall, PDRIx for MLS includes 83 elements, compared to 70 in PDRI–Industrial. The increased number of elements is primarily attributable to two new categories in Section II, Basis of Design:      

Category H. Building Programming & Design Parameters     

Category K. Enterprise & Control Systems  

Overall, an analysis of 42 projects, representing more than $5.06 billion (USD) in total installed cost, shows that PDRIx for MLS provides project teams in the MLS sector with a more effective assessment tool to understand risk and help identify gaps in scope definition.