Evaluating Onsite Design

For projects utilizing onsite design, this research identified these top 15 drivers (listed below) as having a moderate to major influence on the design strategy. Overall the research identified a list of 34 Basis for Decision drivers for executing projects. (RS163-1, p. 5)

• Project type
• Constructability
• Composition of design team
• Technical complexity
• Amount of design-level submittals, approvals, RFIs, constructability, shop drawings
• Level of risk
• Communications interface/use of electronic media
• Schedule constraints
• Alliances or partnering
• Favorable past experience
• Level of scope definition
• Scope control procedures – scope creep/freeze
• Design effectiveness
• Corrective action required during project execution
• Existing site team 

To identify the benefits that actually accrue from performing design activities on site, previous CII research was referenced to generate a comprehensive list of 29 project performance measure. These performance measures are broadly categorized as being related to Cost, Quality, Schedule, and Safety. The research discovered that the use of onsite design significantly improved 16 of the 29 performance measures evaluated in the research. Four examples of these 16 are shown below, while all project performance measures are detailed in the research. (RS163-1, p. 6)

• Cost – Value engineering savings
• Quality – Ease of startup
• Schedule – Time to process change orders
• Safety – Safety standards incorporated into design

As part of the research process 50 distinct design activities commonly performed on industrial and commercial type projects were identified. For any given project, the decision to perform any of these activities on site varied with the specific project requirements and the detailed plan for project execution. The research identified the top 10 design activities to be performed on site for each project phase. As example, the top 10 activities for the Front End Planning phase are listed below. Details for all project phases can be found in the research. (RS163-1, p. 8)

• Prepare, monitor, or maintain project scope
• Process and facility planning
• Develop environmental scope
• Prepare/revise preliminary estimates
• Prepare, monitor, or maintain project execution plan
• Conduct site evaluation
• Develop utilities and offsite scope
• Develop/modify site plan
• Prepare, monitor, and maintain schedule
• Develop preliminary design, including PFDs & P&IDs

This decision support tool was developed to assist project teams in determining which design activities should be performed on site, by project phase to achieve improvement in user-selected performance measures. The tool uses the 34 decision drivers and the 29 project performance measures, identified by the research, as selection criteria by the project team in three steps:

• Step 1 – Define the "Why" of your project execution strategy by selecting 5 of the 34 decision drivers.
• Step 2 – Define "What" is critically important to achieve by selecting 5 of the 29 performance measures.
• Step 3 – The OSD Tool generates a specific list of design activities to be performed on site to improve the criteria selected in Steps 1 and 2.

The OSD Tool is useful during the development of the project execution plan; however the flexibility of the tool allows the user to determine which activities are most likely to improve the selected performance measures during any particular project phase. Details of the OSD Tool:

IR163-2, Onsite Design Tool for Project Planning

This On-site Design Tool (OSD Tool) is a decision support software tool designed to assist project teams in determining which design activities should be performed on site, by project phase, to achieve improvements in user-selected performance measure(s).

Included in the tool are two case study examples to demonstrate how the tool can be applied to determine which design activities should be executed on site to maximize the performance benefit.