IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 16)
design-build done badly//
No Rooms at the Inn
By Patrick A.
Burns, Pe, FsAMe,
Bgen, usAF(r)
this issue’s “design-build done badly”
occurred on a hotel project for a major brand-name
hotel chain. (As always in this column, the client,
design-builder and location are kept confidential to
protect the guilty). The $42 million project was to
be a flagship attraction in one of the top 10 largest
cities in the United States. The client specifically
chose design-build as the project delivery method
to accelerate project completion and included
incentives in the contract for early completion to
coincide with end-of-season events at major sports
stadiums nearby to capture early revenue.
The design-build project team approached the
design phase as it had done successfully for numerous
other projects for the same hotel chain. Early on, the
focus was to get the site layout and architecture right,
along with meeting the hotel brand’s standards for
the main floor and the upper-floor “cookie-cutter”
rooms. So what went wrong with what should have
been a routine project for a long-term, repeat client?
Three problems occurred that together significantly
affected cost and schedule. As a result of these errors,
the hotel opened after the sporting events had ended
and, therefore, lost planned revenue.
lessons learned
A post-mortem examination revealed the root
cause of how this project faltered: Because the
design-build team members had substantial experience with a number of similar projects, they got
too comfortable and didn’t pay enough attention to
design-build details that led to the three problems
that affected the schedule.
First, a design-phase problem began with the
foundations and structural design of the end wings.
The owner decided at the design kickoff meeting
to fl ip the wings of the hotel from front to back
to give it a cleaner line and make parking in front
more accessible. The completion timeline caused
the design-build team to initially overlook the fact
that geotechnical borings hadn’t been performed
for the fl ipped footprint. When the design-build
project manager insisted on a couple of additional
borings for the new footprint, Murphy’s Law went
into effect and the differing soil conditions necessitated a redesign of the foundation and structure.
16
spring//2013
HVAC and bathroom problems on the second
floor were similarly owner-induced. After reviewing
the architectural package, the owner asked for a more
dramatic portico above the main entrance, which at
first appeared to be a straightforward enough request.
Subsequent coordination with the HVAC package
revealed that the larger portico negated the normal
use of external fan coil units on many of the secondfloor front-elevation rooms. As a result, bathrooms
in that area had to be redesigned to incorporate inceiling fan coil units and associated ductwork.
Finally, what would normally be an easy hotel
WiFi installation was complicated by the selection of a major Internet and WiFi supplier that was
experienced with homes and offices, but had never
installed WiFi in hotels, dormitories or similar
facilities. The WiFi signal was weak or non-existent
in the hotel rooms because the provider’s standard
office routers weren’t strong enough to pass through
the hotel’s hallway firewalls and metal doors.
The three problems led to delays in design packages that hindered the construction phases, resulting
in a late project and an unhappy client. These issues
were not complicated and, yet, they happened to a
design-builder with more than 20 years of experience as a general contractor that builds hotels for
major clients. The primary reason behind these
errors was the design-builder taking the project
for granted because “we build these all the time for
the same client.” Quality control and attention to
detail following client design requests didn’t get the
emphasis they should have from the very start.
Do you have an interesting example of designbuild done badly? If so, please contact Pat
Burns at patrickburnspe@gmail.com or iq@
dbia.org. We will work with you in complete
confidentiality to share the lessons you’ve
learned with our readers to benefit the industry in a future issue of DBIA’s IQ.
PAtriCK A. “PAt” Burns, Pe, FsAMe, Bgen usAF(r),
is A ForMer viCe PresiDent With Mortenson
ConstruCtion AnD CurrentLy A seMiretireD PrivAte
ConsuLtAnt. he PreviousLy serveD 35 yeArs in the
Air ForCe in Design, ConstruCtion AnD oPerAtion oF
MiLitAry BAses in the uniteD stAtes AnD overseAs.
the quarterly publication of the design-build institute of america
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IQ Spring 2013
IQ Spring 2013
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page Cover1)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page Cover2)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 1)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 2)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 3)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 4)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 5)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 6)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 7)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 8)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 9)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 10)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 11)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 12)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 13)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 14)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 15)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 16)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 17)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 18)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 19)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page 20)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page Cover3)
IQ Spring 2013 - (Page Cover4)
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