Building and systems design is typically a multi-disciplinary process, involving various disciplines and designers, such as architects, engineers, baggage consultants, passenger modelling and simulation consultants to name a few, working together to create a fully coordinated ‘turn-key’ design team.
However, problems can occur where there is missing or miss-communicated information, inconsistencies between documentation, reduced resource allocation and ill-considered decisions. Design coordination is the amalgamation of designs prepared by different members of the wider design team to create a unified set of information that can be constructed without clashes between components. Effective design coordination can help to reduce additional costs, delays and disruption, that result in the need for remedial or abortive and re-design works.
In its simplest form, design coordination is ensuring that designers understand what they are responsible for, and in particular, who is responsible for the interfaces and junctions between different design packages. This overarching view would be managed by a Design Execution Plan (DEP), to ensure the potential ‘grey’ areas between design packages, are identified and accounted for.
In a more specific sense, design coordination is the safeguarding of design solutions in particular, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) designs, which as they permeate through the entire building, are frequently the source of coordination and clashing problems. This is particularly true for complex buildings such as baggage, parcel handling facilities, where there may be a great number of building services that need to be installed in relatively confined spaces, along with access and maintenance space that needs to be kept free of services.
Primarily design coordination will involve:
- Verifying that collaborative practices are adopted
- Coordinating quality control systems
- Adopting standard methods and procedures
- Coordinating production design information
- Reviewing designs
Many of our project designs have been coordinated within BIM model software, with clash detection attributes.
Key benefits of providing all of these services in house include:
- Single point of contact for the client
- Direct lines of accountability and responsibility
- In house monitoring of design team
- Coordination with BIM activities
- Cost savings of getting the design right first time
- Reduction in site variations / changes
Selected Design Coordination Projects
Our Other Key Services
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Architectural Design
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Project + Cost Management
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