Whatever it takes

Project Coordination: Practice the Hand-off

Coordination in architecture, engineering, and construction is all about the hand-off, just as it is in other businesses and in team sports. The hand-off happens all over the place, all the time. It is often accompanied by words like "You know what I mean", "You get the point", "Let's not have a repeat of you-know-what", "Just do it", and other codewords. But the message may not be clear to the listener, and the listener may hand off to yet another listener with an additional editorial comment like "It's another Chinese fire drill." It's the old story of the rumor traveling around a room: by the time it goes full circle, the message has changed considerably, having been edited with every hand-off. That's why managers, administrators, and others need to allow themselves to get bored by repeating the same message in almost every detail - with a few notable exceptions: it's important to tailor the delivery to the listener's ability to understand and make use of the message, and it's important to get immediate and periodic feedback to confirm understanding.

Tailoring the delivery means delivering the message in a way that acknowledges and respects the ability of the listener to understand the message and make appropriate and productive use of it. A highly skilled and familiar employee may be able to hear an abbreviated message - maybe just a headline - and fill in the blanks with a good understanding of the desired or needed outcome. "Two over, rye, and a side," may be all the information that is needed in a situation where abbreviated communication has been developed through years of practice. In that case a lengthier description may be read as an insult - unnecessary micro-management. But a less skilled or less familiar employee may need more detail in order to make a connection with the message. In either case, immediate feedback can help to verify understanding of the message, and it may save a lot of time and money as a project goes forward. Familiarity is a key to the successful hand-off, because even a highly skilled new team member (employee, consultant, contractor, subcontractor, supplier, etc.) may bring a different understanding of the abbreviated message.

What's wrong with this picture?

a. The arrangement and swing of the door make the closet unusable, unless it is part of a set for a Three Stooges movie.

b. It was built as drawn, and it cost $1,000 to change the door to make the closet usable, because it was not part of a set for a Three Stooges movie.

c. The picture was not drawn in CAD.

d. 'a' and 'b' above.

Vinyl Composition Tile: Getting to the bottom of bumpy floor tile

The vinyl composition floor tile (VCT) had been polished and looked great when the new building first opened, but a few weeks of use changed its appearance (and also reduced the level of owner satisfaction) as little, pimple-like bumps started to appear on the surface of the tile. Of course, there was speculation from numerous parties about the possible causes, from faulty concrete to unusual chemical and astrological phenomena. But the actual cause turned out to be pretty simple. The tile installer had a practice of using the same mastic container day after day, and little bits of the previous days' hardened mastic from the rim of the container found their way into the fresh mastic every day. This was not obvious in the finished product at first, as the tile was held up slightly by the ridges formed by the notched trowel that was used to spread the mastic. However, days of heavy foot traffic and passes by the owner's floor polishing equipment pressed the tile further into the mastic around the harder bits of old mastic that resisted being squashed, and they telegraphed through the tile as bumps on the surface. The flooring subcontractor had to make several return visits to the project to correct the problems as they appeared.

Missing consultant coordination, a hilltop building gets a surprise lift station

If you put a new building on a hilltop, the need for a sewage lift station may be the last thing you would expect. However, if you discover that the plumbing waste pipe leaving the building is below the end of the previously installed outside sewer pipe that goes to a newly constructed septic system, you may realize that gravity acting alone will not get the sewage into the septic tank. A sewage lift station - purchased through a change order - may be the most economical way to get the sewage to its intended destination.

It would be better, if possible, for the engineers to coordinate their work so that the inside pipe and the outside pipe would meet at the same elevation. Apparently, someone did not understand that plumbing waste lines below the floor inside a building usually slope to drain, and that a run of a few hundred feet inside the building could put the waste pipe outlet several feet below the floor level, not just one foot, as suggested by the elevation at the end of the outside sewer pipe.

The person who presented the change order to the owner may have explained that it would be better to have a lift station, because you can't always count on gravity.

Roof Drainage Design: Early design decisions can influence roof and wall performance

It is possible for architectural designers to rely too much on technical details, specifications, and construction quality to overcome the challenges created by a design concept. A design concept can overwhelm the intended performance of roofs and walls that are expected to manage water and keep it out of a building’s interior. Where a roof slopes down toward or against a wall, the best flashing detail may simply not be up to the task of protecting the building from leaks. A roof configuration that includes numerous dormers and valleys, changing slopes and materials, and multiple levels can make drainage paths so convoluted or restricted that ice formations and leaks in snow country are almost inevitable. Roof design complexity also challenges effective ventilation of roof framing areas, especially in and around dormer and cathedral ceiling areas.

It’s interesting that popular features like dormers that mimic historic buildings can also bring problems like ice dams and leaks.

Avant-garde designs that tilt walls and rely on the wall materials to perform like roofs also risk performance shortcomings.

The best time to consider these possibilities and minimize risks is when the design is still in a formative stage.

Roof Shingle Warranty: What's in it?

There may be a popular notion that a 30-year shingle is one that comes with a full 30-year warranty against leaks, so that if you (or, more likely, your building) experience a roof leak, say, 27 years from the date of installation, you can call the shingle manufacturer, and someone will re-roof your building at no cost to you. Wish it were so!

One widely known shingle manufacturer has produced a lengthy warranty that, based on my review, does not even include the word "leak". It warrants shingle "performance", but for that manufacturer, performance is apparently not related to the possibility of leaks.

Although there are numerous shingle manufacturer warranties and options available, the basic warranty, even for a "30-year" shingle, covers labor and materials to replace shingles that are proven to have significant manufacturing defects within a more limited period of time (like 2 to 10 years from manufacture or installation). After that the cost of labor is excluded, and the cost of shingle material is pro-rated based on the expected life of the shingle. Other exclusions are numerous. Tear off, disposal, replacement of flashing and other accessories are typically excluded, as are shingle replacement in cases where installation was not completed in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations or where ventilation is not adequate. Under some circumstances a reduced limited warranty may be available from at least one manufacturer for shingles installed over insulated roof sheathing or vented, insulated sheathing. Perhaps the most notable of all exclusions: the warranty does not cover damage to the inside of your house and your furniture and other belongings.

Other cautions: At least one manufacturer recommends open metal valleys and will not generally provide warranty coverage for shingles installed in closed (woven or close-cut) valleys. Shingle warranties are typically transferable once from the initial owner of a roof to a subsequent owner with proper notification and paperwork and, in some cases, payment of a warranty transfer fee, all within a period of time stipulated in the warranty. Warranties against wind blow-off are also qualified to exclude circumstances where weather or temperature conditions or roof orientation have not or do not allow for the self-sealing adhesive strips to seal; and that can take months or maybe longer. And limited warranties for algae resistance are available for some shingles - you may qualify for limited financial assistance to pay for algae removal.

Still not satisfied? With some shingles you can get a lifetime warranty - that is, the shingle is warranted for the life of the original purchaser. However, that too is pro-rated after an initial period of maximum coverage. And, when you depart, it may automatically convert to a 50-year warranty for your survivors. Wow! Does that give you peace of mind?

The normal disclaimer applies: Read the fine print in your shingle warranty to see how it applies to you and your circumstances.

Finally, don't forget that the spaces around and between the shingles are not usually covered by a shingle warranty.

This Change Order costs more than my whole house!

Change orders on large projects can carry shocking price tags. A little detail change can be multiplied by thousands of lineal feet or occur hundreds or thousands of times. When I was first working as an architectural drafter in a large architecture and engineering firm (A-E firm), a senior project manager in the firm told me to pay attention to the detail conditions that go for miles, because changes in those details during construction can cost a lot. We were working on highrise office buildings at the time, so a change in a window detail could literally go for miles, considering the perimeter length per floor and the number of floors. It really hit home when I saw a change order that cost more than my whole house. On a large project that can also happen with an additional coat of paint.

Soliciting Bids for Architectural Services?

Soliciting bids for architectural services carries a lot of risk. The main risk is that the party soliciting the bids may not understand the services and may not establish the scope of work sufficiently to be able to realize desirable results from all the architects who may decide to submit bids. If lowest price governs the selection, then the result may be reduced services - less than what is needed for your project. As the client, you may not have the input that you need to have in the design process. During construction, you may not have the attention (construction administration services) that you need from the architect to reasonably determine a contractor's progress and compliance with construction document requirements. In the end, you may not have a completed project that meets your needs. Consider the school above that resulted from soliciting bids for architectural services.

A qualification-based selection process is likely to produce better services, a better experience for the client, and better results.

New construction is really alteration

Even new construction includes alterations. An existing site is altered. A neighborhood is altered. Drainage patterns are altered. Utilities and transportation patterns are altered. Access is altered. Resource sites are altered through extraction of materials that are ultimately utilized in the new construction. Energy demands and utilization are altered both during and following construction.

Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language (1977) offers this advice about Site Repair (Pages 508-511): "On no account place buildings in the places which are most beautiful. In fact, do the opposite. Consider the site and its buildings as a single living eco-system. Leave those areas that are the most precious, beautiful, comfortable, and healthy as they are, and build new structures in those parts of the site which are least pleasant now."

Alexander's advice about building location can be hard to follow in light of factors like building program requirements, project size, established property boundaries, zoning and environmental regulations, all of which can heavily influence the location and layout of a new building on an existing site. For example, in developing a new secondary school on a limited site, substantial space requirements (and topographic requirements) for outside athletic facilities like running tracks and football and soccer fields may limit the options for building location and configuration. This dilemma highlights the importance of these considerations when a site is being selected for a building project, and it also points to the importance of community planning.

(Incidentally, I really like the book A Pattern Language. It offers a multitude of useful and brief vignettes including both narrative and illustrations for considering development and building projects - neat ways to see ways in which design and construction can support the needs and interests of people of all ages. You can zoom in from the scale of a town to the scale of parts of a room or even furniture. Best of all, it is understandable.)

The new Associates

How Hard Does It Rain in the Northwest?

A shopping mall developer and the mall's architect have to stand up to the scrutiny of department stores who will be part of the development. I recall attending a meeting where the architect's head designer presented the design of the shopping mall to representatives of 5 department stores that planned to occupy sites along the mall.

One representative from New York was rumored to be the most difficult critic of them all. Scrutinizing the plan, he asked a question about projecting entrance canopies. "These entrance canopies appear to extend quite a ways from the building," he said. "Why is that?"

The designer had a quick response. "We wanted to limit the distance from the parking area to the covered area, because it rains a lot in the Northwest," he said.

The department store representative nodded. "Interesting," he said and then pointed to another area of the plan. "These entrance canopies over here are recessed into the building."

"Well," said the designer, "it doesn't really rain that hard in the Northwest."

Paint the Color Chip

One of Mike's PM stories is about his experience on a San Francisco project where the painting contractor was having a great deal of difficulty producing a paint color sample that would satisfy the design architect from the Seattle office. Designers can be pretty fussy when it comes to colors. When the designer came to the job site the first time and compared the painter's sample with his own color chip, he told the painter that the sample was too red. When he returned to the site again, the painter presented a new sample for approval. This time the designer said it was not red enough. Time was getting short, and Mike had the feeling this process could go on for a long time with the designer visiting the site every few weeks and finding the painter's sample a little bit off one way or another. So, he suggested that the designer leave his color chip at the site to allow the painter to achieve a better match. After the designer left the site, Mike had the painter paint the designer's color chip with the same paint he had used for his last sample. When the designer returned to the site for his next visit, he found, of course, that the painter's sample matched his color chip perfectly.

Mike's Abridged Edition

Michaelsen (who likes to call himself Mike and who is now retired) occasionally tells stories about his work as a project manager for a prominent Pacific Northwest A-E firm. In one story he was the architect's field rep on a California project that included an office for an executive. As the project completion deadline approached, everyone worked feverishly to finish the office before the arrival of the executive, who was just coming to check out the project but not yet occupy it. As the woodwork was being completed and the finish was drying, Mike noticed the empty bookshelves and thought it would look better if the shelves were filled with books. They didn't have any books to speak of at the construction site, so Mike measured the lengths of the shelves, went to a nearby used book store and purchased enough books to fill all the shelves. When he returned to the nearly complete office, he found that many of the books were too tall to fit on the shelves. But the contractor still had a table saw on site, so they used the table saw to cut down the books so that they fit perfectly.

The Long View (Take 2)

If you like the little story about angling the wall to allow the furniture into the bedroom, you may also appreciate this one, which has more to do with a piano than it has to do with architecture, but the two are related. We decided to sell our old piano, and a college student replied to our ad soon after we posted it. He said he would come and pick it up that afternoon. When I asked if he had a truck, it was apparent that he had not moved a piano before, because he thought he could carry it in his car. I suggested a rental truck with straps and blankets and a piano dolly. He arrived in a rental truck without any straps or blankets, and he had a small hand truck instead of a piano dolly. He also had a friend who was supposed to help with the heavy lifting. We had to employ the Egyptian pyramid building method to move the piano to the truck, using sections of PVC pipe as rollers, moving them from behind the piano to the path in front of the piano as we advanced toward the rental truck. Getting it up the ramp was a bigger challenge, but we managed it. I gave up a blanket and some rope to secure the piano for its ride to his apartment, and we heaved a sigh of relief as the truck left, thinking we had seen the end of the story. However, the phone rang the next morning, and the piano's new owner wondered if we had any advice for getting it into his apartment. It was stuck in the entry hall, where it could not be maneuvered around the corner into his apartment. He had also parked it on its end, and he had to climb over it to get into and out of his apartment.

The Long View

One of the first projects I worked on was a 2-bedroom addition to a neighbor's house in the mid 1960's. It was pretty simple: a short hallway, two bedrooms, and two closets. The layout was efficient. The neighbor and his father-in-law built the foundation and most of the framing quickly, but when they started laying out the interior partitions, the father-in-law asked me to consider a change in the plan. "I would like to angle this wall with the door to the bedroom," he said. "That way, we can get the furniture into the room." When I looked then at the plan as I had drawn it, I realized that the change was necessary. As designed, the hallway was large enough to accommodate the furniture in one position, but not large enough to maneuver it 90 degrees into the bedroom. It's usually a good idea to plan ahead at least to the next step, even if you are not considering a long term effect on global climate.

Random Lengths to 16 Feet

There are a few buildings from the early 1970's in upstate New York where you may still be able to see running trim in uniform 8 ft. lengths. This was a brief aberration from the standard for running trim, which is "random lengths to 16 feet". I had been working briefly as a lister for a millwork subcontractor. The lister makes out the mill orders, including cuts and finishes to rough stock. At that time, based on limited architectural background and some fence-building experience with my dad, I thought the ideal length for anything made of wood was 8 feet, and, if it didn't come that length, it was our responsibility to make it that length. As a result, the parts that were milled under my listing orders were typically delivered to the construction site in uniform 8 ft. lengths...until I got the call. One day the boss called from a high school construction site, and he asked me why the running trim was all delivered in 8 ft. lengths. He said the contractor's superintendent was upset about that and wanted it the regular way: "random lengths to 16 feet". Once I understood the problem, I also realized there were about 4 other projects that would be making the same call.

Lines and Dots

We had all pulled together and burned the midnight oil to make the State submission deadline for a new school project. Now, it was time to move forward with the construction documents to get them ready for bidding. We were looking at coordination issues, and we noticed that the sprinkler head layout on fire protection drawings did not really fit with the architectural reflected ceiling plan. It was not a matter of a missing head here and there. Instead, the sprinkler layout seemed to be for a different building. We called the fire protection engineer to alert him to the coordination issues. "I know," he said of the fire protection plans. "Those are just lines and dots."

Really Small Plumbing Drawings

In the late 1970's I was working as a job captain on construction documents for a large regional mall. We drew the plans at 1/16" = 1'-0", which was an appropriate scale for showing large plan areas. We drew enlarged architectural plans for areas like toilet rooms that needed more detail.

Romeo, the plumbing engineer, who worked on a different floor in the same AE firm, decided to stick with one scale for his drawings in order to save time and avoid going over his department's budgeted hours.

Soon after construction started on the mall, I received a call from the plumbing subcontractor. "You're a better man than I am if you can read these drawings," he said. Romeo had drawn everything, including single-user toilet rooms, at 1/16" = 1'-0". Those rooms were quite small, so he had drawn waste and vent and hot and cold water lines in the same place, literally on top of each other. Romeo knew how the plumbing lines were supposed to relate to one another, but anyone else reading his drawing - without a video record of his drafting - would be hard pressed to decipher the drawing.

Just a Fraction of an Inch

In 1970, when I was working for a millwork subcontracting company in a small town in northern New Hampshire, I was given the task of coordinating the machining of approximately 1,000 wood doors with metal frames ("bucks") for a hospital addition and renovation project in upstate New York. As part of its subcontract, my employer was to coordinate and supply all of the wood doors for the project.

My assignment took me to the job site, where the frames had already been installed. It was an interesting scene. None of the interior partitions had been built, so the 1,000 standing door frames looked like a forest. I had to locate each frame by number (fortunately, they were marked) and verify dimensions (height, width, rabbet, latch, and hinge ("butt") locations). From my perspective at the time, they all looked the same. I had not yet heard the saying "measure twice, cut once". Instead, I measured once, and every one of the 1,000 doors had to be cut twice. First, the door manufacturer followed my dimensions and machined the butt cutouts on the door edge, and then the contractor did it again in the field, because my field dimensions between the butt locations in the metal frames had been off by 1/16 inch. Sometimes, a fraction of an inch really does make a difference.

...in the Details

Rain diverter in Cordoba, Spain

Seek Early Resolution of Construction Disputes

Early resolution of construction disputes can save a lot of time and money...for all parties.

Some amount of disagreement is an inherent and healthy part of the construction process, and ensuing conversations about construction quality and building performance can lead to better understanding and be beneficial to both quality and performance.

A well managed construction project will encourage conversations about substantive issues that affect quality and building performance but will also manage these conversations such that conflicts do not grow into unresolved disputes that can derail progress and threaten successful outcomes.

Disagreements that can be resolved by those closest to the issue are likely to cost less and take far less time to resolve than disputes that are pushed up through the ranks to be resolved by parties who are not familiar with the issue and perhaps not even familiar with the context of the issue or the terms that are used in the workplace to describe it.

For those who experience a disagreement on a construction project, it may seem easiest to take it back to the home office and leave the resolution to a manager who is higher up in the chain of command. But the story that is carried to the home office may be filtered by the reporter, and the manager who is left to resolve the issue may be less familiar with the details than the individual who reports it. If the "push up" process continues for a few steps up the organizational ladder, then the upper management of one organization will be negotiating with the upper management of another organization over matters that neither understand very well. Less able to resolve the matter than those closest to the issue, they may decide that a formal legal process is their only recourse. And that decision may start a process that will cost many times the actual value of the disputed matter, had it been resolved by those closest to it. The formal process actually takes the resolution out of the hands of the parties and puts it into the hands of someone (perhaps a judge or jury) who knows much less about the issue than the management team that has last attempted to resolve it.

The right answer to this dilemma is, of course, to resolve disputes as soon as possible and as close as possible to (or by) those who first encountered the issue. Managers who send employees "into the fray" may be hesitant to delegate authority to negotiate matters of cost. However, they can delegate authority to negotiate tentative agreements, and delegating that responsibility with some coaching can lead to early and less costly dispute resolution and also develop negotiating skill in the organization's workforce (the next generation of management).

The first - and probably most important - skill that is needed in resolving a construction dispute is to listen well (and respectfully) to what the other party is saying and to try to see the issue from the other party's point of view. It is important to see the issue (not the other party) as the adversary that must be overcome.

If emotions are too high for those closest to the issue to reach a resolution, it may be beneficial to the parties to have an independent "third" party - a professional listener who understands the business, the terminology, and the context - who can help to facilitate a conversation that can lead to a dispute resolution that comes from the parties and a resolution which the parties feel they own.

How Our Construction Bidding System Works Against High Quality Construction

Recent observations of the deconstruction of parts of several buildings have convinced me that our bidding system actually works against our interest in high quality construction. That’s something to remember when thinking about the need for construction quality that goes along with green and sustainable building practices. Sustainable building practices demand careful attention to detail (air sealing, for example), but our system of awarding contracts to the lowest bidder actually rewards inattention. Consider the following:

The lowest general bid for a building project is typically the sum of all the lowest subcontractor bids for sub-trade work, the lowest material bids, and the lowest bid for work that will be done by the general contractor and not subbed out. In many cases, the general bid will also include “plugs”, amounts that the general bidder carries in advance of actually getting commitments from subcontractors, and those parts of the work are then “shopped” after the contract is awarded. In the case of bid shopping, the “plug” amount is likely to govern the quality of the resulting work.

Overall, this low bidding system as we know it can result in a tug of war throughout the life of a project: the owner and architect struggle to realize the intended scope and level of quality, while the general contractor, subcontractors, and suppliers struggle to complete the project for the amounts bid without losing money. Lines, words, and numbers on drawings and in construction specifications can become central factors in arguments about whether something is or is not required as part of the contracted work.

On projects where the architect has a role that is limited in terms of the type or extent of drawings and specifications and the extent of construction observation and administration, there can be a greater divergence between the design intent (either drawn or not drawn) and the actual construction. On developer led projects or contractor led design-build projects where the architect is expected to provide only limited drawings and is excused from regular construction observation and where the developer or design-builder are also realizing cost savings in project management, coordination, and job site supervision, subcontractors and others involved in the work may take shortcuts and cover up work that is incomplete in order to make money or minimize their own costs on the project. On such projects, those doing the hands-on work may never see drawings or may be expected to know what to do without drawings or close supervision. Deconstruction in response to post-construction building problems like leaks and rot may reveal missing layers of necessary material and improper installation of building components. In some cases, the results are attributable to a lack of coordination among sub-trades due to incomplete subcontracts (in one case bolts were excluded from framing subcontracts and were to be provided by others, but no one provided them). In other cases, the line that separates one sub-trade from another may be precisely a line where one stops and another starts but where good construction practice requires a coordinated under-lapping and over-lapping instead of a distinct break that provides no protection for the underlying structure. Because time is money (“of the essence”), the shortest path to project completion may include unflagged substitutions that save time and builder cost but also reduce quality and building performance.

Green and sustainable building requires a better approach to bidding and construction quality control and should include incentives that are tied to building performance. Although there are many conscientious builders who are interested in making green buildings, our bidding system that inadvertently rewards short cuts and omissions may continue to limit our access to greener construction and better building performance.

Consider the Value of Experience when Selecting an Architect for your Project

When selecting an architect firm for your building project, the candidate firm's experience with your type of building project should be a very important consideration. Although it may be tempting to choose new or bold ideas over experience, the risks you face can include costly changes during and after the construction process. Complex new building projects or renovations that require adherence to multiple codes and regulations and projects that must accommodate ongoing occupancy during construction demand a familiarity with those requirements and needs in order to bring off a successful project with minimal changes, disruption, and delays.

A candidate firm's recent track record with projects of the same or similar type and size should also be considered and verified. Some firms specialize in master plan studies, while other firms' experience covers the life of a project from preliminary studies and design through construction documents, bidding, and construction administration. For projects that are subject to explicit bidding requirements, the firm's experience with construction documents and construction administration in the same area can be invaluable.

If you are looking for new ideas that you do not see in the work of the experienced candidate firms, then you may find a good balance in a design team that includes both an innovator firm and a firm that offers more experience in your building type and size. Even then, it may be beneficial to ensure that the roles of the firms are balanced so as not to downgrade the influence of the firm that has more experience in your project type. It may also be beneficial to remember that early design decisions can have a tremendous influence on the ultimate outcomes of a building project, including constructability, cost, and building performance after construction.