BYTNAR - TALKS
EPISODE 006 - STAGE 4 - TECHNICAL DESIGN
This episode is for people who want to know more about the process of project design and delivery.
If you ask yourself questions:
What does this stage look like from the Architect's perspective?
What does this stage look like from the Structural Engineer's perspective?
What is the intricacy of the Structural Engineers' approach and why is there a stage 4.5 subdivision in the process?
What are the perils of too precise definition and the perils of not enough information?
Why do small projects up to 1 mil often never reach this stage or this stage is poorly delivered?
This episode should give you a broad idea of how the details in Architecture Engineering or Construction are arrived at if at all.
This is Bytnar Talks the Engineer takes on construction episode 6 hi I'm Piotr Bytnar each day I help my clients plan and design building projects through Bytnar Limited a Consulting Chartered Structural Engineers practice my biggest passion and the cornner tone on which I've built my business is find finding clever solutions for construction projects I am a chartered structural engineer and a buing software developer so you can rest assured that I will strive to talk about the best practices and the use of new technologies in the industry and if you're embarking on a construction project or are involved in planning designing and building the world around us you'll find this podcast useful this episode is about stage four of the plan of work technical [Music] design all right guys so here we pocketed again thanks a lot for tuning in another semi-wet week has passed in the beautiful land of Kent and today I'm happy to add another episode on Reba and IC TR te plan of work 2020 I am a little bit under the weather as I record this episode for you so I hope it will not sound too snotty and my weird noises and voices will not unduly impact your listening experience just to quickly recap the last episode where I told you about stage three of the project definition process the stage three involves the design team in fine-tuning the agreed blueprint from stage two focusing on consensus building towards the preparation for planning application and identifying safety critical elements and specialist items designs to name a few it serves a crucial phase for strategic planning setting the stage for in-depth project definition in subsequent stages but caution was advised on premature tendering at this point as the overall goal of the stage is to solidify the shared vision for Su successful project delivery not a production of sufficient design and specification for pricing Now we move to the stage where everything should be defined and tied together so without further Ado let's get to [Music] it today I'll talk about stage four of the project delivery process or framework if you like this is the sixth episode of the plan of work a process which outlines the stages of a construction project conception definition delivery and operation providing a structured framework for architectural and construction professionals stage four focuses on development design and preparation of design and specification information to enable Construction in this phase the detail design is refined based on the approved concept from earlier stages key considerations include technical specifications Regulatory Compliance and coordination with various Specialists stage four lays the groundwork for the construction phase by creating a comprehensive and detailed plan that ensures the Project's Su successful execution and allows to discharge legal requirements of the design teams things like building regulation requirements of principle designer in the meaning of building safety act or and constr construction design and management regulations construction grade designs for party wall Etc act 1996 considerations and on and on and on the red tape is indeed vast and doesn't even I cannot even scratch the surface on it right here when I talk about the stage four today uh I'll talk about five different different points there I'll talk about The Architects perspective architect's take on it then I'll move to the structural engineers perspective and in the next point I will expand on the intricacy of that approach and why indeed there is a stage four and a half half subdivision in in that process as defined by istr T I will tell you then Perils of two precise definitions and peril of not enough information as a result of this stage and then I'll talk a little bit about small projects up to 1 million pounds which often never reach this stage or this stage is usually poorly delivered but that that's a usual usual case in the smaller projects where time equals costs equals fees equals the client approach no way I pay for this so not to Fu about too much let's get to the main part of this material shall we let's [Music] go all right so so what do the Architects do here well the Key activities of the architects in this stage is to develop a detailed design we need to refine further refined that architectural structural and Building Services design and ass sure it all comes together in the minute detail we develop detail plans sections elevations of the entire building and its parts to assure it all comes together and to assure that it's all coordinated and all of the other specialisms specialist designs are included within that coordination we need that input from from the contractors to make the one one hole that speaks speaks one truth that design that that speak one truth the buildings are very complex and you know it's plenty of specialist systems that may be incorporated within such building and with all of those spe special technical information technical design design and its placement within the building to be coordinated and placed on the final designs this is the time where the detail technical specifications outlining all of the materials finishes and construction methods are being tied together to deliver information for construction integrated all of the aspects including sustainability and Energy Efficiency measures this stage is so to show the Regulatory Compliance showing show to show that that the building indeed covered all of the building regulations aspects of it and it's and has been approach wholesomely and that is now ready to be taken for the construction usual process is to is to go for the plans approval with your B building regulator with your building control whether private or or councils The Architects as well as coordinating all of the specialisms all of the different aspects of the building project they're now to to also check on the costs of the delivery of the whole project to ass sure that actually still within their reason and can be sent for tendering need to update the budget wherever wherever the the actual cost goes over it or or maybe under however that's the very very rarely the case but anywhere we'll be going here we need we need to identify the the budgetary issues that may may need to be addressed and that may need to be communicated to the client what's the output of this of the stage is a comprehensive technical drawings that include all of the plant elevations sections minute details detail technical specifications of all of the elements and their costs as well as the all of the required approvals of statutory bodies and issue of statutory forms if the building is large enough to heal health and safety executive we need sure the coordination of all of the different dis disciplines has taken place we need to address any issues that have been identified when we look at the project in more detail we need to assess risks and combine them for information for everyone that will be taking part in the in the execution and the use of this building and wherever possible we need to mitigate on those risk if they cannot be removed from the process we need to think about the health and safety during the construction of the build trying to find find the easiest and the safest way for the erection of the building obviously we engage the client on certain in certain s l points where his input is is required and to assure that that employees employees expectations are met all of those documents all of that information needs to be gathered to be able to transition to stage five and to take the design into tendering Stage or give it to the design and build contractor who will develop it further in any way very often this stage overlap stage now number five especially on the bigger projects when you want to start as quickly as possible and not all of those all of those detail can be details can be eyon out before you can start but nevertheless a stage approach should follow where one stage is closed and one stage is begun on site while the next stages are are still developed so we don't start start stage unless all of information is already present and we can carry on with the build what Engineers do in this stage they they ensure that the design is developed to to its final detail and and that all the required information is coordinated in detail with architectural aspects and and layouts and buildups of all different elements Engineers will will Le and coordinate with specialist designers is making sure that everything fits well together and that all the considerations of the for the design of the main structure is still viable for the specialist input or whether their design is correct for the specified performance and behavior you know things like clading glazing ball trates steel and concrete connections of main elements but also auxiliary elements the developed design needs to discharge the building regulations safety durability robustness fire considerations for the building all elements should be dimensionally set out and shown on design documents to check for for and reconcile any clashes if if such reveal thems very often it would be prudent to have a strategy for the development of temp per works so the contractor have an indication of of how it all should be done on how we think of delivering the project or even if if you know if we send the package for temp Works designer who's separate from every other person it would be good to to show that intent intent so the actual temp Works designer knows how how you plan plan to deliver the building including a a rough draft of of construction phase plan it doesn't have to go down to all of the nitty-gritty details of it but we should know how and what will be needed if you don't have that everyone works a little bit in the fog and yeah and everyone will will charge for that uncertainty right if we need any local beefing up for the construction oper of the of the temp of the permanent structur as such may be the case sometimes maybe we need a crane base or or can we use a climbing climbing crane in the core or otherwise supported on the side of the building maybe the side is constrained and the structure will need to need a little bit of a beefing up to allow heavy machinery and deliveries to drive through the building and when maybe you can have few story as a parking and delivery space for for the side operation which then will change into typical use but for temporary conditions will will be needed as a as a loading Bay you see this this all all the sort of aspects if they can be thought about at this stage we avoid the unnecessary delay and unnecessary further further consideration down the project timeline timeline right you see even at that point as an engineer who designs this this type of schemes design design buildings into into the intricacy into the intricate details Engineers divide the stage four into four and four and a half why why they do that is it's simply because the amount of information that will be required by a contractor may not be known at that point or indeed isn't known at that point and we don't know who will be the actual who will be the actual contractor and what are his or her her capabilities therefore we cannot provide IKEA style designs that will show this contractor how to assemble every single bit part by part step by step as that's not the as that's not the responsibility of an engineer or an architect or any other designer it's responsibility of contractor to take the designs on board assimilate them within their practice and and deliver it to the to the expertise that they have on board so even if all the technical designs are delivered by the structural engineer there will still be aspect to reconcile either with the manufacturers contractors or Fabricators the importance of stage 4 and half is to provide the actual specific information for all parties to construct from things like size length position amount location length I think I've mentioned that already of reinforcement details fabrication shop drawings showing all elements whether that be Timber Steel or what not review or Preparation of contractors's metod statement to show no unul impact is placed on the structure or that it remains stable and safe during during construction we'll be reviewing or preparing temper Works designs for contractor this is the stage when contractor is employed for the execution of the work when his capabilities may require more or less of the engineering team involvement it is also prudent to have a quality assurance from the structural engineer here to Asser on the on the correct interpretation of the information by the contractor and to assure that the correct delivery of the designs is actually in place so that be stage 4 and a half that's that's why it's there sometimes at this stage some Architects and and Engineers mostly inexperience inexperienced but often highly skilled ones and methodical ones push for the overly meticulous and detailed designs showing dimensions of elements down to the 10th of a millim in reality though such accuracies are fallacies and at the scale of buildings if you take a scale of the building it's they're not achievable after all do not design and construct Swiss watches but super heavy and large structures whether the building is made of masonry steel concrete or wood the size of the element can vary few millimeters in one way or the other and can be out of Plum and not Square slightly warped materials ain't perfect the executions neither so as long as it is within certain limits of course we're good to construct such a building but it's we need to acknowledge that this this sort of limits do exist and this this departures from true straightness and true and square and plump expectation is is how the buildings are is how the construction game is if you build tall buildings and load at the elements as you go and ere next and you know floor after floor The Columns they become loaded more and more therefore they become shorter and shorter well and you need to you need to think about this this movement so you need to make those columns a little bit longer so they can become shorter but be in true with with the intention when you when you erect the whole structure you see you see the elements and structure changes shape between day and night or between wet or dry season millimeter Precision is not possible and design designers should think about these inaccuracies or how the building will behave as it is being built not be an idealist you see paper will take everything we like to say in the industry whatever you write whatever you draw paper will take it all and it's indeed correct but in truth buildings aren perfect and how they being assembled together isn't perfect isn't perfect in my practice I often find plenty of s rework just because the designers thought that buildings come together as drone either not allowing for adjustments in their technical design or not reasuring elements as they as they being built I trust it is generally more economical to have a site engineer to measure stuff up prior to fabrication or commencement of the next phase rather than rework of elements on site or sending them back to the manufacturer for redoing the other parel is the often attempt by the designers to put a detailing design fabrication construction drawings sometimes temporary Works designs and so on soall specially subcontractors Steel Fabricators concrete or Timber contractors Stone Mas or whatever this way engineers and Architects can avoid risk with reworking reasuring coordination but on the other hand all the Fabricators are not incentivized to make these details cost effective there are incentive they are incentivized to make this easy to do and involved on work so they can charge more on their service it is only a human nature and the cost of pushing the work and responsibility down the supply chain isn't the greatest and most economical thing to do in bitnar these times of clients are our bread and butter you see there is not enough of experties or appropriate person in many of such steel concrete Timber contractors offices it only makes sense to employ a senior independent engineer if the amount of such work hits 5 to 10 milon pounds and the office already spends around 100K on external Engineers to provide them with appropriate designs and indemnity cover so far we are very happy at Bitner to provide such specialist services for our trusted contractors and we are delighted when our designs are delivered smoothly as we provide that definition as a standard service for all our appointments this brings me to the point five of my deliberation the point where i' would like to tell you about those small projects sometimes projects up to1 million sometimes even Beyond which often never reach this stage or the stage is poly delivered you see clients at this level of fees which need to be charged at it's our time and time equals cost and cost equals fee but the clients see the amount of of required fee level they cannot justify it plainly as they're usually not educated in the Art and Science of project delivery and that's very often the the first and last project ever so the usual approach to to the fees of professionals are no way I'm paying for this see it is all too often of an expence that projects with a contract value under1 million pounds are delivered hosly without in-depth consideration of many aspects in a way being pushed down the process with plenty of angst between the involved parties and lack of appreciation of actual process of the project definition or the scope of the required deliverables these projects are by far the most of the products available on the market so all small offices compete for this small offices are often cut off by the requirements of the public Frameworks and the competition of Industry mul from the better Define and better Finance more sustainable projects so they cut Corners so they cut services so the processes are never very rarely well defined all to the fire adds the fact that British TW building regulation system does not require any particular licensing of or proof of competence to embark on the planning permission or building construction anyone can build anything and maybe at some point there will be repercussions even the latest addition of the building safety act protects the higher risks of building of building more than the construction in general provision of com competency requirement for this CT deliberation is not enough of a deterrent to make incompetent people certify themselves competent until proven otherwise so as we end up with anyone who can draw few lines on a piece of actual or electronical paper sending planning application for houses extensions and layouts of buildings that are ill defined and often require later resubmission for changes as it transpire is that people who drove them did not consider building regulations in enough detail or structures defined by anyone who seen one before and copied and pasted or use a software or an Excel spreadsheet downloaded from Reddit I know it all seems silly and you would wonder is that even possible but that's this type of projects they prevalent you can just go on any any Council website and go through the planning permission system and you'll see 70% of them done this way and yeah that's figure from thin air it's not something that you yeah don't don't don't hold me to it okay but there's there's a lot of them there and there a lot of these mistakes that land on on my desk as well with people in this stress that that needs need help when the contract is already already on site and cannot deliverer the building in my office for start projects of up and around 1 million pound value we charge about 7 and a half% of the contract value for the stage one for definition for and that's for architectural services and another two 2 and a half% for structural and Civil Engineering Services you see that it's £75,000 for architectural services and 20,000 for Engineering Services trust me when I tell you £95,000 now before the shovel is in the ground for most first and last time property developers seems extravagant and that will avoid it as much as possible when similar amount will be used for bad work fragmented and stressful work down the project line but that cost is hidden trust me no one will go back to say we should have the the def find it Well from the word go no all will push to finish the project at whatever cost but there's no other way right we need to finish the project however bad it is and however wasteful it [Music] is okay so this is it for today let us summarize the above points so one from The Architects perspective stage four involves detailed design development refining architectural structural and Building Services designs this includes collaboration with specialist Consultants integrating technical specifications ensuring Regulatory Compliance and monitoring costs outputs from this stage include comprehensive technical drawings detailed specifications updated cost information and regular three approvals considerations involve coordination among design disciplines risk management and client engagement successful completion of stage four paves the way for stage five construction with a detailed set of documents for the construction phase number two the structural engineers role involves meticulous coordination with the architect and specialist designers to ensure the final design details aligned seamlessly this includes addressing aspects such as cladding glazing ball trates and connections of Main and ancillary elements the developed design must meet building regulations safety durability robustness and fire considerations dimensional layouts are carefully examined to identify and resolve clashes additionally a strategic approach to Temporary Works development is considered assessing the need for local reinforcements of permanent structures re requirements for Crane bases all structural modifications to facilit constructions construction operations the engineers perspective encompasses a comprehensive evaluation of all elements to guarantee structural integrity and Su successful project outcome in the Structural Engineering Process and as the point three it is essential for providing specific construction details the despite technical designs being completed collaboration with manufacturers contractors and Fabricators requires additional intricacies this stage includes specific details such as reinforcement size length position quantity and location as well as producing fabrication shop drawings Additionally the review of prep all preparation of contractors met statements and temporary Works designs and shows that construction does not compromise structural stability and safety do during construction as the contractor is engaged for execution the level of engineering team involvement may vary based on capabilities of that contractor quality assurance measures from the structural engineering team further ensures correct interpretation and accurate delivery of designs during this critical construction phase point four The Perils of overly precise design include unrealistic expectations of millimeter accuracy in building construction leading to sight rework due to unavoidable variations building elements can in fluctuate in size and Alignment due to factors like weather temperature and construction processes furthermore relying solely on specializ subcontractors for detailing fabrication and construction stages can also be problematic while it may alleviate some risk for Architects and Engineers it often results in less cost effective Solutions as subcontractors prioritize ease and increased charges and point number five small projects with a contract value under 1 million pounds often struggle to reach or poorly deliver stage four of the Reba process due to time cost and fee constraints the competitive nature of small project biding combined with limitations in the access to public Frameworks and Industry Giants dominating the realm puts pressure on smaller offices The Lax British building regulation system lack licensing or proof of competence allows anyone to undertake planning or construction without stringent requirements further driving down quality and price so this is it folks I hope you've enjoyed it I hope you find something useful for yourself this is the end of the main body of this podcast now let's move on to a few words from me shall we [Music] I always like to end with a couple of words from me but if you already got enough this is the place we can shake our hands but if you want to know more please stay tuned for another minute or two I love to deliver projects and services at all different stages of project design and to all different details of definition B are limited AOL from being capable of providing in-depth specialist level of design definition bridging stages four to five for projects of different sizes but often for projects of1 million pound and Below we then incrementally grew in experience from the detail to the concept you can say I feel the design and construction viscerally by now anyway we enjoy helping our clients deliver often IL defined designs when they hit the wall of L on information or not so realistic information and do not want to go back to their Architects or Engineers as the trust is is by that time well stretched and eroded or simply gone how things are delivered in bitna no matter the project size we go through the process and improve on it with every iteration we've concluded by now over 400 different projects of different sizes from single beam to to Consulting on highrise buildings built over existing buildings sounds interesting doesn't it and sounds complicated too where they are projects of contract cost of 50 to 250,000 will require a different level of involvement to the one costing 1 million and over we balance the requirements expectations and safety to deliver enough information depending on your budget and project scope our service is bound by a process to make the most of the time and cost expected to be spent on the design Def and the and its definition but we will never accept a commission that is not well communicated with you in regards of the scope of deliverables if your design budget is not sufficient we will tell you straight up and we'll explain why but we will not take on commission which we know will not pay well for both sides and your project so here we head it the technical design order stage four is the point in the process where details are delivered and project becomes ready for construction but not always if you struggle on your projects or do not understand what it is your current architect or engineer doing we can help thank you for listening please voice up your opinion I wait for you on LinkedIn and I want to hear from Toodloo!
Piotr Bytnar BEng (Hons) MSc CEng MIStructE
Chartered Structural Engineer who deals with the Architecture of buildings. His Master's Studies led him to an in-depth understanding of risk and contract arrangements in construction as well as specialist knowledge in soil mechanics.
He and his team help homeowners and property developers to design and deliver construction projects reducing waste in time and the cost. He believes that the construction project is an iterative process that can be well managed and it is best managed if all the aspects of the project definition and management are dealt with in-house or coordinated by one organisation. His team works to all stages of RIBA and ISTRUCTE stages of work and enables contractors to deliver projects on-site providing risk evaluations, methodologies for execution of works and temporary works designs.
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