Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a project management methodology that has been a game changer in how construction firms approach, manage, and deliver successful projects. Traditional project delivery methods often operated in silos, with each stakeholder—owners, designers, contractors, and suppliers—working independently. In contrast, IPD emphasizes collaboration, collective decision-making, and shared responsibilities between parties, fostering a more cohesive and cooperative project environment where risks are reduced and project outcomes improved.
Do these problems sound familiar in your business?
Is your firm a candidate for IPD methodology? Here are some characteristics well suited for companies who wish to employ IPD as a practice:
If your business meets all or most of these factors, then you should explore this opportunity further to understand the benefits you can enjoy from better project outcomes, to improved business relationships and accountability to scaling your business for growth.
For IPD to work, there is a one contractual agreement made together and signed by all the parties involved (Project Manager, designers, contractor, suppliers etc).
Here are some of the key elements of an IPD multi-party contract:
– A structured approach to staffing and identification with each team member assigning their staff and one person identified who manages the day-to-day activities. Decisions that will have a significant impact are made by an Executive team and votes must be unanimous to ensure equal say between parties.
– A Target Cost and Design A project proposal is generated by this cooperative team outlining the performance goals, quality workmanship, schedule, budget, sustainability and long-term maintenance requirements. This is where cost dictates design, where in a traditional approach a project is bound to have cost overruns because a contractor is incentivized to submit a bid that is as low as possible.
– Incentive Pool where applicable, is predetermined by this group who sets the criteria and targets aligned to the project’s performance metrics. Some measures of success can be: # of punch list items at the end, delivery speed, # of square feet completed/day, safety record, etc.
– Continuous Design Validation allows all parties visibility through an open book concept allowing immediate coordination for cost savings and design optimization ideas. This is done through a BIM, eliminating the confusion and errors from multiple drawings and common issues resulting in cost overruns and project delays.
– Joint Project Controls allows all parties to have equal control over decisions. Project decisions are put into a matric by categories and subcategories for reach stage often housed in a Project management Information System
An IPD has proven to be a very effective delivery model between parties who trust one another. It dramatically decreases the risks that a project will be delivered late, over budget, and/or be lower quality than anticipated by the owner. At the end of the day, this is an ideal worth working towards.
Reporting and Analytics:
Customization and Integration:
While IPDs may sound simple and everyone wants to use them, most fail because their organization and/or their team is not properly set up to work at this level.
We know your business and have the right experience and skills to drive this initiative forward. If you are interested to create an environment where these barriers to success are removed, we can accelerate the path to achieving IPDs as a standard practice for your project management team by utilizing the following solutions:
