Levels of Design / Development / Detail - Beyond just Design

Contractors can improve business results by applying many of the same processes and vocabulary to their business that the industry is applying to projects.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share
Leadership Tools: Levels of Development Design, and Detail (LOD).

Consider how the different Levels of Design / Development / Detail (LOD) could be applied to your planning processes.  Starting with a basic high-level value-stream map of how your company acquires and delivers projects to your customers.  Think about a simple diagram with 10-20 components; level 100.  

Now consider the series of meetings and teams you would setup on a project that will take that high-level diagram through increasingly granular design details.  Consider all the frustrations of working through that design-development process going from concept to details and specifications that are fabrication / construction ready.  Consider the process rigor including RFIs and change management including value-engineering.  

Imagine your business with a complete set of plans, specs, as-builts, inspections and O&M manuals with training upon turnover similar to what we have on every project.  That is Level 500 of the BIM standards.   


What if you applied that much rigor to your business management processes?   

Schedule a call to learn how




From Financial Management to Business Management
As contractors go through different stages of growth it often makes sense to expand the financial management role into more comprehensive business management role. At exactly what stage a contractor starts to expand this role depends on.
Planning for the Continued Decline of the Deep Expertise Age Band in Construction
Strategies and tactics for contractors to thrive despite the 25% decline in the "Deep Expertise" age band between 2015 and 2030. There are no magic bullets but there are proven processes that have been used before.
Problem-Resolution Cost Pyramid - Earlier is Always Better
An easy way to visualize the cost of problem resolution at different stages of construction is with this pyramid. The cost of the problem is the cost of the problem (1X). Finding it ahead of time minimizes the costs and maximizes customer satisfaction.