How to Fix a Broken Budget with Target Value Design

At the Richardson College for the Environment project we turned the design process on its head as we needed to try and meet the expectations of project stakeholders that were initially told to “Dream Big” on a not so BIG budget. The financial reality was there were only funds for a much smaller dream of $38.5M and not the $50M that was the price tag for the initial design.

Our team was tasked with finding over $10M in savings, as there was no money to be found to build the dream. We were living the "Broken Buildings Busted Budget" reality which was the book that was used to convince the U of W that we needed to adopt the Lean Project Delivery approach.

As a framework for assessing how well the process worked for the design phase, I have adapted an article that was written by Glen Ballard one of the founders of the Lean Construction Institute. My reason for doing this is that our team delivered an exceptional project and I was interested in knowing how close we came to implementing what would be considered best practices for Target Value Design (TVD). 

Project Summary

Target Value Design together with a Relational Contracting enabled the RCFE team to fix a BIG Dream project on a Smaller Dream budget and deliver an exceptional project that did achieve the project requirements within amazingly tight time and budget constraints. The team needed to get started with shoring and foundations before the project was designed, deliver a $43.8M 70% laboratory building project with 65 fume hoods, vivarium, green house with only a $750,000 contingency. This was achieved which is amazing considering that $450,000 of the contingency was used on one code related issue that emerged on an interpretation of stairwell pressurization to meet fire code. 

Our team exceeded the LEED Silver requirements, Got Gold and through Innovation and Imagination in Laboratory design deliver one of North Americas most energy efficient laboratory projects at 58% less energy that MNECB.

For the full article Lean Lab Blog

For a workshop on Target Value Design 

Lean-Lab | Target Value Design | An Assessment of the RCFE Project: "Target Value Design | An Assessment of the RCFE Project

March 2, 2016

Upon review of the TVD process, our team did pretty darn good!

'via Blog this'

The New Moneyball: Net 0-0 is the Game | Murray Guy

As portrayed in the movie Moneyball, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) the GM for the Oakland A’s implemented a performance metrics system that enabled his team to become one of most successful low budget teams in baseball! By finding undervalued performance with on-base percentage players, young and older talent, the Oakland A’s have consistently outperformed the competition. In doing so the A’s have completely dispelled the myth that there needs to be tradeoffs between cost and performance.

If we were to adopt this same thinking for the building industry, could we deliver a CHAMPIONSHIP building that produces as much energy as it uses at no additional cost? (Net 0-0)

Why Net 0-0?

A common theme amongst all GREAT Teams is that they succeeded because they were working towards some higher purpose like fixing our worlds greatest challenge, climate change. In a recent Fast Company post of “The Top 9 Info Graphics of 2014”, the first graphic paints a potential scary vision for our future if we do not address climate change. “In 1000 years if civilization collapses most of the buildings and bridges around today will have fallen.” I think this means there would also be no more baseball!

Why risk all of this, when we currently have the ability to eliminate 40% of all GHG in North America by building to Net 0 energy performance! Europe has already committed to a Net 0 energy standard by the year 2020. Net 0 is coming and so why not start practicing now? Our industry is currently able to deliver Net 0 performance at a 10% cost premium. We just need to find a way to tweak and tune our processes to get to Net 0 additional cost.



Net 0-0 is a GREAT target and at no additional cost there can be NO EXCUSES.

We need to stop acting like the Big Budget Teams!The problem with the building industry is that we act like the New York Yankees when it comes to delivering GREEN building projects. We get out our checkbooks buy sexy green technologies, field a team of disintegrated high priced performers that stumble their way to Net 0 energy performance at a significant cost premium. It doesn’t have to be this way, as there are masters in the industry that know how to get GREEN done on a beer budget!

We can learn from other industries that have proven that quality and performance can be free. We need to adopt similar processes as Billy Beane did in baseball or Edward Deming, who proved that “Quality is Free” in the automobile industry. With new THINKING we can break down barriers to high performance

Is there a PLAYBOOK for the Building Industry?

Leaders in our industry are utilizing Lean and more integrated processes to deliver high performance building at less cost, in less time while providing a better quality product. 

Interested in a workshop or online training on HOW to deliver Lean & Green projects?

You will learn how to: 

• Assemble a winning TEAM: With the right players, practice, discipline and focus we can deliver much higher performance at less cost. 
• Adopt SYSTEMS like what Toyota used for manufacturing but adapted for construction. This is called Lean Project Delivery.
• Collaborate on creating creating flow and efficiency

When we create a PLAYBOOK that focuses on winning strategies that creates VALUE for the customer everyone wins. The Customer wins with better value at less risk and cost, the Designers and Contractors win with happy customers and repeat business and the planet wins with less resource use and emissions

Cowboy Math: Is Net 0 -0 Feasible?

Current estimates are that there is a 10% to 20% cost premium to get to NetZero energy use for the cost of renewable energy systems and higher performance building systems. By tunnelling through the cost barriers with integrated designs and lean project delivery there is the potential to deliver projects at 40% less cost.

When we do the cowboy math the potential saving are greater than the premium, so yes we can convert the waste of traditional approaches to high performance Net 0 levels buildings at Net 0 additional cost.

Who will win the Net 0-0 Championship?

There are two projects in Canada that have adopted Lean Project Delivery to deliver Net 0 levels of performance:

Okanagan College Trades Complex

Mosaic Center for Community and Commerce. 

Integrated Designs is fortunate to be working on both of these projects for information on The Mosaic Center or Okanagan College 


In our search for world-class performances we will discover the secrets to win the TOUGHEST GAME in town, Net 0-0.

Murray Guy aka @Lean_tobe_Green | mguy@i-designs.ca

Integrated Designs  | EcoSmart  | Lean Lab   

You made it to the end ... Have an Awesome Day

http://www.slideshare.net/mguy/moneyball-high-performance-at-less-cost

Murray the "Net Zero GUY" | Building the FUTURE

Murray Guy, MBA, P. Eng., PMP, LEED AP

One day two Donkeys from Maui, stopped Murray and requested that he stop having so dam much fun wave sailing and do something to fix the extreme effects of climate change.  The locals were starting to get a little pissed that the grass wasn't as GREEN as it should and decided to approach warriors that love to play in the beautiful outdoors to join forces and make the difficult changes needed to secure the future.

Murray being knowledgeable and passionate about high performance buildings decided that he had better listen to these very determined and tough characters and went forth and started three companies to Build the Future. 

Integrated Designs, EcoSmart Developments and Lean Lab are companies that have a purpose and up to the challenge of changing a very inefficient and wasteful building industry to achieve Factor 10 levels of performance improvement.  We accomplish this through the adoption of lean and more integrated practices and by promoting more sustainable behavior. This in not an option, it is required to sustain life on a planet that is headed to 11 Billion people by 2100.

By helping our clients to Get Green Done they become recognized as leaders, benefit from a positive return on investment and together we can feel real good about creating a more sustainable building industry. 

Our goal is to make all new buildings NetZero Energy by 2020

Why so Passionate about Green?

When you love to play in the outdoors you become very motivated to protect your playground. When you know there is a better way, it is our duty to do the best we can with what we have.  It helps when you have a team of passionate talented hard working people that are committed to fixing an industry that is hugely wasteful and resource intensive. 

We have the expertise to build NetZero & provide a Positive Return on Investment 

Why Lean?

With the Integrated Design process  we we were able to deliver LEED Gold projects that used 55% less energy at no additional cost. This is not good enough!  With Lean we get to integrate the efforts of the whole team and do battle on the up to 40% waste that is inherent with more traditional design-tender-build processes.  

If you need evidence check out the book "Broken Building Busted Budgets"

How do Lean to be Green ECOnomics work?

With Lean we will save as a minimum the 15% extra it may take to get to NetZero. Masters in Lean are able to save up to 40% of the cost of a project. That is how we can deliver NetZero buildings at less cost with lots left over for profit and our wish list.

What is the NetZero Revolution?

There is growing excitement about going NetZero!  We are experiencing this as we just passed an awesome milestone of participating on our fifth NetZero targeted project. The NetZero REVOLUTION is about making NetZero homes COOL like the i-phone so everyone wants one. 

For the NETZero Revolution to Happen, we need to make NetZero #COOL and #Affordable

Murray'S NetZero Targeted Home

What are your Capabilities and how do they create VALUE?

At Integrated Designs we utilize lean integrated practices to turn waste into high performance buildings. We have the capabilities to deliver NetZero buildings at very little if any additional cost as demonstrated on five NetZero targeted projects.

At EcoSmart we  build homes that are high performance, unique and planet friendly. With #prefab #passive and #integration we can deliver affordable #NetZero projects that provide a positive return on investment.

At Lean Lab  we share knowledge with online courses on Lean Project Facilitation, Target Cost Design, The Art of Commissioning and the Last Planner System.  Our hands on workshops demonstrate that lean works and how it can be used  get deliver GREEN high performance projects. 

What types of projects and experience?

We tend to work for people that understand total life cycle economics, want to continually improve and adopt new processes

• NetZero: More than 5 NetZero targeted projects ranging in size from a  $400k residence to a $25M Trades Centre building for Okanagan College
• Lean: Participation on over 10 projects ranging in size for a $1.5M multi-unit residential to an $80M development for the University of Winnipeg. Five lean projects with U of W
• EcoSmart: Design and Build of a $1.2M duplex that is my NetZero home and are currently working on the design of our seventh home. Five of them being Factor 10 or Net Zero
• Innovation Place: Started a High Performance Building Program (1997-2004) that includes three LEED Gold facilities
• First Nations & Northern High Performance Projects: $18M Churchill Northern Studies Center, $3M NORTEP Multi-unit large family high performance double wall residential 
• Energy and Renewals: $7.5M POS Building Renewal, $5M SRC Analytical Lab, 
• Commissioning & Controls: Saskatchewan Centre for Disease Control, Design of Control Systems for Innovation Place, City of Saskatoon and 10 years controls engineer Honeywell

Education

• Masters in Business Administration; University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, 1997
• Bachelor of Engineering; Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, 1984
• Engineering Technology Diploma; SIAST Kelsey Institute, Saskatoon, SK, 1975
• Project Management Professional (PMP) designation, 2010
• LEED accredited professional, 2004
• LEAN Design certified instructor, 2015

Lean Training & Workshops:

• Lean Construction Institute National Conferences 2012/2013/2014 
• Last Planner System, Pull Planning, Study Action Teams & Choosing by Advantages by Lean Project Consulting on the Okanagan College project
• Integrated Project Delivery/Multi-party agreements training with DPR Construction (Dan Reid) & Howard Ashcraft on the Mosaic Center project
• Moose Jaw Hospital Big Room/Target Cost Design & Takt Time Planning at the Lean Leadership Conference
• Lean Transformation - 2 Day Boot Camp with Hardy Hartwig & Dennis Cuku of Oil Country Engineering
• Lean construction training audits of America General Contractors (AGC) Module 4 Last Planner Process & Module 6 Lean Design & Pre-Construction 

Presentations & Publications

• NetZero is Cool, Let's Start a Revolution
• Lean Lab | Introduction to Lean Project Delivery Video
• NetZero Building Revolution: How to Get Started with NetZero
• Lean Project Delivery | Empowering Teams to Deliver WOW Projects Blog
• LeanCx: Commissioning for Performance, Productivity and Profit Workshop & Blog
• EcoSmart Building the Future: How to Deliver NetZero Blog
• The Art of Commissioning Blog
• CleanTech Champions | Celebrating Start-up Companies Blog
• Triple Bottom Line | Leadership Blog
• Presentations to LCI, PMI, BOMA, IFMA, SAVE, PCL, CCA, CPC, EMTF & Defense Canada
• The BIG IDEA (Lean to be Green): How to achieve high performance buildings at less cost
• Published Introductory Guides on Lean Project Delivery & Commissioning (LeanCx) 

Associations

• Lean: Founding member LCI-Canada & Board Member, LCI member, 4 National conferences
• Green: CaGBC, Founding member Build Saskatchewan Green conference
• Project Management: PMI
• Design: APEGS, APEGGa, APEGM & ASHRAE

Awards and Accomplishments

• Leadership in Green Buildings - 2015 Build Saskatchewan Green
• Saskatchewan Slalom Windsurfing Champion: 2010, 2012

   Murray Guy aka @Lean_tobe_Green | mguy@i-designs.ca

Integrated Designs  | EcoSmart  | Lean Lab   

You made it to the end ... Have an Awesome Day