Getting Your Project to First Base – as Planned
May 2009
Who is in Charge? Many Owners expect their Prime Consultants to
In This Issue
help with planning and management, as well as to provide design
expertise – or even to direct the design stages for the Owner. Whoever is
in charge has to lead the team to success in the beginning stages.
 Feature Article.
Alternatives. To be certain of eventual success on a complex project,
 Publication
Draft status,
including
Overview, of
the National
Guideline:
Starting
Building
Projects.
 Gold Seal
Owner’s Project
Manager
Certification,
Canadian
Construction
Association.
 About the
BC Building
Projects
Committee.
 Questions to
buildingprojects
@apeg.bc.ca.
many choices have to be made during the project concept and
development stages. There are many ways to get building projects ready
for final design, tender and construction, but none is valid for all
situations. Increases in organization and contracting choices, the
involvement of external interests, and changes in public sector policies
have added options within alternatives.
A Comprehensive Start. Owners, and those who manage or procure
projects for them, have the lead roles in “Getting to First Base”. Only if
this milestone is reached with confidence is it then prudent to start work
on design and other bidding documents for general/ trade contracts. Also,
the running to First Base should have been preceded by capital planning
that reflects the long term goals of the Owner/community.
Choices need to be made right from the start for organization, design and
purchasing, so as to zero in on a compatible set of project decisions. These
define the end product and integrate its required results with a reliable and
affordable budget and a realistic schedule. Each of these objectives
depends on a hierarchy of decisions, needing lead times for consideration
of the related issues and uncertainties.
Confidence on First. Ideally, business and technical feasibility
studies justify the project much as it has been conceived. If not, the project
is of course best ended or significantly altered sooner than at First Base.
Justification means viability of the project and its objectives for its market
or service. Confidence on First also anticipates awards of well-defined
contracts, construction completion as planned, project handover at “Home
Base”, and the eventual real “proof of the pudding” during the service life
of the building.

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Getting to First Base with Home Base in mind
.
Ready for
Construction
2nd
Note:
for fast-track project
delivery, construction
starts after only initial
trade contracts
are awarded.
Building Permit. etc.
Construction, + Review by
Design Professionals
Substantial 3rd
Completion
Working Drawings/
Construction Contracts
Project
Commissioning
& Acceptance
Handover .
(Home)
Approvals
to Proceed
Preliminary Design
1st
Effective Team
& + Funding
Objectives + Program
Initiation
(Hit)
Capital Plans Business Operation
This feature article is based
on Starting Building Projects
and a presentation by Stuart
Rothnie MAIBC, Principal Hughes Condon Marler
Architects at a seminar of
the Society of Project
Management Professionals
of Greater Vancouver in
September 2008
Ways to Confidence
Resolving Uncertainties. From the start of planning, uncertainties
abound for what needs to be decided and done, by whom and when.
The following should be made clear:
 the Owner’s organization and expectations, and the ways in
which project decisions and approvals are going to be reached –
especially for the project objectives, the building functions and
configuration, and the preliminary design, as constrained by
regulations and other imperatives;
 the project team’s expertise, involving many disciplines,
viewpoints and interests: to initiate, define, estimate, finance and
gain acceptance for the project; to decide on the contracts to
deliver it; and to match the project complexities and difficulties;
 criteria for confidence that First Base has been reached, with all
requirements met – to know that the project is prepared for
running to Second Base and through to Home.
Managing Decisions. Resolving differences in expectations avoids
confusion over objectives. Verifying consistent and affordable
objectives, with favourable and unfavourable consequences
anticipated, avoids belief in the impossible. Scheduling not only of
work but also of planning and lead times assures sufficient information
for good decisions, Assigning responsibilities completely to suitably
qualified people develops quality and reliability.
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.
Saving Cost and Time. Investment in timely planning adds certainty
that requirements are worked through and the design is sound. This
will save much time and money being spent later to recover from a
hurried start. Clear, complete communications, especially drawings,
reduce changes and confusion and are a result of being well organized.
These items save costs and delays at once, and throughout the project.
Expertise Right from the Start
Coordination Capability on the Project Team. As the team expands, its
members are required to provide a widening range of experience and
expertise, to developing optimal project requirements and design
solutions. It is not only for green buildings that all the design
requirements should be developed jointly. For the Owner to reach or
approve lasting decisions, much effort and dialogue are needed to
determine the real needs and opportunities for the building and its
uses, and to integrate demands that may initially conflict.
Practicable Expectations and Plans. Strongly held views, standard
costs, and pre-determined contracting methods have to be questioned
in parallel with attention to different ideas. For project definition,
procurement, budget and completion date to lead to an optimal
solution, all elements have to be realistic and compatible.
The project definition/design process also depends on expertise in
bringing together everyone and everything needed for a successful
result. Reaching positive conclusions without wasting people’s time is
a talent that has to be developed in the real world of contrasting
expectations and opinions. This talent to lead the decision process
should be verified before appointments are made. A planning decision
needed early on is to allocate time and money for project optimization.
Confidence Justified
Before the Owner approves the project to proceed beyond First Base
the questions below should have satisfactory answers.
Please forward this
newsletter to others
who may be interested.

Are the project objectives right? Has the original concept been
elaborated into a comprehensive summary project definition,
with optimal performance requirements for the many building
systems – all consistent with a realistic budget and schedule?

Is the decision-making team effective? Has it completed all of the
project development stage, and are risks mitigated/ managed?

Is the project plan comprehensive? Is it approved by the Owner,
committing to sufficient project funding and to a delivery
method based on fair construction contracts? Will bids be invited
using well-prepared drawings and specifications?

Are development approvals from applicable authorities assured?
Page 3 of 4
Steering Committee
for Starting Building
Projects:
 Canadian
Construction
Association;
 Engineers Canada
(Canadian Council
of Professional
Engineers);
 Royal Architectural
Institute of Canada;
 BC Building Projects
Committee.
BC Building Projects
Committee:
 Architectural
Institute of BC;
 Association of
Professional
Engineers and
Geoscientists of BC;
 BC Construction
Association;
 Consulting
Engineers of BC;
 Public Construction
Council of BC.
Experienced Judgement.
The first three questions are largely
subjective relaying on multi-disciplinary know-how about good
practice. Only the fourth can be resolved objectively, by a permit, and
this does not address the full range of project objectives. A “yes” to
each question justifies confidence of success during final design and
construction, and throughout the life of the building.
Return on Investment. Getting to First Base is an investment in
planning, design and management. The return is in financial, product,
service and reputation benefits. “Reliable Estimating”, “Risk-based
Contracting”, “Meticulous Planning” and “Setting Quality Criteria” all
contribute to the investment needed to assure a sufficient return.
Starting Building Projects & Overview (12 pp + TOC from Publication Draft )
The Steering Committee for this proposed National Guideline (45 pages of
text in all) has accepted the current draft as the basis for proceeding to
publication. (Associations on the Committee are listed in the adjacent panel).
The draft has been re-structured and extensively improved resulting from
comments on the prior Exposure Draft.
Remaining steps include final editing and layout, translation into French
(previously done for the Exposure Draft), and formalization of endorsement or
support from the Steering Committee Associations and others.
In particular, a standalone Overview has been included. It summarizes the
management roles and practices during the project stages from concept to
start of construction documents. It is available for download free of charge
(currently only in English) from the website noted below left.
The Vancouver Regional Construction Association has recommended the
Guideline as a reference document for the Cdn Construction Association
Gold Seal Owner’s Project Manager Certification. Also, VRCA, BCIT and
others are developing a related course “Development and Procurement of
Construction Projects” for a wider audience.
Management of Building Projects (250 pp)
To purchase
Management of Building
Projects
or evaluate
Starting Building Projects
Overview
Go to
www.bcprojects
manual.com
This multi-association Practice Manual is published by the BC Building
Projects Committee; (Association Members are listed in the adjacent panel).
The Manual is available for sale at the noted website, the Architectural
Institute of BC, Vancouver Regional Construction Association, Southern
Interior Construction Association and UBC bookstore. It is one of many
references in Starting Building Projects.
The website also includes the Executive Summary of the Practice Manual,
and industry and user evaluations.
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