The need for speed | Day Architects

You may have noticed a slow down in the number of my blog posts, we have been busy on some exciting projects. The building industry is at full steam in Auckland which is great, it's wonderful to see everyone feeling so positive about building! This brings plenty of work for everyone in the construction industry, however we are also finding more people are putting pressure on builders, architects, engineers, surveyors and planners to keep up with the demand with fast-tracked timeframes.

This occurs for a variety of reasons, efficient turnaround of documentation and communication is something we have always tried to achieve and often we will try to accommodate a fast project if we have the capacity, but it is certainly getting harder to do in this building climate, We rely on liaising with other extremely busy people eg. product suppliers, engineers, surveyors, and lead times for these skilled people are also long at the moment. The best builders are in a similar situation and are also booked well in advance.

We thought we would provide a few tips for fast tracked projects, as to be fair people are often unfamiliar with the level of detail required for documentation packages these days. There are ways companies can achieve this and there are benefits and risks. We just thought we would give you a little insight, that when people ask to speed up the process, the choices often when documenting a building fast is that:

They could take shortcuts and make efficiencies in the work systems (efficient CAD systems can help if 'cut and paste' drawings are applicable, but for site specific design and renovations it costs the client time and money on site with unresolved/non-specific details, and reduces quality of the finished product),
They could Ignore key steps in the design process (skipping a preliminary costing or developed design stage, which ends up with cost issues during construction),
They could working longer hours (there are only so many hours in the day, and you risk burning out your staff),
They could cut back the work taken on to accommodate a fast tracked project (difficult when the other projects are wonderful existing clients who deserve your best as well),
You could radically simplify the project to make the time goal the main driver of the project, or opt for a way that the speed occurs on site construction through a prefab system.
Or of course.... They could allow for systems growth to accommodate it, more hands on deck, more people on the job, but you will probably be paying more to accommodate this!
The simplified info graphic below (and yes I know there other options in systems management philosophy) probably explains the basic issues in a nutshell.

So with that context in mind we felt it only fair to say that we are determined that the quality of our service must remain consistently high. With the increased demand we have already been in the process this year of sourcing additional skilled staff and setting up some fantastic CAD systems (more on that later!). However as everyone else is looking for skilled staff as well in the industry this part is proving a more difficult process than it would normally be! Until this is complete please remember our promise to our clients is that we will promise quality and properly detailed and steadily delivered drawing packages, however lead times have the potential to be a little longer than usual (and are consistent with longer lead times for other building professionals, so I assure you it's not exclusive to us).

If you do have a big build planned, then its a good idea to book your architect in early so that you can ensure you are on their books to start your project with them before the end of the year. And if you are a skilled NZ Architect who is Archicad savvy and wanting a change of scene .... you know who to call... !!!

Have a lovely weekend!

Lisa.

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