Assembling A Collaborative Team - Other - Page 33
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The increased complexity of the design team
A design team typically comprises:
• the core designers: the architect and structural and building services engineers
• the project lead and lead designer
• the cost consultant
• additional consultants providing specialist advice
• health and safety advisers
• the Building Contract administrator, and
• consultants providing strategic advice, including client advisers.
The tasks undertaken by the design team have not changed fundamentally
over the years, particularly in the early design stages; however, the following
are now commonplace:
•More specialists (such as masterplanners, acoustic consultants and fire
engineers) are typically involved. This requires additional design management
time and effort to ensure that the contributions of these specialists are
properly defined in line with the project requirements and coordinated with
the work of other members of the design team.
•Certain aspects of the detailed design are undertaken by specialist
subcontractors. This requires close attention from the lead designer, who must
coordinate work undertaken by design team members as well as integrating
the work of the specialist subcontractors into the coordinated design.
•Different methods are used to obtain tenders for projects from contractors.
These can impact on and vary the cost interface between the client, the
design team (including the cost consultant) and the contractor.
•The role of project lead is more complex as it must deal with the management
of the project team and the broader project issues.
•Some project roles may be undertaken by different parties (for example, the
architect, project lead, cost consultant or a standalone company may all be
capable of performing the main health and safety role).
While these changes may not have altered the way in which design work is
undertaken, the increased complexities and variability of the tasks and processes
require more experienced leadership and a re-evaluation of the management roles.
The lead designer is a core role that has to be undertaken by one of the
designers. This would typically be the architect, although on certain projects
others may be better placed to fulfil this role (for example, the mechanical and
electrical (M&E) designer on a process facility, such as a data centre).
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