On March 3, 2022, the Construction and Design Alliance of Ontario (CDAO) released a new report, entitled Impacts of Pre-Project Investment & Quality of Documents on Project Delivery Efficiencies, revealing the source of these issues.
The report is a product of three years of study, including a comprehensive literature review, an online survey distributed to owners, design consultants, general contractors (GC), and subcontractors (Subs), and in-person interviews.
The findings reinforce the critical role of the project owner’s commitment to upfront investment during the pre-project planning and design stages on the quality of design documents and subsequent construction project performance. Research showed that an error that costs $100 to address during pre-planning could cost $1,000 during the design phase and $10,000 during construction.
Notably, the study confirms a direct and positive correlation between the amount of time and investment that owners spent in pre-planning – and the quality of design documents in terms of completeness and suitability of purpose.
The study also recommends:
- Owners and stakeholders should spend more time and effort to ensure they adequately scope the project before going to market.
- Owners should allocate time and budget for design reviews, checks, and verifications to be undertaken throughout each phase of the design process.
- Quality issues are can often be addressed by providing appropriate time, fees, and information about existing conditions.
Please read the full report and download a fact sheet outlining the findings for more information.
