Several years ago, while waiting at O’Hare airport for a flight home, I noticed a dad with what I estimated to be, his 2-year old son, looking out the tall windows at the large wide body jet airliner parked at their gate. The sheer size of the jet was inspiring - but what intrigued me was the little boy who would slowly grow to become a full-sized man.
The 21st Century may be remembered as the time when global connectivity became the norm bringing with it a tsunami of information. We are bombarded with daily email, text messages and many other forms of media. Smartphones track our moves and ping with notifications from apps clamoring for our attention.
I'm not trying to sell a particular recipe with step by step instructions for the best steak marinade. I am suggesting that steak tastes better with a good marinade and here are a few recipes I've tried.
Moral of the story: look for the Leanest, smartest way to work that meets the Standard of Care and make it the rule for day-to-day practice.
The knowledge of constructability and how to impart that into our designs has become a challenge for many design firms. Surprisingly, some contractors lack practical expertise in this area as well. What can we do about that?
There is something magical about taking the rough outline of a building and breathing life into it by crafting how materials and systems "meet and greet". He may not have originated the phrase, but architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe observed that "God is in the details".
Recognizing that many design firms will be content to continue working as they always have and not take the Lean "plunge", a coupon highlighting our free and wasteful efforts is provided. Get your coupon now!
This post includes a Workflow summarizing the steps for implementing the Toilet Types system described in the previous 2 posts. It is based on over 20 years of use of the system.
Drawing Systems are intended to simplify and streamline aspects of the CD documentation effort. Generally, they are not "perfect" in the sense they purposely do not try to cover every kind of situation found – just the majority of them. Unusual, atypical and special situations may warrant additional drawings or notes.
How has Lean Thinking been applied to a design professionals work? Are there better ways to document and what does that look like? Does the BIM environment and workflow reduce or eliminate the need for 2D drawings and documentation altogether? These are good questions which I will try to address below.
Beginning with the introduction of Stiky Bak in the early 1980's, the copy machine became an instrument allowing us to easily copy and place typical details or schedules onto drawing sheets. Another leap forward occurred with CAD and the ability to copy and paste information from other drawings. It was the start of the "cheapening" of information.
As a technology advocate I’ve watched with interest the many changes to our industry over the last 34 years. The tools used today in the practice of architecture bear little resemblance to those in use when I was an intern. Below are a few observations about the influences, trends, and how we as architects intersect with and use technology. Apologies up front for wandering around a bit.
I believe one of the most overused and least understood words in architectural practice today is Quality. Firms speak of quality, we write about it in RFQ’s, but do we really understand what it is or what constitutes quality service from the perspective of our clients and how to provide it on a consistent basis?
Firms use a variety of metrics to measure their financial performance and behavior. The most common is profitability – did we make more money than we spent doing the work. This is usually determined by looking at the value of the hours spent versus the net project fee.
I spent the first week of December in Las Vegas at Autodesk University 2015, also known as AU. Along with showcasing Autodesk’s products, it’s a great venue to glimpse the latest technologies for about every facet of the “making” industry – be it planes, buildings, or manufactured products.
The application of Lean Thinking principles has significantly impacted the manner by which buildings are constructed. Surprisingly, design side delivery methodologies remain largely unchanged except some institutional projects utilizing IPD approaches. Why is that?
Several years ago I peer reviewed a large hospital project during the Schematic Design phase. This entailed sitting down with a progress set of drawings to look at the overall scope of work, life safety basics, and to ask about the building systems we anticipated using.