{"id":4699,"date":"2020-05-13T19:53:06","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T19:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imegcorp.com\/?p=4699"},"modified":"2021-01-06T17:09:58","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T17:09:58","slug":"delegated-design-in-building-technology-can-have-costly-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imegcorp.com\/insights\/blog\/delegated-design-in-building-technology-can-have-costly-consequences\/","title":{"rendered":"Delegated design in building technology can have costly consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Jeff Carpenter<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How can you determine if a technology engineer is prone to doing delegated design? Ask to see several examples of previous design deliverables and ask them questions, such as what role vendors play in their design. Also watch out for:<\/small><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDelegated design\u201d is a term that is becoming more widely\u00a0<\/span>used and\u00a0<\/span>understood in the AEC industry. The phrase basically refers to instances in which a designer passes on\u00a0<\/span>a task that is normally their responsibility\u00a0<\/span>to another member of a<\/span>\u00a0project team to complete.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0<\/span>transfer of design responsibility\u00a0<\/span>can occur in any type of project\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/span>delivery<\/span>\u00a0method<\/span>. It is commonly seen\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0certain scopes of work, and aids in the delivery of a project when it is clearly documented and communicated among the team. Problems arise, however, when\u00a0<\/span>a team member delegates design without\u00a0<\/span>transparently communicat<\/span>ing it to the other\u00a0<\/span>parties<\/span>. T<\/span>his\u00a0<\/span>occurs mo<\/span>st<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>often<\/span>\u00a0in design-bid-build delivery<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>with\u00a0<\/span>the issue typically becom<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0evident to all during the construction phase of the project.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Detrimental<\/span>\u00a0delegated design can occur in any\u00a0<\/span>discipline but<\/span>\u00a0is\u00a0<\/span>com<\/span>monly seen and particularly problematic in technology design, where\u00a0<\/span>cutting<\/span>–<\/span>edge\u00a0<\/span>advances<\/span>\u00a0are fast-moving, always changing<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and require a significant investment\u00a0<\/span>on the part of the engineer to achieve expertise<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Not all firms make the investment needed to keep up with<\/span>\u00a0the latest<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>developments in technology<\/span>, however. This is when delegated design\u00a0<\/span>may appear<\/span>, with legitimate engineering work being pushed to the contractor to \u201cfigure it out.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u00a0<\/span>first\u00a0<\/span>heard the term \u201cdelegated design\u201d during a recent conversation with a\u00a0<\/span>potential\u00a0<\/span>client, and<\/span>\u00a0it was an epiphany. It\u00a0<\/span>proved\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>some\u00a0<\/span>clients are savvy to differentiation in\u00a0<\/span>the technology<\/span>\u00a0field<\/span>, a\u00a0<\/span>specialty<\/span>\u00a0that\u00a0<\/span>others<\/span>\u00a0treat a<\/span>s a commodity. This client understood that the savings from the lowest fee at the time of design w<\/span>ere\u00a0<\/span>usually relinquished\u00a0<\/span>when\u00a0<\/span>resolving problems during construction. \u201cProve to us that you don\u2019t do\u00a0<\/span>d<\/span>elegated\u00a0<\/span>d<\/span>esign<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>he<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>said<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>If every client asked that in their selection processes,\u00a0<\/span>the technology<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>design\u00a0<\/span>industry would get cleaned up very quickly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hiring\u00a0<\/span>technology\u00a0<\/span>e<\/span>ngineers that engage in\u00a0<\/span>d<\/span>elegated\u00a0<\/span>d<\/span>esign certainly keeps the fees down, but what is the cost?<\/span>\u00a0Here are several likely scenarios you may encounter:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span>he cost of design\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0a single-digit percentage of a building\u2019s total life cycle.\u00a0<\/span>In the interest of successful\u00a0<\/span>outcomes\u00a0<\/span>when creating\u00a0<\/span>increasingly complex buildings, i<\/span>t pays for clients to\u00a0<\/span>protect themselves from<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>d<\/span>elegated\u00a0<\/span>technology\u00a0<\/span>d<\/span>esign.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hiring technology engineers that engage in delegated design certainly keeps the fees down, but what is the cost? Here are several likely scenarios you may encounter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3,78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","category-technology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n
\n \n How to recognize delegated design<\/h3>\n
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