Design Manager - Construction Company

Design Manager - Construction Company
Overview:

Our client is one of America’s oldest and largest construction firms – and since 2002 has been 100% employee owned. Unlike many firms of our size, we are True Builders; a fact which our clients appreciate since they continually come to us with their most complex building challenges.

Client has built in nearly every state, with projects ranging in size from $1 million to $500 million in a wide variety of markets including healthcare, university, laboratory & science, K-12 education and heavy/civil. We have projects throughout the country.

Client's Texas Division is currently seeking a candidate for a Design Manager role. The Design Manager develops expectations for content and quality of design at various stages of the construction project and ensures timely completion of design associated with design build projects.


The Design Manager has the responsibility to accurately and fully inform management of designated projects’ overall design status and quality of design, including potential liabilities and/or concerns.

This individual will work closely with Client project teams and have primary interface with Client Preconstruction Directors, Client Construction Directors, Client Quality Director, third party Design firms and Peer review consultants.

Responsibilities:

• Define, schedule and monitor Design deliverables on projects – may be Design-Build projects or Construct only


• Develop & Maintain Design Schedule & Preconstruction Schedule


• Define key measurable milestones / metrics with project team, owner & design team


• Identify potential obstacles / problems and develop work arounds


• Coordinate design reviews, coordination reviews, constructability reviews, pier reviews


• Monitor project scope and trends


• Develop value alternatives


• Maintain design issue / action item log


• Maintain Design RFI’s and Design RFI Log


• Implement ClientQuality program & procedures as applicable in the design process


• Oversea existing conditions survey & as-built coordination as required per project


• Investigate, review and manage impact of new technology in design such as Building Information Modeling (BIM)


• Update Client procedures (Precon, Field, etc…) to incorporate best Design Management techniques


• Present Design Management training at various Division training opportunities such as Project Manager Training, Project Superintendent Training, and Management Development Program Training


• Implementation of Client Quality program and procedures, verifying critical quality elements are incorporated into the Design Documents and are part of the Construction Activities


• Build effective and strong relationships with Risk Management/Legal


• Build effective and strong relationships with Executive Management/Business Unit Leaders/Key Division Management


• Build effective and strong relationships with Key Owners/Architects/Engineers


• Document Lessons Learned and Best Practices

Qualifications:

• Good verbal and written communication
• Excellent Facilitator capabilities
• Process oriented
• Proven experience with Implementation of Focused Initiatives
• Focus on Key Design and Quality Process Characteristics (Define the End Goal, Work Done Right the First Time, Each Individual is Responsible, Verification - Not Inspection, Long-Term Focus, and Improved Results in Design Document Quality). Not Focused on Just Completing Checklists or Writing Plans
• Understands design, construction and operations
• Hands-on field experience in design and construction
• Enjoys training others
• Team builder
• Specific technical expertise in building enclosures or mechanical systems is desirable
• Good computer skills, including proficiency in Building Information Modeling (BIM) and software programs (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Access, etc.)
• 5 plus years experience in management positions managing and coordinating Design disciplines
• BS in Engineering or Architecture required.
• Professional Engineer or Registered Architect preferred
• History of Affiliations with Professional Organizations preferred (i.e. AIA, CSI, ASHRAE, etc…)

This position has been listed by OM5 Dallas and their recruiter Sean McDermott. Email Sean or call him direct P: 214.261.1209

If you have a Revit job or Revit project opportunity that you want to submit for review and posting; please email me the details through this blog or through my Revit JobCaptain Squidoo page.

If you are applying for a Revit job opportunity, please consider reviewing this article first:
Revit Jobs-Employment-Project Postings

Download Autodesk University 2007 Class Handouts

Couldn't make it to AU 2007. Login to the Autodesk University website to download Autodesk University 2007 class handouts or view AU 2007 session screencasts.

Choose from hundreds of class handouts from a pool of training talent that scored a rating average of 8.85 by attendees for their presentations.

BIM and Sustainable Design Require Value-Based Business Model (Part 1 of 2)

How will we pay for these value-add process changes to our design firm?

A client asked this question two years ago when we provided a 12 month BIM-Revit implementation plan.

As a company they had identified the BIM and sustainable design processes as long-term value propositions for their firm.

Then again, value for whom?

So, how do we market this value?

How do we get paid for this value?

What's in it for me (us)?

As this is a common concern/question, I referred them to this article, Redesign Your Profits: Value-Based Fee Structure which was posted on the DesignIntelligence website.

Redesign Your Profits: Value-Based Fee Structure (Excerpt)
by Kyle V. Davy, AIA, and Susan L. Harris, Ph.D.

A brutal fact of reality for architecture and engineering firms is that prevailing pricing and compensation methods—setting fees on the basis of direct labor cost (whether selling hours on a time-and-materials or lump-sum basis)—provide only minimal profits for most firms.

They also reinforce client perceptions that engineering, architecture, and design services are simply commodities to be purchased on the basis of lowest cost.

The insufficient returns generated by these pricing methods starve firms of the resources they need to grow and foster a survival mentality in which many professionals are unwilling or unable to apply their unique expertise, dedication, and vision to the complex challenges that confront clients, communities, and society.

Value Redesigned: New Models for Professional Practice (Book) is published by Greenway Communications and can be found in the Greenway Communications bookstore or I have found it available on several bookstore websites.

This book and others have provided instrumental road maps to this firm’s success. Their creative staff synthesized these contents and has continued to create hybrid value-based process changes; specific to their organization.

In the next and final installment, we'll outline a few of those business and design process changes. Processes they implemented to create a value-based business model. We'll also give you another book that also played into their success.

Revit Architecture & Structure 2008 Web Updates Now Available

Autodesk updated the Revit Architecture 2008 and the Revit Structure 2008 product download sites.

Revit Architecture
Web Update SP2 build (20070810_1700):
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=9408083

List of Revit Architecture 2008 updates.

Revit Structure
Web Update SP2 build (20070810_1700):
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=9281007

List of Revit Structure 2008 updates.


There are two separate downloads; one for the single Revit product and one for the Revit Suites products (those products that come bundled with AutoCAD). Choose the correct product based on the product type you purchased.

A Grand Entrance Requires a Graceful Exit

You can expedite the loading of a Revit project file by following these guidelines when you exit a Revit project.

1. Always exit a Revit project file from a 2D view. Such as a floor plan, elevation, or drafting view.
2. Do not exit (leave) a project from a 3D (isometric or perspective) view.
3. Do not exit a project from a view that has "Shadows turned on". Typically, I suggest turning Shadows off when they are no longer needed in a view.

Use these steps to save and exit a Revit project (*.rvt) file.

1. Go to a 2D view
2. Go to the Window Pulldown Menu > Select Close Hidden Windows
3. Now Select the Save Command
4. Exit the project or software.

Revit component families (doors, windows, furniture) are 3-dimensional. In this case, you'll find Revit family files are intentionally saved from a 3D isometric view. Most familes are set to a default southeast isometric view.

The Revit OPEN dialog box and the Windows file manager (Explore) have a view type called "thumbnails". With thumbnails enabled, you can view family files in a folder using the 3D isometric thumbnail views.

Use these steps to save and exit a Revit component family (*.rfa) file.

1. Set your view to a 3D isometric view.
2. Use the View Pulldown Menu > Orient > Southeast
3. Go to the Window Pulldown Menu > Select Close Hidden Windows
4. Now Select the Save Command
5. Exit the Revit family file.

Revit Productivity Techniques: Assess Your Skillset

I'm publishing a productivity series titled; Revit Productivity Techniques. I have 6 techniques currently loaded into the blog auto-publisher; with several more almost complete. They'll be released every couple days.

As an instructor of 20+ years, I assess learners' skill levels prior to and during the course of every class. I have at least 15 base techniques-skills (outcomes) every Revit user should have when they leave my 3-day Revit Essentials class. These techniques will be published over the next few weeks. Consider using them for your own internal lunch and learns.

The first one will publish tomorrow, Friday, June 15th.

Until then, Happy Flag Day!

Conceptual Design: Bumwad and Bubble Diagrams

Here's a concept that I've used to bring the "willing" conceptual designer and/or principal into the project team that's using Revit. Typically they've used pencils and markers to draw on bumwad, flimsy, onion paper or sketchpads. I'm not discounting hand sketches. However; our studies clearly show there is a time in the latter half of the coneptual phase where this technique is more productive than using paper. The project team can access the designer's work digitally for presentations, analysis, and printing. Thereby retaining the designer's decisions-design intent as the project flows into schematic stage.

This concept uses Revit's Room Separation tool. It creates spaces using linework and not walls. It's a simple, intuitive yet intelligent 2D sketching tool. The Room Separation toolset includes lines, circles, elipses, rectangles, splines, arcs and more; all from one small menu. Grip editing provides the designer with simple pick'n pull moving, copying and resizing of linework.

The enclosed areas can be tagged to display "total area" of the space both on the tag and in the space schedules. The designer gets immediate feedback from editing spaces in the design process. As the project progresses, the production team can trace over the linework with walls. Revit linework file can also be linked into another Revit project.

Here's a DWF project file that features the bubble diagram, concept and analysis drawings. I also incorporated a space planning schedule and KEY SPACE schedule on the conceptual page.

FacilityBlog - from Today's Facility Manager: National Building Information Model Standards Committee Formed to create the National BIM Standard

Just additional confirmation that client defined deliverables created by BIM software like Revit Building, Revit Structure & soon Revit Systems will be required in the near future.

FacilityBlog - from Today's Facility Manager: National Building Information Model Standards Committee Formed to create the National BIM Standard

The National Institute of Building Standards (NIBS) through its Facility Information Council (FIC) has formed a committee to create the National Building Information Model Standard (NBIMS). The Standard is considered to be a critical element in reforming business practices in the capital facilities industry and recapturing at least $15B annually lost due to inefficiencies.

more...

Building & Facility Owners Lifecycle Management Needs Define Digital Deliverables

So why are building owners redefining the deliverables for architects and engineers?

Let's look at some statistics that affect building owners:

We found one study that showed a building with $200 per sq ft construction costs, will cost the owner $40 per sq ft to manage and maintain.

Another study shows annual management and maintenance costs range from 4-10% of the original construction costs...depending on the quality designed into the building.

A typical $100m building project generates 150,000 separate documents: technical drawings, legal contracts, purchase orders, RFIs and schedules.
New wiring: Construction and the Internet: Builders go online 01/15/2000; The Economist Copyright© 2000 The Economist; Source: World Reporter™- FT McCarthy

Lastly building owners are trying to minimize the waste that they inevitably pay for with the construction process we have in the U.S.

"...inefficiencies, mistakes and delays account for $200 billion of the $650 billion spent on construction in America every year."
New wiring: Construction and the Internet: Builders go online 01/15/2000; The Economist Copyright© 2000 The Economist; Source: World Reporter™- FT McCarthy


They need to manage the lifecycle costs of their buildings after construction. They need a three-dimensional, digital model that accurately stores the original design of the building. As they revise the building's use, they need to analyze, simulate, save and track those changes in a digital format.

Paper drawings and CAD entities (lines, arcs, circles, dimensions) are not going provide the solution they need.

If you click on the title to this blog you will be able to download a whitepaper that I wrote on Building Information Modeling (BIM). CSI-Chicago and Association of Licensed Architects (ALA) published it in their respective magazines over the last year.

Click here to get BIM Whitepaper

Autodesk Revit Building is a software package that designs, analyzes and simulates a building using BIM methodology. Autodesk Revit Building