Engineering Inc. - November/December 2004 - 19

ACEC Executive ROUNDTABLE Edited by Melanie D.G. Kaplan Fortune 500
Procurement and Delivery Mike McCullough Why does a large Fortune 500
company decide to go with Executive director of facility engineering a
particular engineering firm for an upcoming project? In Walt Disney early
autumn, Engineering Inc. contacted several Fortune Imagineering Have new
technologies in project 500 companies and posed that question. Then we
asked management changed the way you communicate with members of the
various ACEC-member firms what improvements are design and construction
team? needed in the procurement process. The responses we es. At Walt
Disney Imagi- Y neering, we have incorpo- received constitute this virtual
roundtable, and help rated the use of 3D and 4D the fourth D being
demystify the sometimes challenging but always art- time computer-aided
design tools into our design, planning ful relationship between clients
and engineering firms. and construction processes. This has allowed us to
resolve spatial design conflicts prior to the con- struction phase,
facilitate our con- struction strategy and scheduling, Robert G. Macomber
and as a result, improve our sequencing of work. President/CEO By
incorporating the computer modeling into our bidding Atwell-Hicks process,
visualization of the proj- Ann Arbor, Mich. ect can be shared with
contractors What improvements are needed in the procurement and vendors in
advance. Our goal and delivery of engineering services? is to streamline
the transition from design to build, reduce field n today's world, client
expectations are far greater than in changes and enable contractors I the
past. The relationship between client and firm needs to and vendors to
more accurately transcend traditional professional services to take on
more of a role as partner and trusted estimate schedules and costs.
advisor. To truly understand the goals and objectives of a given project
and to affect the ulti- mate success of that project, the firm needs to be
brought to the table earlier. For success of any project to be achieved,
the client and firm need to have a clear understand- ing of the project's
vision, goals and objectives. A firm can help in many ways, but needs to
be a part of the process to be able to identify and influence value
opportunities and solutions. Too often, a project can move hastily,
overlooking critical factors, causing delays, missing opportuni- ties and
adding costs along the way. In addition, opportunities to add value such
as increasing the square footage in a retail development, finding an extra
lot in a residential development, or reducing the amount of infrastructure
needed to service a site may be missed. In the land-development process,
no one should underestimate the contribution a firm can make in shaping
the vision of a project. The goal now is to design solutions to our
client's real estate challenges by being intimately involved with the
project's strategic goals. November l December 2004 ENGINEERING INC. 1 9
Engineering Inc. - November/December 2004

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