Design Review: Values and Pitfalls in Engineering Practice

• QC/QA tasks on engineering deliverables are always given less attention during the design development phase, and engineering firms view these tasks as money wasted due to the fact that they are not a reimbursable effort, engineering firms cut these efforts

• In today’s highly competitive market, the demand for quality is the critical factor for companies to survive in the ever-expanding global marketplace.

• Federal Facilities Council (FFC) , 30% to 50% of all construction change orders are the direct result of design document problems that occur from inappropriate interactions across design disciplines

• is a documented, comprehensive, systematic examination of design deliverables to evaluate the adequacy of design requirements, to evaluate the capability of the design to meet the requirements and standards.

• Systematic approach to emphasizes the continuous improvement of quality and customer satisfaction.

• Provide a framework

• Printing reports and manually re-entering data has traditionally been the most popular method for design evaluations

• Red-check 1981 was one of the earliest design review approaches.

• In the late 1980s , US army Corps of engineer - DrCheck and Automated Review Management System (ARMS)

• Design control is addressed in Quality Management System that should be developed by organization's quality team

• Design Quality System should define the organizational structure, as well as provide job descriptions for the key managerial positions with brief summaries of their tasks.

• Design Quality System should include a list of standing instructions or processes, and Design checklist

• The design team should work as a unit.

• Good design discipline leaders must have a grasp of and sensitivity to the issues and aims of other design disciplines

• Preforming contract obligations, and project objectives

• Maintaining technical correctness

• Managing Resources

• Checking for compliance with code, standards and applied regulations

  
  

• Cost Reduction.

• Customer satisfaction

• Defect Reduction

• Certify compliance to standards, specifications, codes, and regulations,

• Detect problems related to errors, omissions, and inconsistencies caused by the design process,

The silent killers of implementing sustainable design review could be classified into five groups.

• Strategic Barriers,

• Structural Barriers,

• Human Recourse Barriers,

• Contextual Barriers, and

• Procedural Barriers.

Training, recognition, and knowledge are crucial factors to improving quality in any business domain to ensure client satisfaction and performance excellence.

1. The primary sources of data are the Comment Resolution Matrix (CMR) for 60% and 90% design stages, as well as the Request for Information (RFIs) log.

2. Total of 864 comments (304 at 60% design stage and 560 at 90% design stage).

3. Review and analysis of 82 RFIs issued in the construction phase.

Findings

1. The current Design Review System has a level of confidence less than 90%.

2. During the design development stages, different checklists are used.

3. No organized and defined procedure/ process for checking and reviewing the engineering deliverables are followed.

4. No effective intra-disciplinary review (IDR) and Peer Review.

5. No lessons learned between the 60% and 90% stages were identified