Design Realities They Don't Teach Enough
This factor determines if what you designed can actually be built.
What is constructability?
This simple design choice is the most common problem maintenance staff find during plan review.
What is providing access or access considerations?
This vague phrase causes contractors to add additional contingency to their bids.
What is "means and methods by contractor" or "contractor to design"
Civil engineers are taught to design for loads, but often forget to design for this human behavior.
What is error or misuse?
Failure to coordinate with this discipline leads piping and ducts clashing with beams and columns.
What is mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering?
Designs that assume this will always be available often fail within the first few years of operation.
What is perfect maintenance?
When equipment must be removed to reach other equipment, this principle is being violated.
What is maintainability?
Designs that don't account for this look great on paper, but fail when the first shovel is turned.
What is construction sequencing?
This project phase is where the majority of future operational complaints could have been addressed.
What is preliminary or early design?
This modeling process allows multidisciplinary coordination in 3D.
What is Building Information Modeling (BIM)?
Overlooked design input is best obtained from these people who usually don't hold a PE.
Who are operators and maintainers (O&M)?
O&M Manuals that are delivered but never used usually fail due to this missing element.
What is alignment with actual field or as-build conditions?
This design assumption breaks down fastest on congested, urban, or brownfield sites.
What is unlimited laydown area?
What is "that wasn't in the design"?
This review stage is where the last conflicts should be caught and eliminated.
What is 100% or final design review?
Ignoring this during design can lead to projects that are practically unusable.
What is operations workflow?
What is lack of isolation (valves, breakers, lockout points)?
The fastest way to blow a schedule is to redesign this after construction starts.
What are temporary works?
When engineers fail to ask this question, everyone pays for it later.
What is "who will maintain this?"
This field issue arises when design documents don't match actual conditions, requiring clarification from the engineer.
What is a Request for Information (RFI)?
Reducing this by 5% can increase lifecycle costs by 50%.
What is initial capital cost?
This lifecycle reality is almost never reflected accurately in early design cost models.
What is staffing and training cost?
When drawings ignore this, field crews are forced to "design in real time".
What are tolerances?
The ultimate truth behind most design failures is a lack of this?
What is attention to detail?
This document formally modifies the contract scope, often increase cost and schedule time due to design gaps.
What is a change order?