Avanti (programme)

The Avanti programme was established by the UK Department of Trade and Industry in 2002 [ [http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file37735.pdf DTI The Construction Research Programme, February 2007] ] to formulate an approach to collaborative working in order to enable construction project partners to work together effectively. The project was promoted by the Department of Trade and Industry [ [http://www.excitech.co.uk/DPJ/sublibrary.asp?vol=3&iss=6 Design Productivity Journal] ] with the support of most of the largest UK firms in the construction industry. [ [http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ceavanti/companies.jsp Full list of collaborative companies] ] The programme had also the participation of the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI), Loughborough University and Co-Construct, a network of five construction research and information organizations.

The Avanti programme aimed to help overcome problems caused by incomplete,inaccurate and ambiguous information. [ [http://www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/B8DEFACA-CB65-43E7-8708-3308C2B7EE39/0/Construction_april06.pdf "An historical problem"] , Construction Journal, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, April 2006]

Background

The Tavistock Institute report (1965) printed an extract from an RICS meeting of 1910 which stated "Architectural information is invariably inaccurate, ambiguous and incomplete". By the 1940s, the impact of this was valued at an additional 10% to the construction cost. By 1994 the Latham Report Constructing the Team, along with the [http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/eganreview Egan Reports] , suggested waste in the industry accounted for 25-30% of project costs. This figure is supported byearlier publications from the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and the construction research organisation BSRIA, which led to reports in 1987 from the Coordinating Committee for Project Information that recommended a common format and disciplined approach to reduce the problem. These suggestions were proven on DTI-funded projects and case studies at Endeavour House at London Stansted Airport and the BAA Heathrow Express, which showed that significant savings in project cost and drawing production could be made by addressing people and process issues.

The problem

Construction projects are complex processes that involve co-ordination between many project participants both on and off site. As projects have increased in size and complexity, the number of participants involved in a single project has also increased.If these projects are to be delivered efficiently it is essential to either reduce the number of partners or improve their collaboration. To help industry get the best out of collaboration, tools that work well, appropriate processes to implement them and the right approach from the people involved are crucial.

The approach

Tackling these questions was at the heart of the action research programme which was named Avanti. [ [http://www.modbs.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/273/Moving_forward_with_collaborative_working.html Modern Building Services (MBS) Journal] ]

Its purpose was to support live construction project teams, as they collaborate to deliver projects, by helping them apply the appropriate technologies. It worked through a team of partners representing each stage of the project process, with the objective of improving project and business performance through the use of information and communications technology to support collaborative working, by maximising the benefits of IT in construction, sharing electronic information, proving the benefits of CAD systems over merely mimicking drawings, demonstrating that simple 2-dimensional systems can be a significant leap forward if information is managed as a database rather than a drawing cabinet and showing that 3-dimensional systems could be a revolutionary development, provided their potential beyond visualisation was exploited.

The project identified a need to reduce the risks involved in adoption of new methods of working, bringing together areas of current best-practice (such as CPIC protocols) that had previously gained too little market penetration to have significant impact on the sector. The objective was to deliver improved project and businessperformance through the use of ICT to support collaborative working by getting partners to work together, providing processes to enable collaboration, and applying tools to support collaborative working.

Avanti focused on early access to all project information by all partners, on early involvement of the supply chain, and on sharing of information, drawings and schedules, in an agreed and consistent manner. The Avanti approach was supported by handbooks, toolkits and on-site mentoring and relied heavily on the advice and materials provided by CPIC. [ [http://www.productioninformation.org Construction Production Information Committee] (CPIC)]

Avanti mobilised existing enabling technologies in order to improve business performance by increasing quality of information and predictability of outcomes and by reducing risk and waste. The core of the Avanti approach to a project's whole life cycle was based on team working and access to a common information model. All CAD information was generated with the same origin, orientation and scale, and organised in layers that could be shared. All layers and CAD model files were named consistently within a specific Avanti convention to allow others to find the relevant CAD data.

Guidance and Phases

Taking the lessons learned on the early projects, Avanti produced practical working documentation and tested the methods on live projects. This information supplemented the CPIC document Code of Procedure for the Construction Industry and addressed problems of incomplete, inaccurate and ambiguous information. Avanti guidance included:
* "Standard Method and Procedure" - advice on classification standards, spatial and technical co-ordination, example file and directory structures, and naming conventions.
* "Design Management Principles" - comprising typical design management processes, information management processes, guidance on detailed task management and typical responsibilities of delivery team leaders.

The advice also covers areas such as:
* a business case on the commercial imperatives for collaborative ICT
* guidance on ensuring the software chain supports the design and supply chains
* authoring information in a common data environment and controlling the sharing of information in a multi-author environment

For most projects, using this guidance consisted of three phases:

* "Phase 1": Change the poor industry practice of producing information to individual standards and throwing it ‘over the wall’ to the next person in the supply chain who then reproduces their own information. Using an agreed standard for the project, spatially co-ordinated and high-quality 2D information will then be produced for the parties involved.
* "Phase 2": Implementation of those same principles to generate 3D project models to produce 2D drawings and material measurement.
* "Phase 3": Full implementation of the 3D object-oriented and Building Information Models systems. Each live project captures the lessons learned and the benefits gained.

Further development

In July 2006, the Avanti DTI Project documentation and brand ownership was transferred to Constructing Excellence. Since the handover, Constructing Excellence endeavoured to promote the savings demonstrated on live projects. Further work was also carried out to make Avanti part of the update of BS 1192 [ [http://www.bsi-global.com/en/Shop/Publication-Detail/?pid=000000000030163398 British Standards, BS 1192:2007 Collaborative production of architectural, engineering and construction information. Code of practice] .] The BS 5555 committee coded the methods. [ [http://www.bsi-global.com/en/Shop/Publication-Detail/?pid=000000000000294037 BS 5555] ]

Results

Evaluation of the impacts of the Avanti project showed: [ [http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file37735.pdf DTI The Construction Research Programme, February 2007] ]
* Early commitment offering up to 80% saving on implementation cost on medium size project.
* 50-85% saving on effort spent receiving information and formatting for reuse.
* 60-80% saving on effort spent finding information and documents.
* 75–80% saving in effort to achieve design co-ordination.
* 50% saving on time spent to assess tenders and award sub-contracts.
* 50% saving on effort in sub-contractor design approval.

The future

Constructing Excellence is developing a self-sustaining business to support roll out of the Avanti methodology to the UK construction industry. They will also draw on the results of other DTI-supported collaborative research such as "Building Down Barriers". [ [http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B935410C-ACA9-4F1E-B4BC-FCF91D202B93/0/supplychainhandbook.pdf Building Down Barriers] ]

References

ee also

* CPIC

External links

* [http://www.avanti-construction.org/products.shtml Avanti website]
* [http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ceavanti/ Constructing Excellence Avanti]
* [http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ceavanti/downloads/TheAvantiApproach.pdf What is Avanti?]
* [http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ceavanti/downloads/CWCAvanti_301106.ppt People + Process + Tools]
* [http://www.concrete.org.uk/default.asp?submenu=home Co-Construct home page]
* [http://www.iai-international.org/ IAI home page]