Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1036193
why isn't everyone just implementing this strategy? Why isn't it already the norm? e obvious answer is cost. Although the advantages are clear, a distinct cost component can be easily determined. Owners have a difficult time justifying the costs without the ability to substantiate an offset savings. is is deja vu. e construction industry saw the same issue when computerized 3D modeling and coordination effort (virtual design and construction—VDC—and/or building-informa- tion modeling—BIM) were introduced. Why should owners pay more to offset an unknown or unquantifiable risk? What's the ultimate payoff ? For 3D modeling, the risk has proven worth the reward, and BIM has prevailed. e indus- try has seen the benefits, and BIM has become the standard procurement method for data center projects. Understandably, BIM or otherwise, the mission-critical industry has had a couple pendulum swings when costs were involved. For early data centers, costs were no object. We were building these facilities to protect our data, and we needed uptime. We needed quality. Schedule was a second- ary item. en, colocation providers challenged industry with the costs. eir purpose was to bring costs down, to decrease redundancy because they saw it as waste and to get it done fast. Schedule and costs seemed to fight for priority depending on circumstance, but the pendulum has begun to swing the other direction. Schedule is the driver, and people are fighting to eliminate more time. With that fight becoming more prevalent, the industry is taxed at the end of the projects and is requiring quicker startup efforts to bring the building online. e standard trial-and-error method is no longer viable, and the reliability of systems working the first time is becoming invaluable. Testing these systems before the building is complete gives trade partners a chance to work out all the bugs and allows the owner/engineer to agree to the final product in an envi- ronment that's favorable to calmer heads and good decision making. We have an obligation to our clients to develop new ways of shrinking the schedule, and shiing construction activities le has proven an innovative way to do so. n About the Author: Mike Fernholz is engineering services manager for JE Dunn Construction. jedunn.com