Digital Quantities - The Sooner, The Better

I personally continue to enjoy exploring the future of making buildings around highly detailed digital and data pathways vs. the traditional 2D analog processes that have been employed for centuries. Over time, the tools have changed but the process has not. We must move towards transforming the industry around its contractual and technical processes. The processes of the last two centuries cannot remotely solve the issues facing making buildings in the next two decades. Collectively, we need a complete and distinct overhaul to even begin addressing the fundamental need for human shelter, the burgeoning costs and the risk laundering contained therein.

50 years ago, when I entered an architects office a year ahead of going to university one of my tasks was to proof read and match the QS Bill of Quantities against the drawings prepared. I would adjust the BoQ with a bottle of “Whiteout” and retype the correct values and/or erase and redraw the scope on velum or Mylar. These would then go to the trades and GCs for pricing. It was that simple, so where the hell did we go wrong?  

Seems in part that risk loomed large along with the major inflation/escalation cycles of the 70’s through to today. In that time our industry became increasingly litigious where architects stripped of their fixed fee structure were commoditized to the acceptance of a lowest fee approach. Architects (and Engineers) sell their skills, experience, and knowledge in the form of an hour. For the last 50 years or so as fees dropped, and costs rose the outcome was less than satisfactory 2D contract documents – fees divided by an average rate of Salary + Overhead + Margin = number of hours needed to be spent. The result was risk shedding, rising costs, and the ascendency of the GC to alleviate the problems as much as they could and where they could not then change orders, delays and underwhelming results followed and the constant refrain of “not enough detail on the drawings to bid”. So now what?

Back to the future… today Architects and Engineers can develop robust and accurate (provided they implement appropriate ASTMs and ISOs) Digital Quantities after all, they laydown virtually the first element/assembly in a model. In addition, by matching key trades which we call the “Fab4” (structural, envelope, mechanical and electrical) they have the greatest opportunity to align designers and producers directly and reduce cost and risk. If an owner does not want to engage in a direct design-assist, then the AE derived Digital Quantities can be used for pricing, the AEs know the model content better than anyone, why not take the lead in not only developing it but standing behind it?  As we continue to forge ahead with utilizing the Digital Quantities its no surprise that there is push back, anything new and innovative faces challenges and we are not surprised that the new refrain is there are “too many elements in the Digital Quantities to bid”.

Until next time,

Allan Partridge