Success of IPD at OHSU’s Knight Cancer Research Institute
High-performing teams are crucial for the ultimate success of today’s complex construction projects. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), when implemented with full buy-in from all project partners, offers a powerful and collaborative approach to successfully bring team members together and deliver tangible benefits to owners. IPD harnesses and encourages the cross-pollination of the talents and insights of all key participants throughout design, fabrication and construction, completion and turnover. While effective implementation takes careful planning and continued innovation, the benefits are real and typically center around four areas:
- Optimizing project results/Delivering more “Certainty”
- Increasing owner value
- Reducing waste
- Maximizing efficiency
The Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Research Institute located on the Willamette River South in downtown Portland, Ore., elected to utilize IPD on their new research building project. Their aim was to reap maximum value of a fully integrated team, inspiring creativity, collaboration and innovation reflective of the ambitious nature of its facility.
This plan and project delivery option resulted in the development of a high-performance project culture that was clearly displayed at an enhanced level beyond traditional building models. This culture was built and based upon trust, respect, joint ownership and integration. In the end, IPD was a significant factor in the ultimate success of the new Knight Cancer Research Building.
Occupied in August 2018, the $190 million, seven-floor, 300,000-square-foot facility houses up to 650 researchers and staff focusing on cancer research and early cancer detection. The building features wet and dry lab space, administrative offices, 200-seat auditorium, cafes and ground-floor retail space. It was designed and constructed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, which is a very lofty goal for any laboratory building.
IPD is not just about the outcome. It’s a process that starts from the top down and is organically developed. A great example is ensuring that every person on this project understood the goal of the project and understood their role in curing cancer.
EARLY TEAM COLLABORATION
The IPD team included OHSU, Knight Cancer Center, joint venture contractor team McCarthy Building Companies and Andersen Construction, and architect SRG Partnership, Inc. Upon selection in 2014, the team quickly co-located and remained that way throughout the project. As a result, a tight-knit community developed within the colocation serving as a melting pot for innovation, cooperation and constant progress toward end goals.
One of the things I told everyone was, ‘You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable’,” said Mike Buckiewicz, project manager for OHSU Major Capital Project Design and Construction. “When you push yourself to do that, things come out of it that you don’t typically see."
Buckiewicz and the team are now firm believers in the power of IPD.
All team members were invested in the project’s success. “It’s a huge paradigm shift from how we’ve delivered construction for the last 1,000 years,” said McCarthy/Andersen Project Director Rich Brecke. “It’s a big leap, but it’s absolutely worth the up-front effort.”
McCarthy Integrated Design Director Stefanie Becker agreed.
“It’s really all about integrating all the members of the team so the project is served, and everyone is focused on the project’s success,” Becker explained. “We started with a set of guiding principles. These principles, in combination with a focus on behavior and how we were going to work together, were critical and unique for this project.”
Even the scientists involved from the beginning, including Dr. Brian Druker, director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, were amazed at the cooperation between all the different teams.
“It’s remarkable how the architects, engineers and contractors are working together,” Dr. Druker said. “We are learning from them about team building and organization to focus on a goal.”