The Cost of Rework in Engineering Design

In the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, the cost of rework is estimated to be 5% of contract value, or $500,000 on a $10 million project.

Rework can be decreased through the effective use of information technology to improve teamwork and collaboration; increase visibility of documents, engineering files, and email communications; and through providing a “single source of the truth” for all information.

This Industry Solutions webinar shows you how 12d Synergy can help your organisation reduce rework and save money.

Reducing Rework In Engineering Design

Watch: Reducing Rework in Engineering Design & Construction Projects – Industry Solutions Webinar Series

The Challenge of Rework in the AEC Industry

One organisation that has invested a significant amount of time analysing rework is the Construction Owners Association of Alberta or COAA.  Members of the COAA include major consultants such as AECOM, Jacobs and many others.  COAA  has created a project rework reduction tool called PRRT.  You can learn more about the Project Rework Reduction Tool, and even download a free copy of it from the COAA website.  Find out more about the COAA PRRT tool here: https://www.coaa.ab.ca/library/project-rework-reduction-tool/

According to COAA there are five main causes of rework; Construction planning and scheduling, leadership and communication, material and equipment supply, human resource capability and engineering reviews.  Engineering and reviews contribute to the majority of rework at about 55%.  Engineering and reviews consists of late design scope, definition and design changes, errors and omissions as well as poor document control.  Poor document control is by far the leading cause of rework, it accounts for up to 40% of the total project rework cost for some companies.

This collection of common symptoms of poor document control with regard to document data and control people maybe working on or sharing the wrong files, and revision control may be inadequate there may also be lack of internal document tracking.  With regard to the visibility and distribution of files, the wrong documents may be distributed or in some cases the required documents are simply unavailable, in some cases RFI’s may not be responded to in a reasonable time frame.  Issued file management may be inconsistent and it may be difficult to securely share file sets with partners and key stakeholders.

Email data and document search files being incorrectly named can make it difficult to understand what they are it can also make it difficult to find them.  Being able to search and rapidly find emails, related documents and other data files is critical for most companies in the industry.

Resource availability is a major issue for many companies in the construction industry within this extremely competitive environment.  Many organisations simply do not have the adequate financial and human resources available to ensure sufficient document control.

If any of these symptoms sound familiar, poor document control is likely causing unnecessary rework for your company.

12d Synergy Solution

12d Synergy enables companies to get control over their data and documents.  It’s a data management and collaboration solution for the Architecture Engineering and Construction industry.  The system can manage photos, emails, documents, CAD and other files in relation to people and processes within the framework of a project.  It’s about getting the right information to the right people at the right time.

12d Synergy has been deployed at several major projects throughout Australia and New Zealand such as the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, NorthConnex and WestConnex to name a few.  Over 3000 users from a range of consulting, contracting and surveying firms have adopted the system to be a key pillar of their daily processes.