Questant Inc. has partnered with Adept Management Ltd. (AML) to provide consultancy and software distribution for the ADePT design management software suite, for the East Coast region of the United States.

“We teamed with AML because the ADePT suite provides seamless, complementary capability to enhance our focus on identifying and delivering optimum value to our project clients. Funding and resource constraints, and an ever increasing need for risk reduction through the project cycle is driving a fresh look at delivery strategies and methods. Coupled with the emerging BIM (Building Information Modeling) capabilities, ADePT enables us to find design bottlenecks, focus on efficiencies and lead the team forward with improved communication methods and certainty of meeting performance objectives.”

ADePT (Analytical Design Planning Technique) is an award winning management solution that offers a unique approach to structuring and planning iterative design processes, to streamline information transfer in complex design team structures, and result in a more efficient delivery of design that better matches the needs of the construction team. This is increasing in importance, as BIM projects are leading to a closer integration of the whole project team, and the needs of the modeling process drive a re-sequencing of traditional information transfer. ADePT helps to optimize sequential design development, and leads to integration with the project schedule for improved ongoing management and control.

The separation of design from construction has been the norm for the majority of the construction industry for many years. Consequently, contractors have developed an excellent knowledge of the construction process, whilst the design process has remained a mystery to most. The design and procurement phases are hugely challenging to manage and control owing to them being non-linear (construction / production processes, conversely, are, literally, straight forward). The design phase revolves (again, quite literally) around the project participants sharing and developing information in iterative cycles, making assumptions as they go in order to progress design and learn more about the problem before repeating the process with improved understanding. Whilst this is a challenging environment to understand, the management and control of this process is critical to the success of the successful delivery of design, the commencement of the construction phase and thus, the project as a whole.
The award winning ADePT methodology enables:
-       Complex interdisciplinary design processes to be defined quickly and simply;
-       Scope of work to be agreed and allocated across all members of the delivery team;
-       Optimization of the integrated design & construction process based on the flow of information between project participants;
-       Definition of periods of interdisciplinary collaboration working – where coordination is critical to the success of the project;
-       Identification and removal of needless and costly re-work cycles – those periods that can break a project;
-       Production of detailed integrated design & construction schedules in your planning tool of choice (e.g., Primavera; MSProject).
-       Managing, control and monitoring of design performance using metrics and approaches that have previously only been applicable to construction.
Based upon lean production principles, and developed by professional Design Managers for use by design & construction professionals, ADePT will increase profitability, reduce waste, and enhance your project delivery performance.

The ADePT Design Builder comes loaded with a standard design & procurement process template – a network of design activities and information requirements covering a range of design disciplines and procurement packages. The associated ‘Planning Wizard’ can be implemented to hone the standard process model into a design process network that represents your project – making the onerous and time consuming task of generating an information-driven design schedule quick and simple (a basic schedule can be produced within a single workshop). ADePT Design Builder then auto-sequences the activities so that as many activities as possible take place only when the information that is required to complete them is available – thus avoiding the need for the design team to make unnecessary and, typically, risky assumptions. This sequence optimization engine also identifies where design ‘iteration’ exists and should be maintained, whilst removing needless and costly ‘rework’ cycles – a process that also defines where key-decisions need to be made along the way to maintain the schedule. The remaining iterative loops represent coordination ‘hot-spots’ – requiring integrated collaborative design between different design disciplines to ensure full coordination – it is during these periods when ‘clash prevention’ takes place.

Once optimized, the ADePT Design Builder exports the information-driven activity sequence into your CPM tool of choice, immediately generating an integrated design and procurement schedule in your preferred format. The unique two-way dynamic synchronization function – enabled through technology partnerships with Microsoft and Primavera – enables any changes made in the CPM tool to be synched with the ADePT Design Builder tool. This ensures that the data is always up to date and provides a basis for undertaking ‘what if’ analysis if changes are requested.
The ADePT Design Builder offers a unique capability and functionality to your project management function. Used in conjunction with the ADePT Design Manager, the methodology has a proven record of improving efficiency, reducing waste, and enhancing project delivery performance.

The ADePT Design Manager divides the integrated schedule into ‘work periods’ and used the ‘Workplan Distributor’ function to provide each project participant with a simple list of the activities that they need to focus on and complete or progress in the work period. The designers then simply report progress back via the ‘Workplan Distributor’ at the end of the work period. If, due to poor performance or unforeseen circumstance, work is not completed to schedule, the ADePT Design Manager prompts root cause analysis – all ‘reasons for failure’ are then captured and logged within the application. If an unforeseen circumstance occurs, the detailed understanding within the integrated project schedule means that the impact on future activity and key milestones to be quickly analysed and understood. Only once the true impact is understood is it possible to work collaboratively with all project participants to agree strategy and actions for bringing the schedule back into alignment with the key program milestones – this level of control is critical to the successful delivery of complex projects.

The ADePT Design Manager also incorporates a lookahead planning function – enabling the project team to look ahead into the schedule and identify any potential constraints that may stop them delivering in line with the integrated project schedule. In this way the team is managed to be proactive; to identify and share potential concerns that could result in schedule impacts so that actions can be taken in advance of the problem occurring (thus, moving the team focus to that of being proactive as opposed to being reactive). The process is then monitored on an incremental basis (between work periods) with all performance data made transparent and communicated using visual ‘Performance Dashboards’.
The ADePT Design Manager ensures ‘up to the minute’ understanding of ‘where the project is’ at any given time whilst providing multiple sets of trend data on performance. This workflow management and control approach is maintained throughout the delivery process. The ADePT Design Manager application provides key management data that helps predict future project team performance and allows the Project Manager to take appropriate action to maintain performance to schedule whilst reviewing and ensuring Quality.
Projects using the ADePT Design Manager, in combination with the ADePT Design Builder, have been shown to have achieved and bettered the target schedule when compared with earlier projects that applied more ‘traditional’ approaches to project management. This demonstrates the power of the approach to enhance single projects and also provides invaluable insights into its value for continuous process / performance improvement.

The following outline of implementation and suite options has been developed for indicative purposes only. Every customer has different needs and our aim is to support your business and projects based on where you are now (current state) and where you want to be (future state). To ensure that our customers get the correct mix of training, consultancy support and software we would like to understand your needs prior to proposing a solution. Accordingly, please contact us at info@questantinc.com for further details of options and delivery packages. To download a free trial version of the ADePT suite, go to:
http://www.adeptmanagement.com/amltechnologies/downloads.html

Implementation of ADePT methodology and software on a forthcoming project
Specialist resource can be provided into project teams to implement the ADePT methodology and software on behalf of project teams. This enables an integrated design schedule to be developed for the project enabling the benefits of workflow management and control to be reaped immediately) whilst allowing your project personnel to shadow the implementation process and ‘learn’ in-situ. Many of our customers use this approach to supplement the training and development of the project managers / design managers.

• Two weeks notice will be required to start any commission (owing to the need to confirm resource and schedule associated flights, travel, and so on).
• The commission would typically involve 2-3 weeks (10 -15 working days) working direct with the team to facilitate the process utilising the ADePT Design Builder software.
• Travel, subsistence and accommodation as required (i.e., all associated expenses) will be charged over and above this.
• All flights and hotels shall be scheduled and paid for in advance.

Software suiting options

ADePT Design Builder

There are 2 purchase options for the ‘Design Builder’ software application:
ADePT Design Builder: full integration with Primavera (P6) and MS Project
ADePT Design Builder lite: full two-way dynamic integration with MS Project
The alternative option of having a ‘network key’ is also available – this would enable your business to take ownership of a number of concurrent licenses that can be utilized on a share basis by any member of staff within the business via the network. Should the license capacity be reached further licenses can be enabled via the network key for immediate use. This is a much more attractive and flexible option for national roll-out.

ADePT Design Manager

The ADePT Design Manager application is the workflow management and control component of the ADePT software suite – enabling production control to be applied in practice.

• The software is purchased on a project-by-project basis and provides access (definable by role) to project ‘schedule’ data for all project participants – irrespective of number / size of project.
• A project license, which is PC-based for management purposes but has a web-based ‘workflow processor’ interface for use by all participants irrespective of location) is charged on a monthly basis to practical completion of the design phase).
• The alternative option is to purchase the software at a capped timescale of 6 months which allows the project team to utilize the software to the end of the project irrespective of timescale.
• Finally, there is the opportunity to purchase the ‘Design Manager’ application for use on unlimited numbers of projects for a fixed annual fee.

The following training programs can be provided as single events or can be combined to create bespoke courses. To ensure that our customers get the correct mix of training, consultancy support and software we would like to understand your needs prior to proposing a solution. Accordingly, please contact us at info@questantinc.com for further details of options and delivery packages.

1. Integrated Design Scheduling (ADePT awareness) training course
Course overview:
This course is based upon the innovative and award winning ADePT methodology – first principles are at the heart of this training program and attendees WILL NOT use software. ADePT enables the integrated design-procurement-construction process to be captured, structured, optimized (based on the transfer of information between project participants), and then scheduled. An optional 1-day course is offered to compliment this program – see ‘Workflow management & control: production control principles and practice’ below.

Course details:

• Training pack provided: handouts, tutorials, supporting materials, and so on.
• The session can be held at your location of choice (e.g., a local office) or AML will arrange a venue.
• Duration = 1 day
• Maximum number of attendees = 25
• Two training consultants would be required to run this course.

2. ‘Workflow management & control: production control principles & practice’ training course
Course overview:
This course is based upon production control principles (applied successfully in manufacturing and then construction) with a modification to ensure that the approach can be applied during the non-linear process of the design and engineering phases of projects. This course provides details of the background and principles that underlie production control approaches and uses group working and taught elements to give attendees practical experience of applying the technique. Management and control of design information flow (as scheduled using ADePT) enables project teams to deliver against their commitments and provides a mechanism for contractors to understand progress, percentage plan complete, constraints, and so on during the design delivery phases. This is an essential course for all of those professionals engaged in integrated project delivery, Design-Build, and other alternative delivery methods.
Course details:

• Training pack provided: handouts, tutorials, supporting materials, and so on.
• The session can be held at your location of choice (e.g., a local office) or AML will arrange a venue.
• Duration = 1 day
• Maximum number of attendees = 25
• Two training consultants would be required to run this course.

3. Combined ADePT Design Builder software & Integrated Design Scheduling (ADePT awareness) training course
Course overview
This course is based on the ADePT awareness course outline / costs defined in (1) above along with one further day to provide training in the ADePT Design Builder software application. Only one training consultant would be required to run the software component of this course. The second day is designed to demonstrate, and provide hands on experience, of the software application that enables integrated design, permitting, approval, sign-off and procurement schedule (ADePT) to be undertaken in practice. The software, which has a unique two-way dynamic synchronisation functionality with MS Project and Oracle Primavera applications, is walked through step by step to ensure that attendees can utilize the functionality as soon as they leave the room.
Course details:

• Software licenses would have to be purchased in advance of this course for use by the attendees during the software training (day 2 of course).
• Training pack provided: handouts, tutorials, supporting materials, and so on.
• The session can be held at your location of choice (e.g., a local office) or AML will arrange a venue.
• Duration = 2 days
• Maximum number of attendees = 25 (day 1) and 8 (day 2)
• Two training consultants would be required day 1 of the course and one training consultant would be required for day 2.

See an ADePT Introduction on UTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-C42qpFPDs&feature=player_embedded

ADePT Placemat Quick Reference:

ADePT Placemat