As many firms in the sector aim to achieve ambitious carbon and climate goals. DPR’s Mike Miller, a senior project manager, and Daniel Jardel-Menno, a project manager who, alongside Fred Kaulbach, architecture discipline lead from Jacobs, recently presented at the International Institute for Sustainable Labs (I2SL) Annual Conference about how prefabrication and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) can unlock benefits for schedule, cost, quality, safety and sustainability in these complex facilities.

Prefabrication, combined with a collaborative approach like IPD, can support a facility's pursuit of LEED and Gold certifications while also helping meet aggressive timelines from design to occupancy. Safety plays a critical role throughout this process and both prefabrication and IPD can enhance construction safety by reducing on-site risks and fostering better communication among stakeholders. This integration of innovative building methods not only can facilitate efficient construction but also deliver a sustainable and high-performance workspace for end users.

Jardel-Menno: There are two major advantages to the IPD process for life sciences customers. The first is speed. Every construction project has its challenges, maybe a detail that couldn’t be built as originally drawn, a fabrication error, or an unforeseen cost increase for a material. By bringing together the architecture and engineering team, contractors, and key end users while the design is still being developed, you work through those roadblocks sooner.

The second is an advantage in cost. In a traditional bid-build approach, the cost is determined by a fixed set of drawings. By bringing the contractor/estimator to the design table, we’re able to steer the design to the budget.

Kaulbach: The IPD is a process involving 3 parties: the owner, designer and builder. The collaboration requires the three entities to be equally committed to the project goals. It also requires trust in terms of financial, technical and schedule issues. The advantages of IPD for complex life sciences projects is that it can cut months to years off project delivery.

Jardel-Menno: Well, one way to look at it is that science today moves at warp speed. Why shouldn’t construction?

The success of a life sciences client often involves bringing a product to market at scale as soon as possible. The additional speed that IPD and prefabrication bring to the building sequence can directly relate to the client’s overall success.

Miller: Prefabrication in life sciences construction allows for a higher quality product and better control of the installation standards and conditions. When off-site construction is leveraged properly, meaning that the right stakeholders are there to witness the product off-site, schedule certainly can be greatly increased by avoiding last-minute re-work.

Kaulbach: In traditional Design Bid Build (DBB) for a large life sciences buildings, detailed design can take 12 to 14 months. Programming and micro-programming with scientists is a multi-phased process. It is not unusual for the science to change during design. After all the spaces are laid out, and the structure determined, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems can be developed. Then after the 12 to 14 months of detailed design, the project goes out to bid. By contrast, with IPD, the whole project schedule can be squeezed by overlapping design and bidding.

Miller: Falls are one of the many causes of the most devastating accidents in the construction industry. By utilizing prefabrication, we take the work that would normally be installed at 80 ft. in the air in a mechanical shaftway and, instead, allow workers to comfortably and safely install at six ft. above the shop floor in a weather-controlled environment. It does not take much analysis to realize that the prefabricated job will be safer and of better quality.

Kaulbach: Timing is a critical aspect in the construction of life sciences facilities. Prefabrication’s accelerated timing can put scientists into their built for purpose lab spaces in a fraction of the time compared to traditional construction techniques and methods.

Jardel-Menno: Life sciences facilities can leverage a multitude of prefabrication techniques that directly relate to construction being completed sooner and of higher quality.

We consider five key prefabricated elements for projects: modular stairs, a panelized skin system, multi-trade racks (both horizontal and vertical), a unique steel connection system, and a variety of interior prefabrication approaches. All of these can help uphold the completion date while providing a more sustainable, higher quality product.

Miller: Prefabrication effectively allows you to build two things at once that would not be possible with traditional methods. For instance, prefabricated overhead pipe racks allow you to build overhead MEP systems at the same time as you are working on concrete foundations in the field. When you’re able to safely work on these two activities at the same time, you are going to save time on the back end and allow customers to start doing science sooner.

Jardel-Menno: IPD assists in meeting sustainability goals by guiding the owner to set achievable and realistic targets. Additionally, it allows for the design and the construction teams to meet those targets by guiding the design in the right direction.

For example, DPR conducted a study on a prefabricated skin system comparing carbon emissions of a prefabricated approach versus stick-built. What we found was that carbon emissions from the prefabricated approach were 14% less than the stick-built approach. Some factors that contributed to this decrease were removing temporary construction and taking commuting cars off the road.

Miller: Construction materials are used much more efficiently in prefabricated systems when compared to on-site stick-built construction. We have been able to divert as much as 98% of construction waste on life sciences projects that leverage prefabrication as much as possible.

Kaulbach: IPD puts sustainability goals on the table early in the design process so that the three IPD pillars: the owner, designer and builder can capitalize on all opportunities. Prefabrication has the capability to reduce site waste and reduce fuel consumption by shortening commute time and increasing carpooling opportunities, to name a few benefits.

Miller: The biggest challenge that the life sciences market has in incorporating sustainable practices is the comfortability with the way we have always done things. On major capital construction projects, there is a tendency to be risk-averse; that can make even the most obvious solutions hard to implement. IPD brings decision-makers to the table early enough into the project lifecycle, so new ideas that can positively influence sustainability goals can be implemented with enough thought and proactivity.

Jardel-Menno: Sustainability and prefabrication are similar in that they both require early integration to execute correctly. A constant challenge is playing catch up or turning the ship once a project is already underway. IPD methods continue to help teams get in early enough to point the compass north from the start.

Jardel-Menno: Life sciences projects have the opportunity to push the envelope of what is possible. On the project mentioned earlier, we were able to divert 98% of construction waste by understanding the owner’s goals for recycled materials. This wouldn’t have been possible without the IPD approach—we were able to work with the field and owners to put together an effective material waste sorting plan early on.

Miller: We have recently completed a design-build, R&D life sciences laboratory that met very lofty sustainability and prefabrication goals. By bringing DPR and key trade partners onto the project early in conceptual design, we had a cohesive team of designers, owners and builders who truly believed that we could achieve these goals because we were all part of the team who helped set them.