Design Productivity: A Quality Problem

The question of design productivity is approached by reviewing work carried out in construction and manufacturing. Principles of productivity improvement are denned and applied to design. The design process is examined as part of the project life cycle to draw the conclusion that the quality of design is a vital factor in determining total life cost and other measures of project success. Since design cost is a small percentage of total costs, an increase in design expenditure can frequently reduce total life costs, but this is discouraged by the structure of the industry; especially the system of payment for consultants, and the tendency of clients to sub‐optimize the design costs. Competitive bidding by consultants also has undesirable effects. It is concluded that attention should be given to the procedures for consultant selection, the basis of fee payment and the question of professionalism and standards. Better and earlier communication with the contractor is needed. Further research should be conducted on the management of the design process, with particular attention given to training and human capital formation.