Facilities and Campus Operations
Project Delivery Process
Initiation
Requests for projects are made through the Provost’s office and evaluated with Facilities Management and with regards to the institutional objective and potential funding source. Every project is placed into a category at initiation. The actual delivery process of a project varies upon its category, facilitating the most effective delivery and creating consistency in the process. This sets expectations for every project.
As part of the Capital Planning Process (CPP), before detailed project planning begins, significant projects are identified and approved by the Capital Planning Working Group (CPWG). Smaller projects are typically conceived and approved within the Space Committee or Renewal Principals Group.
Organization
Once a project is initiated, a clear team organization is established to facilitate effective project communication and managing decision making. This ensures the appropriate level of oversight and approvals.
- Project Management Team (PMT)
- Provides day‑to‑day, management‑level guidance for collaborative planning, design, and construction of the project to achieve the project objective. The PMT is responsible for all project progress and for developing benchmarks, metrics, or standards for progress evaluation. This group is also responsible for organizing Project Implementation Teams (PITs), small groups assembled to focus on specific project elements and tasks, and managing these teams.
- Senior Management Team (SMT)
- Deals with strategic management issues such as, reallocation of team resources, changes in direction or major problems. The SMT also functions in an executive coaching and support role to the PMT and the rest of the project team.
- Principals Meeting Group
- Provides oversight and direction to the project during the design and construction phases. The project team provides regular updates to this group on the overall health of the project and presents critical issues for resolution during the design and construction phases.
- University Architect Design Review (UADR)
- Responsible for guiding design of the project through design development. Ensures adherence to campus design framework, project design guidelines and IMP approval. The UA will review design prior to principals’ review and the corporation approval.
- Project Implementation Teams (PIT)
- Guides the project team on a specific project elements where a smaller focused group is required.
- Brown University Corporation
- The governing body of the University is responsible for establishing broad policies for the operation of the University, for selecting a president to carry out those policies, for appointing administrative officers and faculty members, and for managing the funds and holding the real estate of the University.
- Committee on Facilities & Campus Planning (F&CP)
- Responsible for the physical resources, facilities, landscaping, campus planning, and aesthetic development of the University.
- Committee on Budget Finance (B&F)
- Responsible for the fiscal affairs of the University.
- Capital Planning Working Group (CPWG)
- Responsible for the assignment of space across campus. The committee approves the final scope and overall program of the project.
- Capital Planning Committee (CPC)
- Establishes and maintains the University’s capital plan and priorities.
- FM Energy & Environmental Initiatives
- Reviews the building systems and envelope with an eye toward sustainability and environmentally responsible design at a strategic level. Tools to facilitate this review are; energy models, life‑cycle analysis, storm water calculations and the LEED scorecard. The goal is to reduce operating costs, improve the health and productivity of the occupants, and minimize negative environmental impacts over the life of the building.
- FM Operations & Engineering
- Reviews building systems, component design and connections to campus utilities for maintainability, reliability and coordination with other FM operations.
- Goverment & Community Relations
- Coordinates approvals, communications, and construction activities with neighbors, community organizations and governmental agencies.
- Advancement
- Cultivates and informs current and potential donors who will be instrumental in the success of the project.
- Brown Resources
- Provides the project team with information, guidance and expertise throughout the duration of the project.
Delivery
Facilities Management manages hundreds of projects varying in complexity, impact, and dollar value annually. In order to deliver projects that meet defined and measurable outcomes, Facilities Management has developed four project categories:
Category 1 projects have significant impacts to the overall Brown community and broad campus and represent major investments or value initiatives by the University.
Category 2 projects tend to be limited to that space or building, rather than the broader Brown community or campus.
Category 3 projects are the majority of projects delivered. These projects support the University’s academic endeavors, maintain operations essential to the Brown community, and ensure stewardship of the buildings and physical assets that make up the campus.
Category 4 projects involve simple upgrades or maintenance to University buildings or systems.
Turnover
The turnover phase is the transition from construction or renovation to occupancy and use. Turnover activities, such as the Building Equipment Data sheet, start during design and are updated throughout the construction and commissioning phases. All information required to support operations and maintenance is submitted prior to substantial completion. At that time, the University accepts the completed project from the contractor and formally assumes the responsibilities of maintenance, security and insurance.
At substantial completion, review and approval of actual work in place is complete and the final punch list is issued. This review and approval is conducted by many of the same individuals who were involved in the design, construction and commissioning phases. The final punch list requires a formal sign-off by Brown, the project architect and engineers. Substantial completion also marks the beginning of the warranty period and typically lasts for a minimum of one year.
During occupancy of the building, the turnover process continues with the completion of all remaining punch list items, seasonal commissioning and monthly close out meetings with major stakeholders. In addition, turnover includes integration into the Facilities Management (FM) Partnership Program, a cooperative effort between building occupants and FM to assure the continued care of buildings.
Project Management Tools
In keeping with the industry’s best practices, Facilities Management has created a suite of tools for oversight and consistency in the execution of all projects.
These tools include both administrative systems and specific project controls designed to help planners and project managers proactively manage and communicate.
As soon as a project is initiated, it is entered into our Project Information Management System (PIMS). This system is an indispensable tool for planners and project managers incorporating forms, schedule and financial information to successfully complete a project.
To develop preliminary project budgets, planners use a benchmarking tool that draws on cost data of current and completed projects to quickly assess the potential cost per square foot of proposed work.
The data on overall project budgets are broken down into “cost centers” that bundle the costs of related work (e.g. interiors, electrical or design fees). Planners build new project budgets by benchmarking the proposed work at the level of the cost centers and then compiling their analyses into an overall estimate. This allows a more refined approach than simply benchmarking total project costs.
Utilizing PIMS, monthly reports are issued for every project indicating the project health based on objective metrics and indicates any issues that require attention from the team or senior management.
Effective decision making is critical to the success and health of a project. The project team uses the decision matrix to map out that process, defining when and how decisions need to be made.
High level risk is identified during the planning process and monitored through design and construction. The purpose is to identify the risk, understand the magnitude, develop mitigation strategies, and budget and manage the contingency. This allows good decision making in terms of the use of contingency over the life of the project.
A combination of analytical tools is often necessary to fully understand where the project stands. The tools include critical path milestone schedules, cash flow analysis and earned value analysis. By carefully applying these analysis tools, the team can manage the project proactively.