Aecon IDD Department has developed a unique approach to successful project delivery utilizing innovative technologies (BIM and GIS) for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project. Our Integrated Digital Controls enabled us to mitigate risks and connect design with the plan and costs from the earliest stage of bidding through execution.
Design-Build-Finance projects are usually bid with just 30% of the design completed, which leaves room for uncertainty, unpredictability, and risk. At Aecon, we believe that a right first-time approach to project delivery is important for reducing project risk through better planning, coordination, information, and communication. With the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE) Advance Tunnel Project, the Project Controls, and Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) teams were committed to reducing the risks associated with schedule delays and budget overruns, project changes, safety issues, and any other unforeseen circumstances that could potentially derail the project.
Although Project Controls and IDD are integral to several key ventures across Aecon, the ECWE Advance Tunnel Project is a landmark victory for both groups, as it heralds a novel digital approach to project delivery and construction management, from the earliest stage of bidding to execution, and beyond. As stated by Omar Gonzalez Manzano (Director, Project Controls), “Anything that is not envisioned from day one must be fixed during execution. When you do this over and over again, you are always in firefighting mode. We can never get ahead, and this leaves no space for planning. The schedule goes out the door, and so does cost. It snowballs into a problem that is extremely difficult to fix, and this is frustrating for everyone”
Most major projects fall behind schedule, and they can never get ahead, and this leaves no space for planning. The schedule goes out the door, and so does cost. It snowballs into a problem that is extremely difficult to fix, and this is frustrating for everyone in the project.
Our integrated approach provides the best solution to avoid schedule delays early during the execution phase. Since most Design and Build projects are bid with only 30% of the design completed, there are still a lot of uncertainties, but this is about getting off on the right foot. By setting up our customized methodology at the very beginning as we were bidding the work, we set the stage for the project to be successful. Our team does everything we can to support proper planning at the front-end and build the right project team and setup our systems to execute and adjust along the way.
As a result, our progress tracking is updated automatically with the schedule and cost and TBM excavation and progress are captured live as we progress. This helps keep track of project progress and productivity.
