presents:
Without designs that innovate, we don’t get the great buildings we need – before something gets built – is always cheaper than fixing it after the fact, cutting back on design services is the last place it makes sense to reduce efforts, especially when we remember that they constitute less than one per cent of the life-cycle cost of operating, designing and constructing a building. Put another way: reducing the services in design can have an enormous impact on the life-cycle cost. Cutting back on design services will cost more in the long run. But it gets worse.
A BETTER WAY We know that there is a better way to do this. In 1972, the Brooks Act was implemented in the United States. For 45 years, it has been illegal to use price in scoring RFPs in all federal government procurement, across 49 of 50 U.S. states and hundreds of municipalities. The track record for quality in procurement is well known, and well documented. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, in its Decision Making and Investment Planning Guide, notes that there is an 11-fold increase in lifecycle value by using Quality Based Selection. The case studies, examples and reports showing that this results in better procurement are exhaustive. Canada is lagging behind, stifling innovation in public sector procurement and devaluing the contributions of leading innovators in climate action with outdated, inefficient and sometimes illegal procurement practices. If we want better outcomes, we need better input. Improving procurement to deliver better value results in better buildings that meet the challenges of innovation, lasting quality and better value for all Canadians.
Founder of Mad Radish Inc.
Thursday, December 14, 2017 7:00 am-9:00 am Shaw Centre - 55 Colonel By Drive Room 214
Event Sponsors:
Individual Tickets:
$35.00 + HST (Ottawa Chamber Members) $50.00 + HST (Non-Members
Corporate Tables of 8 with Signage:
$245.00 + HST (Ottawa Chamber Members) $350.00 + HST (Non-Members)
E-mail info@ottawabusinessevents.ca to receive weekly updates on all our events.
Audio-Visual Rentals Locations audio-visuels
WEST OTTAWA LIVING GUIDE Live, Work and Play MEET THE HUMANS OF OTTAWA WEST > STARTING ON PAGE 7
LIVING GUIDE
FROM CEO TO CEO AWARD WINNERS DISCUSS WORK, FAMILY AND BALANCE
GIVING BACK IN WEST OTTAWA
INNOVATION IN YOUR BACKYARD
live, work, play FROM NEPEAN TO WEST CARLETON: FERTILE GROUND FOR BUSINESSES
36
URBAN + RURAL PLACES TO PLAY AFTER WORK
MICHAEL BLACKIE’S
PERSPECTIVE ON OTTAWA
READ THE MAGAZINE AT
bit.ly/wbot2017
11 OBJ.CA
Toon Dreessen is president of Ottawabased Dreessen Cardinal Architects and past-president of the Ontario Association of Architects.
David Segal
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2017
QUALITY BASED SELECTION Many RFPs fail to understand that this is a relationship. They use terminology that makes no sense, and borders on the illegal, or uninsurable, and sets up conflict from the start of what can be a multi-year relationship. For example, the use of the word “ensure” is often used to ask that the architect carry out certain tasks. But it has a specific legal and insurance definition. So it’s impossible to ensure that a building permit is issued. What if there is an outstanding legal challenge to the ownership of the property? Some procurement departments say that this isn’t what is meant by the use of the word ensure, but then why say it? That would be like asking a lawyer to ensure the outcome of a trial. Is it reasonable, or fair, that an RFP ask that the architect provide services that our unreasonable or border on the illegal? Let’s take a look at LEED, in procurement. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a well-known framework for understanding and recognizing sustainability. It’s been widely adopted and has great brand recognition. It is points-based, so one gets a point for each measure taken. For example, if you add a bike rack, you get a point. But what if the building doesn’t need a bike rack? What if no one will use it because it’s a secure site or military campus? That bike rack, and the shelter around it, costs money not only up front, but over the long term to maintain. When an RFP asks that the architect ensure LEED Gold, the architect is going to do all they can to make sure the points are reached, even if the building doesn’t need that bike rack. In a conventional RFP, there is no opportunity to talk about why LEED Gold
is the standard and what alternatives there might be. Under a Quality Based Selection (QBS) model, architects could propose options and alternatives that might be in the client’s best interests. The RFP could state that the objective is a highly sustainable building that shows a lasting value for the investment. In a QBS model, I could propose that the building could meet LEED Gold. Alternatively, I could propose reaching current net zero target of an 80-per-cent reduction in greenhouse gases. I might be able to propose that a modest two per cent budget increase might result in a 100 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases, demonstrating leadership in climate action. Showing how achieving a complete net zero results in better value, with zero utility operating costs over the lifecycle of the building could be better overall quality in the built environment. This is the sort of value and quality that our governments are looking for. And governments are ideally positioned to make that investment because they are going to own, operate and maintain these buildings for generations. But current procurement models prevent that interaction. They do this because the RFP model is set up to score points for procurement departments and get the lowest price.