Design Management in the Era of Collaboration: A Smarter Way to Improve Project Efficiency
I visited Almaty and had the opportunity to share our construction management experience with a local architectural company.
Many construction companies still operate under a traditional model where all design work is handled internally. They build full in-house teams covering every discipline, including MEP engineering, structural design, and construction management. Over time, this often leads to large, inefficient organizations. I don’t fully agree with this management approach.
A local colleague told me that completing the design for a single project could take them up to two years. In China, similar projects usually take only six months. I shared that in our company, we can complete the design phase in as little as three months.
The reason is that we focus on design management. We collaborate with design consulting firms that collectively include over 3,000 professionals. Internally, we only need a small team of three people to coordinate and manage these partnerships, which proves to be a far more efficient approach.
The reason is that we focus on design management. We collaborate with design consulting firms that collectively include over 3,000 professionals. Internally, we only need a small team of three people to coordinate and manage these partnerships, which proves to be a far more efficient approach.
This is a new era—an era defined by collaboration. The construction industry also needs to rethink and upgrade its business models to adapt to this changing environment.
In my view, more overseas construction companies should consider partnering with Chinese firms to accelerate project delivery and overall efficiency.
