Design reviews are often treated as routine milestones — meetings to “tick the box” before moving forward. But when done properly, design reviews are one of the most powerful tools for reducing risk, controlling cost, and improving project outcomes.
High-performing capital projects don’t just complete design reviews — they use them strategically to prevent problems before they reach construction.
Here are four design reviews that consistently deliver measurable benefits.
- Layout review
- Value engineering review
- Sustainability review
- Constructability review
Layout reviews ensure that the project’s use of space is suitable and safe for operation, maintenance and construction. The team reviews key layout drawings and models using a checklist. Therefore enabling the creation of a list of actions to update the design. The inclusion of construction assists with coordination and cooperation duties required by CDM regulation 11.
Value engineering reviews ensure that the project’s technical solutions achieve the desired objectives at an appropriate cost. The team uses a checklist containing a list of key words/questions. This then creates an ideas list generated for further consideration.
Sustainability reviews are usually held prior to compiling detail design briefs. The checklist I use started out as just covering energy savings and grew to include water, materials, design for disassembly and transport considerations. This area is very much high profile today with the increased attention being given to climate change and recycling.
Constructability reviews are held, prior to construction starting, to ensure construction activities can be carried out in a safe and controlled manner. This isn’t strictly a design activity but it is useful to expose designers to the implication of their design on site works and build sequence.
There are obviously many other reviews that are needed depending on the complexity of the project but I recommend always including these four.