Background
A design-build contractor was awarded a hyperscale data center programme covering multiple halls on a single campus, delivered on an aggressive schedule with substantial prefabrication content. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing scope represented the majority of the project value.
The Challenge
On a programme of this density, coordination failures discovered in the field are schedule failures. The contractor needed coordination capability in place before the first model handover, not assembled once clashes began appearing. The difficulty was that the market is full of modelers who can build accurate geometry and short of coordinators who know what a pipefitter can actually install in the space shown. Prefabrication raised the stakes further, since assemblies fabricated to an uncoordinated model are wasted rather than adjusted. The peak coordination window was also finite, which made permanent hiring the wrong instrument for part of the requirement.
The Solution
Advastar screened VDC candidates on trade background first and modeling speed second, asking what they had coordinated and whether they had been in the field to see the installed result. Candidates who had come from the tools and moved into modeling were prioritized deliberately. Mechanical and electrical designers were added to support the prefabrication packages, screened on whether they had detailed assemblies for shop fabrication rather than for field installation. Two coordinator positions were engaged on contract for the peak coordination window only, sized against the model handover schedule rather than the project duration.
The Outcome
Coordination staffing was in place ahead of the first model handover. Clash resolution ran faster than on the contractor’s previous campus programme and no prefabricated assembly required rework for coordination reasons. The two contract coordinators rolled off at the end of the peak window as planned.