Philadelphia Biblical University in Langhorne, PA, implemented a fast-track construction schedule to convert a nursing home into student housing. Pictured above is the main student lounge in Heritage Hall. (Construction Manager: High Construction Company)

In the summer of 2005, with two and a-half months to convert a nursing home to a 256-bed college dormitory, Philadelphia Biblical University in Langhorne, PA, implemented a fast-track construction schedule. By finishing the project in time to house students in the fall, the university was able to avoid the high cost of renting accommodations for students as well as to realize its goal of providing additional on-campus housing.

Putting a building project on a fast-track schedule, as Philadelphia Biblical did, is the exception in the construction industry, not the norm. But it can be the best approach when the value of finishing by a certain date outweighs the risks of compressing a project’s timeframe.

As compared to a standard schedule, fast-track building increases the risks and challenges for both owner and builder. Yet, in certain cases, it also increases the rewards. A company building a beach hotel might want to accelerate construction so the hotel can open in time for vacation season. Or an owner building a distribution center might plan a fast-track approach to avoid expected future inventory price increases.

If you think you have something to gain by accelerating a project, first learn what it means to “fast track,” assess the risks and costs, and then be sure you can do what’s required to complete your project successfully.

How Fast-Track Construction Works
A standard construction-project schedule consists of an orderly sequence of events that offers the best chance for the desired result. Design documents are completed with as much detail as possible before orders are placed and construction begins. In a typical fast-track project, however, the ideal sequence is changed, with actual construction beginning while final design plans are still being drawn.

To put a dorm renovation project on a five-month fast track, for example, Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA, pre-ordered critical equipment and started construction before finishing design, explains Dave Henry, the university’s director of facilities management. The alternative of paying for off-site housing and transporting 150 students to campus daily this fall “was just not an option,” explains Henry.

Susquehanna University chose the design-build construction delivery method primarily to accommodate their fast-track schedule. Philadelphia Biblical used the construction management approach. Both methods allow accelerated timeframes when a deadline must be met. The traditional design-bid-build method, however, cannot be “fast tracked,” because it requires that all design be completed before bidding begins. With any delivery method, however, stepping outside the standard sequence and timeframe inevitably increases project risks.

What Are the Risks?
When you compress a construction schedule and change the ideal sequence of events, you automatically increase the chances that something will go wrong, which in turn can bump up costs. Bob Watson, director of campus services for Philadelphia Biblical, estimates that the dormitory project cost the university 10 percent more than it would have on a standard construction schedule in which “there would have been a lot more attention to detail in the early design phase.” Without completing all the design details in the planning stages, it’s more difficult to budget accurately, and you can expect more change orders and, therefore, more expense.

Plus, pre-ordering materials and equipment sometimes results in extra storage costs if deliveries arrive before the installation date. And locking in orders early reduces your flexibility for changes later in the process that on a standard schedule would be less costly to accommodate.

For example, when preordering a rooftop heating and cooling unit, you’re also determining the electrical design needed for that unit as well as the size and design of the steel beams that hold the unit and the building. In a worst-case scenario, you could later find you need a different unit size, resulting in cancellations, re-orders, delays, and additional costs.
For these reasons, even the best-managed fast-track project is stressful. “It was certainly hectic for about eight or nine weeks,” recalls Watson. “Some of the materials made it just in time.”

Achieving Fast-Track Success
Watson believes the university’s ability to finish the dormitory project on time without sacrificing quality came down to the experience of the construction manager and the subcontractors’ on-site supervisors. “The on-site superintendent was there watching everything and coming up with solutions for on-site fabrication and engineering that weren’t provided for ahead of time. I could see that we were making the right decisions on site.” Other results of effective management, notes Watson, were timely material purchases and effective communication involving the builder, engineers, and architects.

Henry also nods to project management—“laying out a coordinated schedule and being sure all the trades adhere to it”—as the key to keeping Susquehanna’s project on the fast track. He guesses that fast tracking shortened the project by about eight weeks.

Timely and clear communication between all team members requires everyone’s consistent availability throughout a fast-track project. Watson notes that the same hectic pace that caused stress during construction also kept the team’s undivided attention. “I think because we pushed it and paid for it, we had everybody’s focus. It didn’t seem we were competing with other projects for resources.”