Designing to target cost: one approach to design/construction integration

One approach to a more integrated construction delivery process is the concept of ‘designing to target cost’ of which the first examples of application within a lean construction framework have recently been seen. This paper introduces the main principles of the design to target cost method and discusses the applicability of this approach to construction.

The low degree of organizational and technical continuity from one construction project to the next limits the applicability of the design for target cost approach when compared to its origin in product development of mass manufactured artefacts. The approach can, however, be applied as a way of substantially involving the production organisation from the earliest phases of schematic design and thus contribute to enhanced value and reduced waste for the overall project delivery as well as for the many assignments of which it is ultimately composed.

It can be argued that design to target cost may also provide a frame for developing the supply chain towards better coordination and collaboration. Thus methods of design to target cost may serve to facilitate the development of a more integrated supply chain.