The Myths and Realities of Building Information Modeling for the Laboratory: How a Team Can Achieve Efficiencies Through Integrated Project Delivery

Mark Hanchar, AIA, LEED AP®, Gilbane Building Company
Stan Rotkiewicz Jr., P.E., Genzyme Corporation, A Sanofi Company

Genzyme's Biologics Support Center is an186,000-square-foot (SF) LEED® Gold research and development laboratory in Framingham, Massachusetts, built through an integrated project delivery (IPD) method with building information modeling (BIM) at its core. In one of the first truly integrated BIM approaches in a biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing setting, Genzyme was able to achieve a high-performance laboratory environment for less than $500/SF with a high level of early phasing, prefabrication, and virtually zero rework in the field. As a result of intensive and easily replicable strategies, the owner benefited from a final control budget more than a year before the completion of the project.

The client and delivery team will share how BIM and IPD can facilitate early budget benchmarking and monitoring, advanced trade procurement, prefabrication of mechanical and plumbing systems, and a host of other successes. The team will also share lessons learned in their quest to utilize BIM as a lens in which to reframe traditional roles in the planning, design, and construction processes.

The session will focus on avoiding costly mistakes in applying BIM to technically challenging laboratory projects and uncover the myths and realities of integrated project delivery. While BIM gives the team a more detailed look at design and allows refinement at a more accurate level, it is not primarily a time-saving approach, but rather a collaborative team communication tool that provides a way to achieve greater efficiencies, maintain a cleaner and safer job site, and deliver long-term benefits in facility management and operations. The presentation will address how BIM has changed the way each team member conducts operations, starting from early feasibility and development and continuing throughout the facility life-cycle.  

Attendees will understand how specific attributes of BIM can establish a continuous value management process for the owner and delivery team and learn why its application can create opportunities for integration earlier in the project schedule, achieve streamlined permitting, better align program and budget dollars and cross- pollinate ideas and methods among team members.  

Biographies:

Mark Hanchar began his construction career in 1977 and brings more than 30 years of technical experience and leadership to management of preconstruction teams for Gilbane's advanced technology projects. A registered architect and LEED AP, Mr. Hanchar led the use of IPD for the Genzyme Biologics Support Center project as well as multiple complex projects for the company in Massachusetts and North Carolina. Mr. Hanchar earned a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Science in buildings sciences from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Masters of Business Administration in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Hanchar is a member of the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers and American Institute of Architects, as well as a former New England board member of the Design Build Institute of America. Mr. Hanchar has presented at industry conferences across the United States on emerging design and management issues of complex research facilities.

Stan Rotkiewicz has spent the last 19 years at Genzyme managing a variety of projects including utility upgrades, process expansions, laboratory expansions, and a multi-phased vivarium. Most recently, Mr. Rotkiewicz managed the design and construction of two laboratories and a central utility building totaling over $240 million. Prior to joining Genzyme, Mr. Rotkiewicz spent 13 years in the consulting business, mainly working on petrochemical and nuclear power projects. Mr. Rotkiewicz holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts. Mr. Rotkiewicz is a registered chemical engineer, and a member of the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE) and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA).