Guest Post: Planning Through Design at JETC 2024

Contributed by Richard Stump, AIA, LEED AP, F.SAME and Allan Lucht, P.E., F.SAME

Engage with the Planning Through Design for Delivery Solutions in Europe conversation at JETC 2024.

In February, SAME held the 2024 Europe Tri-Services Industry-Government Engagement (IGE) Workshop, which brought together high level representatives from the Navy, Army, and Air Force engineering leadership. The focus of this collaborative workshop was to discuss and develop methods to hold each other accountable in coordination with industry on delivering solutions to some pressing delivery challenges.

Following on the heels of the productive conversation at the workshop, the Joint Engineer Training Conference and Expo (JETC), will offer an important opportunity to assist our services with improving European theater readiness and continue the conversation. The two-part, four-hour Planning Through Design IGE Roundtable over two days at JETC builds upon the successful IGE workshops held in Naples, Italy.  As one of four separate IGE tracks, the Planning Through Design track will focus on challenges facing each of the Design and Construction Agents (DCA) operating across the European theater, as well as challenges facing their A/E partners, in task order delivery.

Streamlining Task Order Delivery

Working in Europe provides a variety of built infrastructure and facility delivery challenges; incorporating EU and host nation design codes and standards; construction contractors who may lack familiarity with the English language and U.S. government contracts; the tyranny of distance; and limited resources. 

U.S. military leaders, project managers and professionals working across Europe’s area of responsibility (AOR), like most government personnel at overseas locations, are very busy. Continuing increases in workload, as well as the potential for reprogramming when project requirements are not properly scoped and validated, only add additional stress and delay to already overloaded delivery mechanisms for infrastructure and facilities.

The speed of task order delivery through the planning and design process, as well as the procurement of these services, is critical to delivering military facilities and infrastructure that support our warfighters and their families. In recent years, timelines from project planning and design through construction procurement and delivery have lengthened. This has caused disconnects in delivering planning and design activities. Incomplete or changing requirements, hasty procurement, and the challenges of change management and retaining project scope in volatile construction environments result in less-than-optimal project outcomes.

Beyond the Status Quo

Each project is different. When considered across the variety of country locations in the European AOR, adjustments to scope and delivery are inevitable. For the services to take advantage of architecture and engineering projects that may span programming, requirement validation, master planning and full design or alternate delivery, a one size approach will likely not fit all. Separate master planning and design task orders add value—when properly scoped and planned; alternatively, continuation of a service provider throughout all phases of planning and design provides continuity and can avoid delays. It is imperative that project scopes are validated, and construction budgets are correctly considered—as well as the timing of equipment and material delivery.

When considered against the backdrop of aggressive in-theater adversaries and a high operations tempo for the service agencies, the status quo for project delivery isn’t acceptable. New ideas and solutions are needed.

Through a focused, facilitated roundtable workshop with invited government and industry representatives, we will evaluate solutions and recommendations to be presented to the senior leaders of the services. Many of the government and industry participants, including contracting officers and senior military servicemembers, were present in Naples and most of them have significant experience in the European AOR—making this a timely, focused and powerful concentration of theater know-how. Lessons learned in other domestic and overseas locations will be considered as the IGE working group develops its recommendations.

Only at JETC

The Planning Through Design IGE Roundtable sessions will provide new ideas and tools to the DCAs, A/E firms and contractors working to support U.S. and allied forces across Europe. Following the European Tri-Service Workshop and building on its success, the roundtables are important sessions designed to address issues in the European Theater with impacts far beyond the EU. Discussion topics will cover planning and contracting to design and construction, evolving international conditions, alternative delivery strategies and other topics that will lead to a better understanding the methods needed to improve processes and outcomes with project delivery.

Seats for interested observers will be first come, first served; please join us in the Captiva Room on Tuesday, May 14, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and Wednesday, May 15, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. to participate in this IGE event.

JETC 2024, Operation: Collaboration is the SAME event of the year for networking with industry and government leaders, keeping you up to date with industry trends, and raising your education, training and technical skills to the next level. If you haven’t registered for JETC, there’s still time. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando!