Читать книгу Integrating Sustainability Into Major Projects - Wayne McPhee - Страница 42

One of the most common project delivery structures is engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM), where the owner hires an engineering consulting firm to complete the major design and delivery of project components but maintains control over financial management, earning, and maintaining local community support, and most of the sustainability management activities related to regulatory approvals. The EPCM consultant will typically work in close alignment with the owner's team, which provides final approval of major decisions and deliverables.

The EPCM structure can create good alignment between the owner and the EPCM firm for design and finance activities but is not often well-aligned for integrating sustainability. Traditionally, the EPCM firm does not get involved in the initial project approvals and community engagement activities, yet they need to integrate the results of these activities into local procurement, local employment, and communications during construction.

For an EPCM project to successfully integrate sustainability it is important to clearly identify how both organizations are responsible for meeting project commitments and how sustainability will be incorporated into all project activities. Involvement of the EPCM firm typically ends when commissioning is finished. Project contracts should build incentives into project delivery that optimize long-term performance, secure community support, and help to build local capacity in order to maximize local employment and procurement. In other words, identify and utilize innovative solutions that are not part of the EPCM firm's typical, off-the-shelf design solutions.