Performance, Business Markets, & Quality = Value
This Blog Explores:?Understanding the basics of?Value and?making the?case that understanding Value as it pertains to Building is a key to push building into a brighter future.?
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PB +Q?=?V?
Performance,?Business Markets,?Quality?=?Value?
The realization that “Building” does not?yet?have a?reliable way?to define, measure,?and track these characteristics is a key driver?for?why the?CDE and?Optimized Buildings?need to come to market.?
They are necessary to bring clarity to the variables that must be accounted for, measured,?and then organized into a properly weighted algorithm to derive a meaningful definition for “Performance,”?“Business Markets,” “Quality,” and “Value”.??
Currently,?there is NO agreed upon?definition for?the terms?Performance (P), Quality (Q), Business markets (B),?and value?(V) when?applied to buildings.?In theory, however,?we should be able to evolve an algorithm such as:?
PB + Q = V??
There is still a lot of work to do. Various initiatives like?LEEDS,?Well Certified?and?Greenbuild?have?defined?various aspects of Quality (i.e.,?health and sustainability),?but a broader understanding?of the concept?needs to be developed and incorporated into the building process, so it is not merely another layer of bureaucratic oversight and cost.?
Bringing clarity to building data is key.?Step #1 is defining the attributes?and characteristics?of the building process?that can easily be tracked.?Step #2 is?developing?low cost,?easily accessible analysis tracking,?and?comparing hypothetical BIM performance to actual building performance.?.?With the Standards,?Templates,?and Workflows in place to support these two processes,?much can be learned just working with the low?hanging?fruit?that is?easily available.?
The next step is to identify and implement measurement, tracking,?and metric techniques to define less available data, and?begin?science-based research into what the algorithm described above might look like. This knowledge will?significantly improve ongoing building operations and future building designs and construction.?
The development of a useful algorithm?will require a building process.in which the relevant data is recorded and?organized by a?BCE?that has effective Standards,?Templates,?and?Workflows.?
The formula of (Performance)?*?(Business Markets)?+?(Quality) = Value.??(PB+Q=V)?appears to be simple but in practice is a highly complex algorithm.??
Quality and Performance?are both comprised of many elements.??Items being measured?include:??
The list above is a high-level look at a long and impressive array of factors. Additionally, these factors can be arranged in multiple ways. The?number of?permutations that need to be considered to calculate values for performance and quality can be impressive and intimidating.??
Establishing methods of measurement and then developing proper weighting functions are key to developing,?an algorithm that provides a practical understanding of?both?the beneficial and detrimental?consequences that the?built environments?may have?on the environment, community and the activities and people that are impacted.??
This is an important and?large-scale?endeavor that will require basic research and coordination between Building related Associations, Universities, Manufacturers,?and?Building Project?team?members.?
A simple overview of each of the variable being considered is provided below.
Performance?is solely comprised of metrics that can be measured and quantified.?These would include items such as:?
10. Parametric attributes of the building and site?(dimensions, volumes, sizes, etc.)?
11. Energy usage?
12. Utility usage?
Quality?has two types of elements:??
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13. Attributes?that can?be measured and quantified.?
14. Attributes that are assessed by human perception and awareness. We do not have?a?single measurement that applies to everyone. In?fact,?this is a highly subjective component that requires a method of measurement they may be akin to the system used in healthcare?for?assessing pain by asking every patient to define their current pain level by assigning a number?1-10.??
Building Markets?are fluid and change depending on:?
15. Geographic location?
16. Access to core?natural materials?
17. Manufactured goods?
18. Demographics?and local?customs?
19. Geology?and?weather conditions??
These?are a few of?many?attributes that comprise the Building Markets.?Building market makers have many and varied priorities. A company that is??developing and selling a building?within one to two years will define and?organize the features that comprise value very differently?than?an?Owner/Operator who plans to maintain and operate the building throughout?its life cycle.???
Weighting:?
Once?each component within “Performance”,?“Building Markets,” and “Quality”?is?defined and measured,?creating the correct relative weighting relationship will be a tricky business. It will require much trial and error to arrive at an algorithm?in which?each element within (P), (B),?and (Q)?is?properly weighted, and?that provides results that align with our?real-life?experience?of?the built environment.?And,?by extension,?allow us to use this understanding?to accurately?project how?future projects will be experienced.?
Functions:?
Similar?to?weighting above, the functions that make?up the algorithm will need to be assessed and tested against real-life experience to arrive at a meaningful formulation.?
It is crystal clear that the development of PB+Q=V will?evolve?over an extended?period of time. The initial goals for BUSA, PI, BCE,?and the initial “Optimized?“building?will be?to establish parameters describing:?
20. What issues need to be?considered???
21. How, what, why, where,?and when?will?these issues be quantified or defined within the BCE data structure??
22. What items can be measured and quantified? How will this be done? Is it immediately affordable,?or to be implemented in the future??
23. What items are assessed by Human Perception and Awareness (HP&A)??What will be the means of establishing a meaningful scale? How will they be included within?a?QPV algorithm??
24. How?will?variables be initially weighted and assessed??
25. What variables can be defined and implemented immediately? Either through an exclusion specification (i.e.,?such and such materials cannot be utilized) or an inclusionary specification (i.e.,?such and such materials must be utilized).?
These assessments?and parameters will guide the development of BUSA, PI, BCE, and the initial “Optimized” Ambulatory Building.??
To define a?clear?definition for Value (and its constituent parts) within the world of Building is a highly sophisticated endeavor. Obviously, the work will evolve over?time, but these data structures are currently under active development.?
The work involves countless data components created in multiple software environments?across?many years of a building’s life cycle.??The goal of the PB+Q=V initiative is NOT to tell the marketplace that this question will be resolved with certainty?in the near future.??The current work is focused on developing the ecosystem, tools,?and functionality that?will allow?a shared understanding of Value to evolve over?time and be constructively implemented by the building markets.??A more rigorous definition and application of the concept of Value will?increase profitability?and usher in an era of long-term value?for?“Optimized?Building.”?