Design management plan

[edit] Introduction

A design management plan can be used to co-ordinate design activities. It should at least cover:

• Design responsibility matrix.
• Schedules of drawings to be produced by each discipline/specialist.
• Design programme, including key dates for reviews and information exchanges.
• Schedules of information required/release dates.
• The size and format of drawing types.
• Procedures for CAD / BIM (see BIM execution plan).
• Estimates of staff hours to be spent by designers on each element or drawing.
• Monitoring of design resources expended compared to planned estimates.
• Initiating procedures for design changes.
• Requirements for collateral warranties.
• Incorporation within the design schedule of key dates for review of design performance to check:

1. Compliance with brief.
2. Cost acceptance.
3. Value engineering analysis.
4. Health and safety issues.
5. Completeness for tender.

The project manager may use the agreed design management plan as a basis for monitoring and controlling the design process. However, integration of the work of consultant and specialists lies with the lead designer. For certain elements of the project, different leads may be nominated, however, these roles will always come under the direction of the lead designer for co-ordination.

NB As of 2026, 'BIM execution plan' remains the current term in UK practice, although a revision of ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2, still in draft, may in due course shift this terminology towards 'information production plan'.

The text in this article was originally based on an extract from Project Management, by Eric Stokes and Saleem Akram. The original manual was published in 2008. It was developed within the scope of the LdV programme, project number: 2009-1-PL1-LEO05-05016, entitled 'Common Learning Outcomes for European Managers in Construction'. It is reproduced here in a slightly modified form with the kind permission of the Chartered Institute of Building.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• BIM execution plan.
• Building design.
• Design coordination.
• Design management.
• Design manager.
• Design programme.
• Design responsibility matrix.
• Design web.
• Lead consultant.
• Lead designer.
• Project execution plan.
• Project manager.
• RACI matrix.

Comments

This is a really useful resource for teaching how to discharge the duties of the Principal Designer under CDM 2015.

Like the Principal Contractor, the Principal Designer must "plan, manage and monitor" part of the project delivery, namely the pre-construction phase.

The Principal Contractor (and even the Contractor for smaller less complex projects) must produce a Construction Phase Plan. This makes sense. In order "to plan" you need "a plan".

Since the Principal Designer has a similar duty, there is an implied requirement on the Principal Designer to produce a Design Management Plan, Design Execution Plan or Pre-Construction Phase Plan.

The list of headings provided here is helpful because it shows how to integrate H&S into projects rather than having it as a separate item.

Like many other aspects such as the commercial aspects, professionals need to be continuously mindful of the issues and occasional focussed on them.

Liz Bennett

[email protected]