Culture
A project culture that fosters collaboration, trust and the desire to succeed together as a team.
Resources
What is VDC?
VDC stands for Virtual Design and Construction. It is a framework for project delivery that builds on Lean and is designed for building and infrastructure projects.
In brief
VDC gives the project clear objectives, meetings that end in decisions and plans everyone owns, from the first sketch to the finished building.
VDC optimizes construction projects through digital collaboration. With BIM, integrated work processes, structured objectives and metrics, and cross-disciplinary collaboration, the team makes better decisions, works more efficiently and reduces costs.
Projects are delivered with a high degree of predictability for everyone, and with little waste of time, resources and materials. The result is better profitability, higher quality and more satisfied employees.
The essentials
The five elements of the VDC framework
Objectives and metrics
Clear objectives that set the direction. The client's objectives are broken down into project objectives and metrics the team steers by.
ICE
Integrated Concurrent Engineering: structured meetings where the right people make the decisions then and there.
VIA
Visualization, integration and automation: models, information flow and tools that make the work visible and efficient.
PPM
Project Production Management: detailed, collaborative planning that creates a seamless transition from design to construction.
Background
From Stanford to Norwegian jobsites
- 1
2001
VDC is launched by the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) at Stanford University, to give the industry a complete framework and a shared language.
- 2
Out into the world
The framework spreads to projects around the world. Scandinavia is among the very first to adopt it.
- 3
In Norway
Lean Communications trains projects and companies in VDC, and the courses come with a certificate from NTNU.
Questions and answers
What people ask
What does VDC stand for?
VDC stands for Virtual Design and Construction. The framework was developed at Stanford University and launched in 2001.
What is ICE?
ICE stands for Integrated Concurrent Engineering. It is a way of working in which the right people come together, with up-to-date information and the authority to decide, and resolve in one session what would otherwise take weeks of email.
What is PPM?
PPM stands for Project Production Management. It is collaborative planning and control of production, including takt planning in the construction phase and milestone-driven planning in design.
What is VIA?
VIA stands for visualization, integration and automation. It is about making information visible, getting it to flow between disciplines and systems, and letting the tools take care of the routine work.
Do we have to use BIM to work with VDC?
BIM is an important tool in VDC, and the framework is broader than the model. Many start with objectives and metrics and ICE, and add model-based work over time.
How do we learn VDC?
Start with the free video course Heard (Hørt in Norwegian), which takes about 30 minutes. The Trent program provides thorough training over four to five sessions, with practice in your own project and a diploma issued together with NTNU.
Start for free
Free video course: Heard – VDC
An introduction to VDC in about 30 minutes, with a few questions along the way and a diploma when you finish.
Take the course nowCourses for your company or project
Next step
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