The Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT) experience

The Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT) project has its roots in the early 1990’s when research at Loughborough University developed a possible solution to the problem of inadequate planning and management of the design process in construction projects (Austin, Baldwin & Newton, 1994, 1996). This led, in 1996, to the successful application for grant funding under the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Integration in Design and Construction (IDAC) programme and further grant funding under the EPSRC Technology Transfer programme. Both of these projects involved significant industrial collaboration from AMEC, ARUP, BAA, Boots, Laing, and Sheppard Robson. These grant funded projects closed at the end of 1999 (re Austin et al, 2000) with the ADePT project already winning a number of awards and plaudits, including: winning the Quality in Construction Innovation and Supreme awards in 1999; and an EPSRC research project top alpha 5 grading. The ADePT project team (Loughborough University, AMEC Capital Projects, Laing Limited and Ove Arup and Partners) recognised a need to capitalise on the success of the research projects and to secure deployment of ADePT into the construction industry. With this intent the ADePT project team have secured the collaboration of the Building Information Warehouse in development and provision of a web based industrial tool (portal) called PlanWeaver due for release during the third quarter of 2001.