Avanti

[edit] AVANTI: ICT enabled collaborative working – sharing what we know and making it work

The AVANTI programme was one of the two ‘programmes’ of activity selected for funding by DTI in 2002. The introduction of larger areas of development – aiming to become self-funding, ongoing networks – was a response to the recommendations made by Sir John Fairclough in Rethinking Construction Research and Innovation (see Chapter 1).

The Avanti initiative was led by Collaborating for the Built Environment (Be) in partnership with Teamwork and IAI. The group identified a need to reduce the risks involved in adoption of new methods of working, bringing together areas of current best-practice (such as CPIC protocols) that had previously gained too little market penetration to have significant impact on the sector.

The objective was to deliver improved project and business performance through the use of ICT to support collaborative working, applying the AVANTI approach by getting people to work together; providing processes to enable collaboration; and applying tools to support collaborative working.

The Avanti approach increases the quality of information, the predictability of outcomes and by reducing risk and waste. Avanti is not an IT system or tool. As a method or approach, Avanti can be applied to projects using 2D CAD as well as those using 3D intelligent modelling or building information models. It is supported by handbooks, toolkits and on-site mentoring.

The core of the Avanti method is an approach where all CAD information is generated with the same origin, orientation and scale, and organised in layers that can be shared. All layers and CAD model files are named consistently within a specific Avanti convention to allow others to find the relevant CAD data.

Avanti achieves its core objective in three ways; through providing consultants, each an expert in the Avanti approach; Information standards and procedures; and cross-project assessment and measurement.

Evaluation of the impacts of the Avanti have shown:

• Early commitment offering up to 80% saving on implementation cost on medium size project
• 50-85% saving on effort spent receiving information and formatting for reuse
• 60-80% saving on effort spent finding information and documents
• 75–80% saving in effort to achieve design co-ordination
• 50% saving on time spent to assess tenders and award sub-contracts
• 50% saving on effort in sub-contractor design approval

[edit] Avanti Report from DTi Project Showcase

In February 2007, the Dti published The Construction Research Programme – Project Showcase which included a report on the CWC Avanti project.

The Construction Research Programme – Project Showcase

[edit] Avanti Case Studies and Presentations

• Case Study 1: The team behind Avanti helps Taylor Woodrow to achieve co-ordinated design and delivery on a major PFI project at St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals
• Case Study 2: The Avanti team works with Costain at PalaceXchange to deliver a better product with less waste in the design process
• The Avanti Approach presentation from Constructing Excellence