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Design Chains: A Handbook for Integrated Collaborative Design
Design Chains A Handbook for Integrated Collaborative Design Author:S. Austin, D. Root, M. Murray, J. Hammond, A. Baldwin "Design Chains" represents innovative thinking for the companies who have developed the concept to give them critical advantage in the market. This is an important initiative. It deserves to be read. I commend it to the whole construction team, led by clients and throughout the supply chain. Sir Michael Latham "Design Chains" presents innovative... more » new thinking in supply chain management. Springing from the work of the Integrated Collaborative Design (ICD) research project, a combined industry and academic initiative between Loughborough University and twelve construction companies, it presents a set of key principles and practices that provide a new approach to design management - the design chain."Design Chains" describes how design can be understood, managed and optimised to add value to clients. The practices developed through ICD and described in "Design Chains" provide a timely response to the need to manage design complexity to help collaborating organisations deliver projects that meet client needs. The benefits of an Integrated Collaborative Design approach include: creating business level frameworks for organisations to collaborate for mutual benefit on projects; aiding understanding of design information flows; helping organisations align their business and project competencies and business cultures; promoting value adding design solutions on projects; and providing a selection of tools to integrate processes across organisations at the levels of the business and project. This pioneering new book will be of value to a wide readership, from clients to specialised suppliers.« less