From the perspective of the engineering construction process, the construction project needs to go through the four responsible entities of the surveyor, the designer, the purchaser and the construction party. The long-term fragmentation of the value chain of the mainland construction industry has created a situation in which the design, procurement and construction links are operated separately: the responsible entities often restrict and disconnect from each other, and the progress, cost and quality of project construction are often far from expectations.
Under the policy documents and related guidance of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly issued and implemented the "Notice on the Administration of General Contracting of Housing Construction and Municipal Infrastructure Projects" and the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of Whole-process Engineering Consulting Services", state-owned enterprises and government investment projects need to be equipped with the EPC EPC project management team with the EPC project manager and the EPC project manager and the EPC project manager as the general responsible person to carry out the implementation of the EPC project construction.
The proposal of EPC, an advanced contracting model, aims at the current situation of the fragmentation of the process value chain and the resulting construction problems, and is placed high hopes by the regulatory authorities on promoting the healthy development of the construction industry. The policy orientation and its own outstanding advantages make the EPC model occupy a place in the systematic planning of China's construction projects, and the future development prospects are considerable.
Design is the soul of the EPC model, hospital construction projects due to the particularity and complexity of their process flow, whether the EPC model is equally applicable to it, different architectural designers have different views.
Gu Jian
Chief Architect of Zhongheng Design Group Co., Ltd. and Presiding Architect of Medical Design Research Center (Beijing Ruigu Lianheng Architectural Design Co., Ltd.).
In recent years, the EPC model has exploded in the domestic market, but EPC is a challenge for those of us who have been engaged in traditional design.
The EPC model still has a long way to go in China, whether it is the designer, the construction party, or the construction of systems, regulations and other systems, there is a lot of homework to be made up. How to achieve high efficiency, high quality and cost control and systematization of the construction process on the basis of controlling the quality of design; how to straighten out the relationship between design and construction and achieve synergy in EPC, ensure their respective responsibilities and rights, and realize scientific and institutionalized are all topics worthy of in-depth study.
Chen Guoliang
Chief Chief Architect of Huajian Group Shanghai Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd
Whether it is design-led or construction-led, the implementation of the EPC model for hospital-type projects is controversial. The biggest advantage of the EPC model is that it combines design and construction to speed up projects and simplify construction procedures. However, this model is more suitable for investors to predict the future presentation of the project, project indicators, and spatial quality at the beginning. For example, when an early company builds a factory building or relocates a house, its investment is transparent and the quality of the space is predictable, and EPC is applicable. The hospital is a complex and professional building, a work of designers, builders, and investors working together to balance and balance, and one party cannot control the entire project process. What's more, building is the whole process of construction, and it is not possible to solve the problem by relying on authorized agents.
In view of the current trend of the development of the entire national construction model, the implementation of the EPC model in the construction of the hospital is premised on the premise that the hospital's program and preliminary design or bidding drawing design are completed by an independent designer, the preparation of product specifications is increased, the entire system standard has a qualitative and quantitative description, and then the EPC bidding is carried out. The construction-led EPC is more familiar with the practice and materials, and it can organize professionals to produce flip drawings and deepening drawings, and the feasibility of the program formulated is higher and more advantageous. Architectural designers should focus more on the creativity of design, to do a warm, personalized hospital, in the design documents to have more definitions and descriptions, including product specifications and quantities, all equipment pipelines and even a stainless steel requirements must have a specific description, in the product specification book clearly marked. This makes it easier to control quality and cost.
Li Zhiwei
AECOM China Chief Healthcare Architect and Medical Planner
I am personally a little hesitant about the EPC model. Although this model can save a lot of energy and even a lot of cost savings from the owner, there are many uncontrollable factors in the whole complex process, which are sometimes contrary to the real interests of the owner. So while the owner saves time and overall expenses, it can result in greater losses in places he doesn't notice. If this model is implicated in the design of medical planning, the impact will be even greater. Because the design plan in this mode does not fully meet the requirements of the user, his direct responsibility is not the ultimate user. Professional designers face a direct object that is not the end user of the hospital, so there will be a big difference. Our domestic designer's right to speak is relatively weak, and if he insists on empowering him with this right and responsibility, he can't pry the construction team behind him or other relevant parties. In this case, in fact, he is powerless.
So far, we prefer to face the owner directly, because only in this way can we ensure that our design meets their needs. It's like if you hire a designer at home, because you're the user, you can ask him directly. In fact, it is good to have requirements, because then the designer knows what the owner wants to do. If there is no demand and can not make a good design, it is very dangerous to imagine.
Zhou Qi
Professor of architecture at Southeast University, doctoral supervisor, and chief designer of the People's Daily building
The architectural model of Western countries adopts the architect responsibility system, and the responsibility of the architect is very heavy, from the pre-planning, scheme design, construction drawing design to the material technology of the construction process. In fact, the architect responsibility system is another way of EPC model, China's current implementation of the EPC model has not really matured, there is still a long way to go.
Now that the EPC model is being explored, Beijing has taken the lead in adopting this EPC model. The preliminary design materials are not so in-depth, and many material processes are not understood and the price cannot be controlled. Originally, it should be the integration of design and construction, but the guarantee of price and quality is actually not mature. In Western countries, the architecture is very meticulous, the drawings are drawn, the details of the material process are very detailed, and then according to the conditions available to plan the cost, the material samples, materials, various equipment systems are fixed, this thing I think there are loopholes, pricing, quality, construction period, if not, this thing has a lot of gray space. This is a kind of exploration, in fact, it is necessary to improve various institutional mechanisms.
There are many problems in the current EPC implementation process, the construction unit can't understand it, and the architect doesn't really take responsibility. Because the construction units do not need to have a grass-roots office, they do not have the ability to manage the construction themselves. Project management has a special third-party professional organization to operate, coordinate the work in the project process, control the quality and price, organize and manage various materials, and meet the requirements of the owner. But EPC is very difficult to operate in practice, such as a project we do, we take the salary of the preliminary design, do more detail than the construction, all the materials at the same time to find three brands, and then do the deepening design. Actually it's unsustainable, the cost of energy is high, and I'm unlikely to make another ten if I make one. But since this project is entrusted to us, we will help you complete it, which is also processed for your own brand.
Then there is the third-party independent agency of the Audit Office that intervenes to do the follow-up audit and then changes the list. There is a lot of flexibility here, all the bill of materials contracts through the review, and finally to approve the price, but millions of design changes to implement, how to audit and review? This is a big problem. "Resources should not be determined by the market", there is also this kind of bidding system, government projects are difficult to decide by the market, bidding units are mixed, it is very difficult to accurately find a fully qualified enterprise in a short period of time. It seems that the procedure is very legal, but in fact, it is seriously contrary to the laws of the market, and it is easy for people to exploit loopholes.
In the field of hospital construction, the application of the EPC model tends to be common, such as the Shenzhen University General Hospital Project, the Ganjiang New District Hospital Project, the Xiushan Hospital Phase II Project, and the Henan University of Science and Technology First Affiliated Hospital Cancer Hospital Project.
To sum up, the EPC model still has a long way to go to integrate with China's construction model. Because the design of the hospital is more professional and complex than other architectural designs. No matter what model the project adopts, rigorous and responsible planning and design is the foundation for the construction of high-quality hospitals.