Bridging the Gap: Building Security and Building Design

by Larry Fosnight - Director, Sales Enablement

As doors, hardware and access control solutions advance in increasingly beneficial and sophisticated ways and as building design and construction move at an ever-faster pace. It is more important than ever to ensure all parties involved work together from the outset to get things right. Too often, there is a disconnect between a building owner's needs and what ends up being designed, specified, and installed-especially in the industry's focus on securing openings. As a result, fingerpointing ensues, stakeholders become understandably upset, and the responsible party's brand suffers.

Sometimes, the consequences can be major. Who wants to end up in an unfortunate position like the firm that forgot to include more than 380,000 linear feet of wiring in their bid for a major hotel, even though it was in the scope of work? Or the one that only budgeted components for 25 doors in a behavioral health facility that required solutions for 600 openings.

Closing the door to finger-pointing

There are various reasons, or excuses, for missing the boat. Problems can stem from not doing a deep enough dive into the owner's intent for a space and making sure all parties understand those expectations. Perhaps end-users' security preferences are not documented adequately and shared with design and construction professionals. It could be a lack of Division 08 and Division 28 consultants. Or it might be that doors and access control are being treated as an afterthought. The answer could be any one of these or all of the above.

The goal is to reduce room for error and eliminate the blame game. In most cases, the solution involves a combination of tactics, including enhancing upfront discovery processes, using advanced design and project/materials management tools, and establishing and enforcing more cohesion among all the key players. Hence, there is a far lower chance of an omission during design, specification, bidding, and construction. The more informed and aligned teams are, the lower the potential for problems.

The question is how willing parties are to make the necessary changes for improvement. Putting more effective steps in place and adhering to them requires a commitment in time and personnel. It is better to invest in extra effort at the start of a project than incur requests for information (RFis), change orders, lost time, and lost revenue later or have to value engineer the good stuff out of a design to the disappointment of the owner and damage to reputations. That said, there is additional work yet to be done to get to this ideal world.

Resolving Division 08 and 28 overlaps and gaps

Based on research using Dodge Construction Network data, 90 percent of building projects in the United States do not have clear documents to depict and coordinate Division 08 and 28 requirements. Over the years, doors, frames, and door hardware, including lock components for electronic access control (EAC), have been sold by Division 08 professionals. Technology has converged between Division 08 products and Division 28 systems, so the need for clear scope Door hardware management has become more critical. It is logical for Division 08 and 28 professionals to combine their knowledge into a single resource with comprehensive product and solution expertise. Eric Martin with The Cook and Boardman Group shared that their company has done just that. Along with being a major provider of Division 08 doors, frames, and hardware, they have a security integration division that can provide and support everything from Division 08 and Division 28. An advantage of moving in this direction is providing one accountable
resource to make life easier for general contractors (GCs), design-build firms, and owners alike.

In lieu of this single-source approach, Division 08 and 28 professionals who prefer to stay in their familiar lanes can still take advantage of the opportunity to refine coordination and communication between their separate specialties to prevent hiccups and conflicts and improve the contractor and owner experience. The two worlds should be able to align and work harmoniously to ensure interoperability, a more streamlined coordination process, and improved outcomes.

In addition, there still needs to be a marked improvement in the scope of work details on the contract documents mentioned earlier. Roles and responsibilities must be identified for each party vested in delivering a properly finished opening. It should almost go without saying, but every component down to a conductor needs to be identified by who is providing it and who is installing it. Suppose an integrator is not a single resource that provides Division 08 hardware and related 28 components. In that case, documentation needs to delineate which products and model numbers are furnished and installed by each party. Including a cross reference pointing to where to find more specifics about a division's scope is also important and can help prevent gaps and overlaps so something is not overlooked, assumed, or double specified (bought twice).

Software tools

Martin suggests software used for creating, managing, and collaborating on 3D building models, integrating essential data across the design, construction, and operational phases of a project, helps manage these essential details and notations. Comprehensive, accurate product data is extremely valuable when bidding or negotiating a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) and reducing the potential of value engineering.

Sean Ahrens from Affiliated Engineers, a large mechanical-electrical-plumbing (MEC) firm with an integrated security consulting practice, agrees that design and project management software is a powerful tool that "has the capability to be awesome."

"But like any data input, there is the potential for garbage in/garbage out. That is why a contractor who is given a good set of design-generated drawings needs to make sure those drawings are updated with actual product numbers and kept current during the build process to avoid confusion and mistakes," says Ahrens.

The software makes things more efficient, such as identifying whether a door application has all the necessary components accounted for and alerting
users when there is a disparity between what was planned and what shows in the system.

Ahrens also highlights the software's 3D visualization capabilities. For example, he can virtually tour clients through the building and walk them down a corridor, showing where openings are and how one door will look compared to another. He notes that "it is much more immersive and effective than looking at a 2D plan and provides an easy way to catch conflicts in the design or specs before it is too late:"

Martin echoes the importance of keeping the model updated throughout the entire lifecycle of the build.

"If you look at any door opening, a company like ours is dependent on somebody else's floor or wall. We're often going in during the last phase of construction. Since life safety is dependent upon doors and openings operating as intended, it's crucial that those floors and walls have been planned and built correctly," says Martin. For example, proper pathways and considerations surrounding electronic components must be in place.

Going a step further

Ahrens advises that one of the most important things security integrators can do is visit the building site during construction before the walls and ceilings are up and finished.

"Look at the conduit. Is it routed to where electronic hardware, such as hinges that connect to locking hardware or junction boxes for credential readers, will be installed? You do not want to discover a finished wall where those things are missing, then have the wall opened back up to route wiring and frame in a box," says Ahrens.

He further says he cannot stress enough how important it is for integrators and design professionals to conduct regular site visits. This allows them to identify
problems early and avoid extra costs and delays.

Delivery methods

Another factor is the desire and need for speed in the construction world. GCs want to deliver projects faster, whether to meet client and public deadline expectations and funding requirements, limit inflation's effects on materials costs and labor, or for other practical reasons. This means there is less time to noodle designs and more pressure to maintain momentum throughout a project's life.

As a result, many verticals and owners are turning to alternative delivery methods such as Design-Build, hoping for greater efficiency in terms of both cost and time. According to the Design-Build Institute of America's website, projections indicate that design-build will represent nearly half of spending by 2026.

Clarity instead of ambiguity

As Martin explains, "My favorite specifications and contract documents to review are those where there is actually a design narrative or an intent listed below the door security specification. That is the best. So, use your words, type them out, explain what you want and require, and include that in the contract document. That puts our organization on a level playing field with the competition as far as what is being provided at bid day and all the way through to the end result, for that matter. The lack of ambiguity in how you want openings to operate and what a space is for creates an even playing field."

As the adage warns, "haste makes waste." Building in the time and opportunity for discovery, interactive constructive feedback, and insights from the get-go can be very effective in achieving clarity and eliminating the wasteful pitfalls of the past. The good news is progress is being made to close the gaps and properly connect the dots.

This article originally appeared in the November 2024 issue of "The Construction Specifier"