How to Maximize Owner Value with Target Value Design (TVD)

Imagine a project where the golden trio of construction management come together – reliable scope ,  schedule , and cost .

Sounds like just a pipe dream?

Well, we’re here to say: it’s totally possible! ✅

Modern delivery methods like Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) & Target Value Design (TVD) are developing to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving construction industry, bringing more collaboration, innovation, and cost savings.

In this blog post, we’re going to explore how TVD can lead to better preconstruction outcomes. We’ll cover some of the benefits of TVD, how Join can help with TVD, and some real-life examples of how DPR Rodgers successfully applied TVD on the Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation Hospital project.

What is target value design?

Target value design (TVD) is a construction management practice that is based on the project owner’s target value – which is most often the project cost. Design and construction are engineered around that target value, in a continuous process of evaluating the cost implications of different decisions.

TVD is rapidly gaining popularity with owners, and it’s easy to see why. It reduces risk, encourages innovation, and leads to cost savings. In fact, it’s increasingly common to see owners making TVD a contractual requirement.

However, TVD is not an easy delivery method to implement. Working in such a collaborative way requires a high level of trust between parties, and continually evaluating the target value can lead to a difficult decision-making process.

Maximizing value for owners with TVD 

One of the main benefits of Target Value Design is that it maximizes value for owners. That matters because contractors and construction managers who are able to deliver TVD can gain a valuable competitive edge! Here’s why you should consider implementing it:

Driving innovation: TVD encourages high levels of innovation, as the team has to find creative ways to deliver the project within the target cost. When current best practices fall short of what’s needed, it’s time to overturn the status quo.

Collaboration: Having all disciplines from design and construction involved in the design phase in TVD results in a much more collaborative preconstruction process.

⚠ Reduced risk: The owner chooses a design firm and construction manager before the design phase of the project, and they will all agree contractually to shared objectives, including the target value. Sharing the risk between parties makes the project less risky for the owner.

Cost savings: With TVD, the whole team is incentivized to maximize efficiency and bring down the cost of the project over time. This results in more cost savings for the owner, and repeat business for the preconstruction team.

How Join can help with TVD

When venturing into new territory with a new delivery method like Target Value Design, you probably appreciate all the help you can get! Transparency is key to the collaborative TVD process, and it’s vital to track and document who creates estimates, who enters pricing, and who or what is impacted by each decision. Here’s how Join can be a powerful ally for teams wanting to navigate TVD projects:

True collaboration

TVD is a collaborative process, and Join makes effective collaboration between design teams and contractors possible. All stakeholders can lend their expertise, and explore options and their impact on cost more easily.

Real-time cost estimates

With TVD, you need to know exactly how your project cost is tracking. Join gives team members instant access to the most current cost information on a project, so it’s easier to make the decisions that keep projects on budget.

Streamlined communication

A range of disciplines working together in a TVD process means communication can get messy. Join tracks all the communication related to each decision and consolidates all relevant documents. People can communicate easily using simple @ tags,, and everyone working on an item gets a message when an action is taken.

How DPR Rodgers successfully applied TVD on a top hospital project

DPR Construction and Rodgers Builders (DPR Rogers) partnered as a joint venture on the $650M Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation Hospital project, along with NBBJ, WSP, and Stantec.

The owner, Atrium Health, employed TVD on the project. Implementing TVD on the first part of the project, the rehabilitation hospital, presented some significant challenges. Tracking decisions quickly became chaotic, and due to having so many users in the same tracking log, files were being overwritten and causing new items to be lost or duplicated.

DPR Rodgers had to ensure that the TVD process was smoother for the CMC bed tower project. Due to the complexity and scale of the project, accurate cost tracking was critical. They couldn’t risk losing data or having miscalculations, so whatever software the team selected had to be correct.

“Due to the complexity and scale of the bed tower project, accurate cost tracking was critical. We couldn’t risk losing data or having miscalculations, so whatever software the team selected had to be correct. Join allows us to see cost impact in real-time, to give the owner the real estimate today – right now, not a minute from now” — Melanie Moreschi, DPR Rodgers

Transparency is key to the TVD process

With Join, DPR Rodgers and other groups can see the full impact of every decision, even indirect costs such as insurance and construction management. They can provide that information in real-time, and give the owner an accurate estimate.

Join has brought much-needed transparency to the TVD process, as the team can see the origin of an item, who requested it and when, its impact on the project, and any analysis related to the item.

The project team has now simplified what used to be a multi-step process. Before, a printout of the current job value would be requested and it could take days if the information was being compiled in multiple files and tabs. Now, the team can provide detailed and up-to-date information, even with moving parts like ideas being accepted, rejected, or under consideration.

“If you’re working on an IPD or TVD project, Join is super helpful. I liked the ability to tie the drawings to the items so you can see exactly what was priced. Having everyone in the same easy-to-find location works really well. In many cases, the ability to leave comments and have the history is better than having the A3s or A4s because it’s right there with the number and the data.” — Karl Schantz, NBBJ

Ultimately, Join was critical for decision-making for all parties involved in the Atrium project. If you’d like to learn more about how DPR Rodgers successfully navigated TVD for Atrium Health, you can check out the full case study here.