8:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Managing Supply Chain Disruption
8:10 am Gaining Insight Into Client Procurement Strategies for a Deeper Understanding of How They Are Mitigating Supply Chain Issues
Synopsis
- Discussing the biggest frustrations in the supplier market for Owners and how this is impacting project pipelines
- Understanding the alternate manufacturers being explored for items with long lead times, and where we are seeing most success
- Empowering Contractors to also procure alternate manufacturers outside of direct purchasing programs to keep projects alive
8:50 am Panel: Benchmarking Alternative Sourcing Strategies Contractors Are Employing to Make Costs & Lead Times More Predictable
Synopsis
- Highlighting alternative suppliers that have provided better or the same pricing, and still meet the design needs of customers
- Revealing the successes of teams when pre-buying inventory: What have the challenges, learnings and solutions been so far?
- Uncovering the ways to engage with clients as soon as is possible to pick the pick the best delivery method and order equipment early on
9:40 am Speed Networking & Morning Refreshments
10:40 am Building Integrated Partnerships With Vendors to Enhance Quality & Timeliness of Delivery
Synopsis
- Establishing trusted relationships with third party vendors to ensure you are the go-to project partner every time
- Having an open discussion with vendors about future trends in regards to procurement and lead times, and what planning and mitigation tactics are being employed to tackle these upcoming challenges
- Bringing in technical personnel to train teams on how to operate equipment and overcome the common challenges they may face with usage and maintenance in the face of new, significantly different technology
Overcoming Regional Constraints
11:20 am Working More Collaboratively With Regulatory Agencies to Ease & Accelerate Difficult Approval Processes
Synopsis
- Understanding what various regulatory agencies across the west coast need at the start of a project to set the process up for success
- Identifying the touch points that commonly create friction when it comes to project approvals
- Discussing how Architecture, Engineering, and Construction firms can more effectively work together with regulatory agencies to simplify and streamline the approval process, reducing the negative impact strict codes can have on a project
12:00 pm Lunch Break
Enhancing Collaborative Project Delivery
1:00 pm Exploring Alternative Energy Sources to Combat Lack of Availability From Local Utilities
Synopsis
- Uncovering the alternate fuels End-Users are favoring: Does the investment still lie with wind, water and solar or are they exploring new areas of the market with ease of dispatch and reliability?
- Understanding the prerequisites required on a project when employing alternative energy sources to equip all project partners with the knowledge they need for success
- Examining the possibilities of scaling alternative energy sources as the needs on a data center campus grow
1:40 pm Panel: Integrating Workflows & Enhancing Stakeholder Collaboration to Accelerate Speed to Market
Synopsis
- Evaluating alternative project delivery options and how they might improve cross- stakeholder collaboration
- Identifying common bottlenecks that slow project delivery and how this can be revised to expedite project timelines
- Harnessing an effective project kick-off to establish an open line of communication and build trust right from the beginning of the project
2:20 pm Afternoon Refreshments
3:00 pm Discovering How to Improve Design-Assist Environments to Drive Certainty into the Design Process
Synopsis
- Building the business case to clients for engaging trades early: What is the value of an added cost before design is complete?
- Evaluating the necessary level of involvement from trade partners to ensure the team carries out the required work for success
- Mapping out the process of design-assist to maximize involvement from all project teams and set the project up for success for all parties
3:40 pm Audience Discussion: Working With Utilities to Minimize Delays Incurred by Power Scarcity
Synopsis
- Demystifying the processes involved in bringing data centers online to understand what pre-planning Contractors can do to assist utility companies
- Improving transparency between utilities and project partners on realistic connectivity timelines
- Identifying additional pre-planning activities that Owners and Contractors can undertake to expedite the process