How A2A evaluates facility design options

A facility is usually judged on cost and schedule. In practice, many of the decisions that shape those outcomes are made very early, before anyone has agreed what the project needs to deliver. This note explains how A2A DesignBits and Partners approaches early design decisions.

1. Agree what the project must deliver

Before settling on a design or a technology, A2A works with the owner to set targets for project value, allowable cost, schedule, productivity and operational workflow. These targets become the yardstick for every later decision.

2. Keep several options open (set-based design)

Set-based design means developing and comparing several viable design options in parallel, then narrowing them as information improves, rather than committing early to one solution. It helps avoid premature design lock-in and late-stage redesign.

3. Compare options on their real advantages (Choosing by Advantages)

Choosing by Advantages is a decision method that compares options by the importance of their actual advantages, rather than by weighted scores alone. A2A uses it to make the trade-offs between design options transparent to owners.

4. Check decisions at defined gates

Project value is reviewed at agreed decision gates, so that cost, schedule and coordination deviations are spotted early, while they are still cheap to correct.

5. Look beyond handover

Maintainability, operating performance and future adaptability are considered across the facility lifecycle, not only at the design stage.

What this does and does not promise

Reduced rework and better-informed decisions are the intended outcomes of this approach, not guarantees. The scope of any study depends on the project, the site and the information available.

Next step

To discuss an upcoming facility project, call +971 56 486 3162 or use the Contact page.