Preconstruction on mega projects involves coordinating hundreds of stakeholders, each contributing critical information—yet too often, inefficiencies in preconstruction, especially estimating, lead to costly delays. James Pease, an expert in the setup and structure of large-scale projects using Lean and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), has worked on some of the highest profile healthcare projects in California. Currently, he oversees construction management for a multi-billion-dollar hospital build-out at the University of California, San Francisco, which has hired a tri-venture of three large General Contractors for the project. As UCSF Real Estate’s Vice President for Health Major Capital Projects, James is deeply familiar with the complexities of managing large, complex capital projects.
"It’s a huge challenge when you have, call it, 500 people working on a project every month," James says. "Coordinating everyone and keeping things transparent is difficult when the tech stack isn’t cloud-based or collaborative."
The difficulties of managing such large teams become clear when looking at the tools many are still using today. Despite the massive scope of projects like these, many teams continue to rely on Excel for estimating—a tool that, while familiar, isn’t built to handle the complexity or collaboration required.
"It’s surprising that, even on multi-billion dollar projects, many are still stuck using Excel," James shares. "You’re dealing with different components of the estimate being merged manually. There’s no live collaboration, and the minute you send an estimate out, it’s already outdated."
A major challenge Jame’s see’s on projects is that estimators often work on their own versions of the same estimate. "Even with four estimators, it’s common to see them struggling to collaborate because they’re working on different versions on their desktop," James explains. "This problem is compounded on mega-projects, where dozens of companies are contributing, and the sheer volume of data to merge and track becomes overwhelming. Whether it’s version control, merging estimates, or trying to upload data into collaboration tools, the process quickly becomes fragmented and inefficient.”
"In one of the large projects I’ve worked on, we had a cost consultant uncover $50 million in inconsistencies, double-ups, and unnecessary items—directly tied to inefficiencies in the estimating process," James explains. "That experience made it clear that we need better solutions."
While cloud-based collaboration is now common in areas like BIM and scheduling, estimating has lagged behind. The construction industry is slowly moving from on-premise desktop solutions to remote-access tools, but James believes the future lies in fully cloud-based platforms like Ediphi.
"There’s a natural evolution here," James explains. "We started with on-premise solutions, then moved to remote-access systems. But what we need now is a truly cloud-based platform that enables seamless collaboration and instant access to your work across teams."
This becomes even more apparent in project models like progressive design build where trades are brought in early. "In these cases, we often work with a risk and opportunity log," James says. "But there’s a disconnect between exploring these risks and opportunities and actually integrating them into the estimates—especially when the tools we’re using aren’t built for that kind of collaboration."
From his experience managing complex projects, James points out that trade partners often struggle to contribute directly to estimates. "On large projects, where we’re compiling estimates from over 100 different companies, trying to consolidate everything into one system is a nightmare," he says. "We need a platform where everyone can contribute to the estimate at the same time, so we’re not left with these black boxes that contractors disappear into."
This is where Ediphi comes into play. James believes their cloud-based estimating platform offers the solution the construction industry has been waiting for. With Ediphi, project teams can collaborate in real time, eliminating the common issues of version control and manual merges.
"Tools like Join have gone far to improve decision making and tracking, but they come with their own set of challenges like being disconnected from the estimating solutions," James says. "Every time changes are accepted in Join, contractors often take those changes into their own systems—essentially disappearing into a black box. You’re left hoping all the updates, credits, and changes are reflected when they return, but too often they aren’t."
"Ediphi gives project teams the ability to work on one estimate as a team," James explains. "Instead of having four estimators download their own version and work independently, everyone can contribute and track changes as they happen. For projects of scale, that’s a game changer."
In addition to simultaneous collaboration, Ediphi brings much-needed transparency to the estimating process, allowing stakeholders to track how cost assumptions drive changes. "The transparency Ediphi provides is key," James adds. "It’s no longer about guessing whether all the changes were included—project teams can see everything as it happens."
Looking ahead, James believes the construction industry must fully adopt cloud-based collaboration tools to remain competitive. "The only way we’re going to solve these collaboration challenges is through cloud-based estimating solutions," he says. "And that’s what Ediphi is doing—they’re building exactly what the industry needs."
The inefficiencies caused by long cycle times in the current estimating process only underscore the need for change. On large-scale projects, where delays can cost millions, having a streamlined, collaborative estimating platform can be transformative.
"We’re dealing with billions of dollars on the line, and hundreds of stakeholders contributing to the estimate," James concludes. "Ediphi is poised to help the industry move forward, making these projects more efficient and transparent."
James Pease is an expert in setting up and structuring large, complex capital projects using Lean and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Currently, he is overseeing construction management for a multi-billion-dollar hospital build-out for the University of California, San Francisco. James is UCSF Real Estate’s Vice President for Health Major Capital Projects and serves as a national board member of the Lean Construction Institute. He is a regular keynote speaker on topics such as Lean Construction, Last Planner System, IPD, Target Value Design, Big Rooms, BIM, Takt Planning, and Location-Based Scheduling.
