Front End Planning Process: A Project Risk Management Strategy
Front End Planning (FEP) is a structured, engineering-driven process in which ACS engineers collaborate with your stakeholders to define key project requirements and address the highest-risk systems upfront. This foundational work acts as an early checkpoint to clarify the project scope, identify potential risks, and support informed decision-making before committing to full design and construction. Having conducted FEPs across hundreds of projects, our team advances a project’s design to a preliminary stage, typically 10-15% of the overall design, with the most complex systems being developed further to confirm feasibility and create realistic budgets and timelines. This comprehensive preconstruction planning is essential for a successful project risk management strategy.
By identifying problems early, this strategic investment can lead to significant cost and scope savings. Read this document to learn about ACS’ front end planning process including:
- FEP deliverables: FEP deliverables include and aren’t limited to space programming and layouts, system flow diagrams, concept-level 3D models, preliminary design criteria, cost estimate with line-item breakdown, and identification of permitting, utility, or structural issues.
- The FEP value: Front end planning process provides detailed budgets and timelines, proactively identifying risks and reducing uncertainty to support smarter capital planning and secure management approval. A strong project risk management strategy is built on this foundation.
- Clarity before commitment: The FEP decision gate allows for data-driven, “go/no-go” decisions on a project’s scope, schedule, and budget. By refining the conceptual design before a full commitment, this preconstruction planning reduces risk and provides the documentation needed to secure funding and approval.
- Determining you delivery model: The FEP process helps you choose the best project delivery model and aligns the scope, budget, and schedule to your needs. You leave with a complete, actionable plan, ensuring your investment is sound regardless of who executes the project. This is a key part of your project risk management strategy.
- Project success by design: Through front end planning, ACS helps define project success metrics and acceptance criteria upfront. This process uses an inside out design approach to align project goals with budgets and future plans by focusing on core performance requirements first. This meticulous preconstruction planning leads to exceptional results.
By transforming your vision into an actionable roadmap, our collaborative FEP process clarifies the scope, budget, and risks so you can proceed with confidence. This strategic investment brings our cross-industry expertise to your planning meetings, helping you uncover potential issues and constraints early on. You’ll own all deliverables, from 3D models to estimates, giving your team the certainty to move forward. This is the ultimate goal of our front end planning process: to ensure your investment is well-founded.
