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The beautiful BJC Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital is an example of a successful IPD project. Credit: Pratt Design Studio
On today’s episode I bring you an introduction to the topic of Integrated Project Delivery, also known as simply IPD.
As both a philosophy and a delivery method, IPD seems to address many of the shortcomings of the traditional Design-Bid-Build and the Construction-Manager-at-Risk models.
Some of the issues that IPD addresses involve the sharing of risk and reward among the main stakeholders.
For this episode, I interviewed attorney John Sier, from Kitch Attorneys and Counsellors.
Click the orange “play” button above this post to listen to this episode.

John M. Sier
John M. Sier, Kitch Attorneys & Counselors
John Sier is an attorney with Kitch Attorney & Counselors and concentrates his practice in dispute avoidance and resolution of commercial, health care and construction contract issues as the head of the firm’s construction and commercial litigation group.
In the construction industry, he analyzes the legal aspects of various project delivery methods and assists in project completion and dispute resolution.
Mr. Sier received his Juris Doctor and Master of Arts in Mass Communication and Journalism from Drake University Law School and Graduate School in 1986, and his A.B. in Political Science and Communications from Loyola University of Chicago in 1983. He has published and presented on construction, health care and commercial issues across the country.
John spoke with me in person, at his office in downtown Detroit. To listen to the interview, press the orange “play” button above this post.
Subscribing to Podcasts Using Smartphones

The New BlackBerry Podcasts App.
I started a video series explaining how to subscribe to podcasts using different devices. As of the day of this episode, I have created a video demonstrating how to subscribe to podcasts using an iPhone and an Android phone.
Though you can listen to this podcast by visiting the website and pressing the orange “play” button above the post, I think the power of podcasts is in that it can be automatically downloaded to your device and you can have it on the go, either when you drive, or work out, etc.
Check out this post for a brief explanation of what podcasts are and how to subscribe to them using your smartphone.
News regarding the Construction Industry Podcast
On this episode I also mention that the Construction Industry Podcast is officially a bi-weekly show now. As I share in the episode, it has been hard to keep up with the weekly schedule and deliver a quality show at the same time. My work at Remontech and with other initiatives has taken a lot of my time and instead of publishing less-than-great episodes every week, I believe I can bring you more value if I concentrate on a show every 2 weeks.
I’d love to know your thoughts about this. Feel free to drop me a line in the comment box below or through my voice mail link using the tab on the right edge of the website.
PMI Southwestern Ontario Chapter Symposium
I’m super excited to be one of the speakers at the upcoming Project Management Institute’s Southwestern Ontario Chapter symposium on April 26th.
My session will be called Why Project Managers Should Have Their Own Online Presence and Platform.
I’ll be sharing my experience with the Construction Industry Podcast and how other project managers can use an online platform and new media to stand out in their industry.
There’s still not a website for the event, but as soon as there is one I will mention it on a future post. For now, you can visit the PMI Southwestern Ontario Chapter’s website. For more information on the Project Management Institute, check out episode 17 of the Construction Industry Podcast.
One Woodward Avenue Building Pictures
At the end of this episode John Sier shares with me some of the interesting history behind the building in which he has his office. Here are some pictures I took while I was there, and others from the web.
- One Woodward Avenue (Credit: Wikipedia)
- Spirit of Detroit statue, Detroit, Michigan
- Ballerina Statue in front of One Woodward Avenue Building
- One Woodward Avenue, with the distinctive elongated, pointed windows.
- One Woodward Avenue, lobby.
- One Woodward Avenue, with the distinctive elongated, pointed windows.
- From within One Woodward Avenue Building, Detroit, Michigan
Episode Links
- Kitch Attorneys and Counselors
- Construction Owners Association of America
- Integrated Project Delivery for Public and Private Owners, A Joint Effort of the National Association of State Facilities Administrators (NASFA); Construction Owners Association of America (COAA); APPA: The Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers; Associated General Contractors of America (AGC); and American Institute of Architects (AIA).
- The Integrated Agreement for Lean Project Delivery by William A. Lichtig
- Managing Integrated Project Delivery, by the Construction Management Association of America
- One Woodward Avenue Building, Detroit