Conference Day One
7:00 am
Check In, Networking & Coffee
8:00 am
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Future-Proofing Advanced Manufacturing Projects
8:10 am Case Study: Adapting Design & Execution Strategies to Maintain Project Momentum & Ensure Teamwide Alignment Amid Evolving Client Demands
Synopsis
- Adopting flexible design plans to match shifting client priorities, helping teams maintain momentum even as scopes evolve
- Monitoring emerging technologies across disciplines to proactively recommend solutions, enabling clients to make better-informed decisions without delay
- Embedding agility into design and execution workflows to reduce friction during pivots, ensuring teams remain responsive and competitive in dynamic markets
8:50 am Enhancing Project Portfolio Management with Lean Principles to Navigate Cultural Maturity, Resource Constraints & Accelerate Facility Delivery
Synopsis
- Batching capital projects into structured portfolios to enable alignment with resource availability and minimize overload to improve delivery consistency across complex facility programs
- Optimizing batch sizes within a stable production system to enhance flow and reduce variability, allowing teams to achieve shorter, more predictable cycle times
- Advancing cultural maturity through targeted engagement to increase openness to change, enabling organizations to embrace lean practices and accelerate continuous improvement
9:30 am
Speed Networking & Morning Refreshments
10:40 am Case Study: Bridging Cultural & Operational Divides with International Owners to Build Trust & Prevent Costly Project Misalignment
Synopsis
- Aligning U.S. construction norms with international expectations around safety, quality, and delivery to reduce confusion, helping teams avoid redesigns and mid-project disputes
- Navigating hierarchical decision-making structures by proactively mapping authority chains, accelerating approvals and reducing costly rework from repeated renegotiations
- Establishing bilingual staffing and communication protocols to improve understanding of goals, milestones, and constraints, ensuring smoother collaboration from kickoff to handover
Enabling Faster Project Starts
11:20 am Integrating Design & Construction Expertise on Proactive Utility Planning into Site Selection to Accelerate Timelines & Avoid Costly Missteps
Synopsis
- Assessing long-term utility availability and reliability up front to flag service limitations early, helping teams avoid costly redesigns
- Estimating connection costs and capacity impacts during site selection for more accurate forecasting and smarter site comparisons
- Evaluating how improved coordination between the owner, contractors and designers for developing workaround strategies for constrained sites enables progress despite uncertainty around service readiness or capacity
12:00 pm
Lunch Break
1:00 pm Audience Discussion: Streamlining Complex Permitting Processes to Accelerate Approvals & Maintain Project Momentum
Synopsis
- Clarifying jurisdictional authority and documentation needs early to avoid missteps that lead to rework or stalled timelines
- Navigating multi-agency review processes proactively to reduce friction and enable faster alignment on project requirements
- Building internal permitting expertise to manage regional variation and reduce reliance on external consultants, helping teams stay in control of schedules and costs
Developing Infrastructure Amid Power & Water Constraints
1:40 pm Case Study: Leveraging Innovative Cooling Techniques to Reduce Water Use, Improve Sustainability & Ensure Optimal Operating Conditions
Synopsis
- Adapting designs to reflect regional humidity levels and water constraints to prevent facilities overheating amid increasing West Coast resource pressures
- Evaluating air reuse and sealed environment strategies to minimize reliance on evaporative cooling
- Applying lessons learned for lowering water consumption in other, arid U.S. climates
2:20 pm Panel: Exploring Alternative Power Options & Natural Gas Integration to Minimize the Impact on the Grid & Ensure Reliable Power for West Coast Mega Projects
Synopsis
- Diversifying energy strategies to balance power sources across site operations, enabling more resilient performance amid utility delays and regional shortages
- Engaging engineers and architects early in energy planning to identify optimal integration points for diverse power sources, such as renewables, microgrids and onsite generation
- Incorporating natural gas systems for non-critical loads to reduce electrical demand from the grid
3:00 pm
Afternoon Refreshments
Building the Workforce for Tomorrow’s Manufacturing
3:40 pm Panel: Securing Workforce Capacity to Support the Next Generation of Advanced Manufacturing Projects
Synopsis
- Forecasting skilled labor availability across high-demand regions to inform capacity planning and schedule assumptions
- Developing regional partnerships and cross-sector recruitment strategies to expand access to critical labor
- Evaluating long-term workforce risk across project portfolios to guide future capacity planning and get ahead of potential talent shortages early
4:20 pm Navigating Union Constraints to Expand Your Workforce & Maintain Flexibility in Today’s Project Landscape
Synopsis
- Evaluating the impact of PLA agreements, jurisdictional rules, and crew ratio requirements early in project planning to identify labor availability, cost, and scheduling constraints that could affect workforce flexibility
- Balancing union obligations with open-shop availability to adapt to shifting workforce realities
- Collaborating with clients to assess the long-term implications of labor policy decisions, ensuring political compliance does not jeopardize project delivery or cost