| A building housing life sciences facilities is designed and constructed to contain characteristics that are specific and very different from those of other types of projects. We need to consider how profitable it is to market a product, and this depends in part on how quickly infrastructures are built to allow the production of the said product. The evolution of a manufacturing process and the endlessly changing regulations also need to be considered. Thus, clients need a systemic approach to optimize this choice while relying on evaluation criteria.; Twelve evaluation criteria, supported by sub-criteria and descriptive material, were established according to specific characteristics inherent to these projects as well as other general aspects of these projects. These criteria were validated by people working in the environment where work is being realized in the field of life sciences. Afterwards, an assessment grid was developed, which takes into account each sub-criterion for three contract approaches (traditional, EPCM and EPC).; Finally, three project types realized over the past two years were evaluated on the basis of these criteria and their relative importance in order to verify the effectiveness of the systemic approach.; Following the analysis of these results, it is possible to conclude that the systemic approach developed allows clients to choose an optimal contract approach for a project. It remains a qualitative approach and must serve as a tool of reflection allowing the client to consider the different contract approaches with respect to a given project. It is not meant to be seen by the client as a recipe that will give him a magic formula. |
