The global state of play of IPD

The chapter begins with a brief explanation of what relational means with respect to integrated project delivery (IPD)-alliancing. IPD emerged from innovations to the lean-construction management concept that has had its primary focus on delivery efficiency and effectiveness. The process of IPD has been enabled through the common data environment and a range of other digital tools and resources that take us beyond the concept of alliancing and into the most intense levels, thus far, of integration and collaboration. The USA has been seen to be an early initiator of relationship-based project delivery with its early uptake of the quality management and collaboration systems introduced to Japan, referred to as ‘gentlemanly principles’ of tradition and later re-introduced to the USA in the 1980s as partnering. Given the foregoing, it is worth noting that many property developers, particularly in Hong Kong, are very highly integrated and come close to performing in an IPD fashion.