Most heavy industry (particularly the Utility sector) project professionals should agree that IFC stands for Issued for Construction. Typically, this relates to the revision state of a set of engineered drawings. But what does IFC really mean?
We have debated this many times with customer representatives and have found some commonality in opinions, but there are also a surprising number of sticking points. For instance, does IFC mean the engineering package includes all drawings showing a revised state of IFC? Can any drawings have HOLDs? Should final equipment vendor drawings be included?
Even if you answered yes to the above questions, is that enough to meet the construction team’s expectations? Probably not. We frequently hear from construction teams that IFC must include:
- Permits, such as Environmental, Operations, railroad, river crossing, state/county/municipality, etc.
- Real Estate procured
- Long lead materials on-site
Then the conversation usually pivots to: But those other things are not Engineering’s responsibilities? Some customer representatives agree, and others disagree. For instance, railroad crossing permits need engineered drawings to show a plan and profile of how the utility assets will cross the railroad. That is engineering’s responsibility, right?
But surely Environmental permits are not Engineering’s responsibility, right? Some customer representatives agree, and others disagree. For instance, engineering typically defines the limits of disturbance and provides a plot plan for the new asset location(s), right?
The bottom line is that IFC can mean different things to different stakeholders. We have learned that a project team should not take for granted what IFC means. Each project team should confirm as early as possible what IFC means for their particular project and then track progress effectively (i.e., deliverables list, action item list, risk register, schedule, etc.).
What does IFC mean to you? If you enjoy this healthy debate and/or if you want to help define what IFC means to you and your stakeholders and projects, please contact Mesa’s PMO Team.