Evolution has always been at the center of the life sciences sector, but today, mounting pressures and increasing complexity are shifting us all into a new reality. Projects are getting bigger, manufacturing is returning to the U.S., and the teams responsible for project delivery are getting larger. These shifts bring more nuance, tighter timelines, and underscore the need to get things right the first time.
Leaders and decision-makers facing the task of bringing new facilities online need construction partners who understand these dynamics and can deliver with speed, precision and accountability. That’s where partnering with a general contractor that can self-perform key scopes makes a difference.
Self-Perform Teams Build with Confidence, Speed and Skill
Self-perform teams take critical tasks under direct management, reducing reliance on outside labor, which often comes at a premium cost that includes additional overhead and profit and may not prioritize what’s best for the project. Direct control over labor improves communication with craftsmen, which helps simplify coordination, speed up decision-making, improve quality, and maintain momentum during construction. For projects where timing impacts revenue and regulatory milestones, self-perform teams can speed up schedules up to 20%.
On the 120,000-square-foot Edwards Lifesciences Campus Expansion, self-perform work (SPW) was key in keeping the project on track and on schedule. By self-performing $20.9M in drywall, $15M in concrete, and $1.6M in mass timber, the team maintained control over critical path activities and mitigated market risks, ensuring steady progress across the campus.
Early Involvement Pays Off
Great execution starts with a great plan. When a GC can onboard key trades, including self-perform scopes, early in the design and preconstruction phases, it enables more accurate labor planning from both local and national pools. At the same time, SPW teams bring trade-specific expertise to identify construction challenges, reduce waste, and close the gap between design intent and construction methods. The upside is often fewer change orders and better outcomes. Contractors who self-perform report 41% fewer quality problems, thanks to integrated coordination, clearly communicated criteria, and a shared sense of responsibility.
When embedded into the project early, self-perform can help position project teams to better meet some of the broader challenges facing life sciences construction today.
Taking on Bigger, Bolder Builds
As life sciences campuses expand, partnering with a self-performing GC provides a flexible solution that drives consistency throughout the build. Self-perform teams can execute a multitude of trades, from key scopes like concrete and drywall to specific ones like cleanroom panel installation and mechanical and electrical systems, all while maintaining high standards. Contracting methodologies clarify costs and ensure competitive scope values are introduced during procurement.
Self-perform teams leverage Virtual Design and Construction tools to better plan and coordinate installation of complex systems before construction begins, helping coordinate efficient trade crew field activities that keep projects running smoothly. With direct connections to trade-specific labor and materials, a self-performing GC can also provide greater cost and schedule transparency, which is critical for better project controls as well as project milestone and goal predictability.
Accelerating Reshoring with Speed and Compliance
The market pressures of bringing products to market and reshoring manufacturing is driving demand for fast, compliant, high-performance facilities. Self-performing critical path scopes and combining with prefabrication can help teams achieve more schedule certainty, reduce rework and better manage risk.
Where the design allows for prefabricated components, SPW teams can manufacture pieces and assemblies off-site, including cleanroom systems, MEP racks, skids, and panelized walls, to reduce on-site labor and accelerate installation. Because they’re integrated with the GC, components are constructed to meet FDA, cGMP and ISO standards, ensuring facilities meet regulatory requirements from day one. And by relying on a localized, trained workforce, self-perform minimizes trade partner risk in regions with limited labor availability.
Supporting EPCM-Led Delivery Models
As many life sciences owners engage EPCM delivery models for their projects, self-performing GCs can execute under this project delivery method when they partner with design firms. This can be an ideal model, as the GC can help guide the design to optimize prefabrication and installation. Gaining feedback from the installers during the design phase is highly valuable. By nature, self-performing critical scopes reduce the number of trade stakeholders involved and centralizes and streamlines coordination and decision-making from the trailer to the field. This makes self-perform a strong fit for collaborative delivery models like design-build, design-assist, and Integrated Project Delivery, which are common models in today’s environment.
SPW is more than a construction method. It can be a strategic advantage for owners navigating the environment of growth, reshoring and complex delivery models. In a complicated industry landscape that’s grappling with challenges like labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and evolving regulatory landscapes, a self-performing GC can clarify, simplify and execute projects of any size to ensure greater speed to value and ultimately provide more predictable outcomes.
