Why engineering and construction can no longer operate as separate phases
Featuring Ross Irvine, Engineering Group Lead
Building Around What Already Exists
Many of the assumptions that shaped project delivery ten or twenty years ago no longer reflect the reality of how energy infrastructure gets built today.
Communities have expanded around existing infrastructure. Transportation networks have grown. Utility systems have become more interconnected. Existing energy assets continue to operate while new capacity is added alongside them. As a result, projects are being delivered in environments with less space, fewer options, and a smaller margin for error than in the past.
As Ross Irvine, Engineering Group Lead, explains:
"We're building critical infrastructure through developed areas, and there just isn't much room to work. Construction footprints are really small, with very little space for laydown or staging, so you have to get creative about how you get the work done."
The challenge isn't determining whether a project can be built. It's determining how it can be built within the realities of the surrounding environment. A pipeline route may appear straightforward on a map, but the realities surrounding it rarely are.
When Plans Meet Reality
Even the most carefully planned efforts encounter new information once construction begins. Ground conditions change. Equipment changes. Access constraints emerge. Assumptions made during design are tested against field conditions.
As Ross Irvine observes:
"You do three months of planning for something like this, and then in the week leading up to it, they need to change the equipment or the entry angle."
That's not unusual. It's the reality of modern project delivery. The question is no longer whether conditions will change. In complex construction environments, change is simply part of delivery.
One Project, One Team
The strongest outcomes often come from teams that can quickly assess new information, evaluate impacts, and adapt together.
As Ross puts it:
"It's about understanding the realities of construction and finding a way to make the design work for what the project actually needs."
A design can be technically correct and still create challenges in the field if construction realities weren't part of the conversation early enough. Design choices influence how work gets built, while field conditions often influence how those decisions are ultimately implemented. Keeping those perspectives connected helps teams address challenges before they become schedule, cost, or constructability issues.
Successful delivery increasingly depends on bringing engineering and construction perspectives together early and keeping those conversations active as conditions evolve.
Bridging Design and Delivery
Across major energy projects, Allnorth teams have supported owners and contractors through a wide range of construction environments, from constrained urban rights-of-way and active transportation corridors to industrial developments, existing utility networks, and traditional Indigenous territories. By aligning engineering and construction perspectives throughout delivery, Allnorth helps clients navigate complexity, evaluate options, and make informed decisions as projects evolve.
The infrastructure still needs to get built. What's changed is that successful delivery increasingly depends on engineering and construction working as one team, not two separate phases. Learn more about how we support projects across the energy sector.
About Ross Irvine
Ross Irvine is an Engineering Group Lead at Allnorth with experience supporting complex energy infrastructure projects across Western Canada. He helps clients navigate constructability challenges and develop practical solutions that support successful project delivery.
