Conference Day Two

7:30 am Check-in, Networking & Coffee

8:30 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

Strategic Design to Maximize Long-Term Value in Life Science Facilities

8:40 am Balancing Flexibility & Cost in Facility Design to Mitigate Risks of Misalignment

  • Dan Walsh Estimator, Shawmut Design & Construction

Synopsis

  • Outlining best practices for team collaboration in evaluating lifecycle value, avoiding overdesign, and making prudent real estate and infrastructure decisions that serve both immediate and future needs
  • Exploring tools and frameworks for assessing the financial and schedule impacts of design flexibility, and how to communicate those trade-offs clearly to stakeholders
  • Reaffirming how development, operations, finance, and design teams can jointly manage uncertainty, ensuring that flexibility enhances, rather than undermines, project outcomes

9:20 am Driving Certainty of Outcomes: Leveraging Project Controls, Scheduling & Risk Management

  • John Butcher Director - Project Controls Life Sciences, JE Dunn Construction

Synopsis

  • Building a realistic, achievable plan early in the project to improve schedule certainty, align expectations, and avoid costly missteps downstream
  • Using qualitative and quantitative forward-looking indicators to identify schedule risks early and make real-time adjustments
  • Accelerating timelines strategically by weighing cost implications against market demand and regulatory urgency in high-stakes pharma projects

10:00 am Case Study: Building LEED Platinum Facilities

  • Todd Dando General Manager, West Coast Life Science & Advanced Manufacturing, Fluor Corporation

Synopsis

  • Addressing how teams are balancing energy efficiency, water conservation, and material health with the stringent operational needs of life sciences environments
  • Exploring the most impactful LEED credits for life sciences projects, how to document them effectively, and where teams often fall short
  • Unpacking a recent LEED Platinum life sciences project—lessons learned, key decisions, and how the team navigated challenges to meet both sustainability and operational goals

10:40 am Speed Networking & Morning Refreshments

Enhancing Project Delivery & Execution Efficiency to Reduce Risk & Accelerate Outcomes

11:10 am De-Risking Life Sciences Tenant Improvement Projects Through Strategic Utility Management

  • Leah Goldman Senior AMR Planning and Project Development Manager, Illumina

Synopsis

  • Conducting early feasibility studies to confirm infrastructure capacity before schematic design
  • Leveraging in-house engineering to manage campus-wide utility impacts and avoid inter-project conflicts
  • Embedding peer review processes to share lessons learned and catch risks before reaching business units

11:50 am Panel Session: Accelerating Smarter, More Cost-Effective Life Science Builds Through Prefabrication

  • Paul Kirchhoff Chief Revenue Officer, Epsilon Industries
  • Todd Dando General Manager, West Coast Life Science & Advanced Manufacturing, Fluor Corporation
  • Mike Barrett Vice President, Global Project Delivery, CRB

Synopsis

  • Committing to early design decisions to enable modular execution while balancing flexibility, minimizing costly change orders, and aligning facility readiness with evolving process needs
  • Integrating modular strategies across disciplines to enhance collaboration, reduce waste, and improve cost certainty, delivering facilities that are faster to build and easier to validate
  • Enhancing safety by shifting high-risk tasks off-site, enabling roles for workers with diverse skill levels and physical capabilities, and reducing on-site labor demands in regions facing workforce shortages

12:30 pm Lunch Break

1:30 pm Streamlining CQV Through Early Stakeholder Collaboration & Inspection- First Thinking

Synopsis

  • Embedding CQV early in design and construction to streamline validation, reduce rework, and ensure systems are inspection-ready from day one
  • Preparing cross-functional teams for regulatory scrutiny by aligning quality, operations, and project delivery teams on documentation, protocols, and inspection narratives
  • Building a culture of inspection readiness through mock audits, stakeholder training, and proactive communication with regulators to reduce surprises and build confidence

Anticipating the Future of Life Science Construction to Drive Innovation & Strategic Advantage

2:10 pm Audience Discussion: Exploring the Trends in Advanced R&D & Manufacturing Technologies That Will Be Transforming Life Science Facilities in the Coming Years

Synopsis

  • Examining the emerging trends in advanced therapeutics, automation, and digital manufacturing, and how different segments of the life sciences industry are responding to the risks and opportunities they present
  • Hearing how companies are reallocating capital and operational resources to remain agile during market slowdowns, while positioning themselves to scale quickly when demand rebounds
  • Leveraging data-driven planning and scenario modeling helps clients and project teams reduce risk, anticipate change, and make smarter decisions in an unpredictable market

2:50 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

3:00 pm End of Conference