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Project
Determining the right type Several factors dictate whether design-build or design-bid- build is the appropriate delivery method for a project. By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent H ow do you determine which type of project is best – design-build or design-bid- build? Let’s start with the definition for each project delivery system. ❚ ❚ Design–bid–build is the traditional method for project delivery, where the agency or owner contracts with separate entities for the design and construction of a project. There are three main sequential phases to the design–bid–build delivery method:
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PROCUREMENT PRO WEIGHS IN Helmut Johannsen is a partner at Fasken Martineau, an international business law and litigation firm. He is the leader of the firm’s construction, procurement and infrastructure group, and his practice focuses on law related to construction, engineering, and procurement. He says the advantages and disadvantages of design- build include: Advantages ❚ ❚ Single-point responsibility ❚ ❚ Opportunity for innovation and faster project delivery ❚ ❚ Efficiency (design and construction expertise combined) ❚ ❚ Contractor bears risk of integrating design and performance of all packages ❚ ❚ Streamlined contractor/consultant interface ❚ ❚ Fewer changes ❚ ❚ Implementation of changes often simplified ❚ ❚ Often reduces number of claims ❚ ❚ Increased flexibility ❚ ❚ Reduced administrative burden for owner ❚ ❚ Improved risk management for owner ❚ ❚ Cost savings and more certainty of final price ❚ ❚ Greater ability to evaluate contractors on factors other than cost Disadvantages ❚ ❚ Loss of control and reduced owner involvement in design ❚ ❚ Cost of procurement process (to all parties) ❚ ❚ Difficulty/time comparing different designs ❚ ❚ Cost of risks and contingencies can result in substantial risk premium ❚ ❚ Environmental/regulatory processes ❚ ❚ Limited pool of qualified design-builders ❚ ❚ QA/QC largely in contractor’s hands ❚ ❚ Disputes tend to be larger and more complex ❚ ❚ Management of long-term risks ❚ ❚ Some lack of project definition before contract award ❚ ❚ Consequences of default more drastic than for design-bid-build
❚ ❚ The design phase ❚ ❚ The bidding phase ❚ ❚ The construction phase
❚ ❚ Design–build is a project delivery system used in the construction industry. It is a method to deliver a project in which the design and construction services are contracted by a single entity known as the design-builder or design-build contractor. In contrast to design-bid-build, design–build relies on a single point of responsibility contract and is used to minimize risks for the project owner and to reduce the delivery schedule by overlapping the design phase and construction phase of a project. Peter Moore, president of Chen Moore and Associates (Fort Lauderdale, FL), a 43-person civil engineering, environmental engineering, planning, landscape archi- tecture, GIS, and construction observation service firm, says that his first engineer- ing projects, 18 years ago, were all design-build projects. “I was an entry-level engineer, and my first experiences were on a series of park and recreational facility projects that were procured via design-build,” he says. “It was a great learning experience, working on solid designs following regulatory require- ments, but it pushed my creative limits to keep within budget constraints. It helped solidify my awareness and concern with design costs.” “Overall, there are pros and cons to every pursuit, not necessarily associated with the type of construction procurement.” FOLLOW RULES AND CHOOSE. Today, as the CEO of a company working in the public and private sectors domestically and internationally and through a variety of procure- ment methods, Moore thinks that both design-build and design-bid-build have their advantages and disadvantages. He explains that Chen Moore does not lean toward one procurement method or an- other, but typically follows a set of rules: ❚ ❚ No matter what the procurement method is, a bad client is a bad client. It is im- portant to gauge the financial security, ability to make (and live with) decisions, and overall respect that a client has for the consultant. ❚ ❚ You will be defined by your weakest partner. Whether it be an unreliable contracting partner or a weak subconsultant, regardless of the procurement method, the perception
See PROJECT TYPE, page 8
THE ZWEIG LETTER AUGUST 2
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