DBIA Book Club: Preparing for Design-Build Projects

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has published a primer for the design-build world that serves as a “professional reference that covers the basics of developing a design-build project.”

Written by Douglas D. Gransberg, James E. Koch, and Keith R. Molenaar, Preparing for Design-Build Projects: A Primer for Owners, Engineers, and Contractors, focuses on “learning modules that break down the decision-making process and reassemble it as a straightforward method for D-B projects from the owner’s standpoint,” according to the ASCE.

With the increasing use of design-build over the past few decades, this book serves as a guide to help the design-build community prepare requests for qualification and requests for proposals (RFPs).

Gransberg took time last month to answer some questions from DATELINE regarding the book.

DBIA: In your book you stated that design-build has been steadily increasing in the last two decades. What do you believe is the reason behind this surge?

Gransberg: I think that owners like the idea of selecting their construction contractor on a basis of qualifications and D-B allows them to do that. D-B also allows an owner to accelerate the project delivery process by running design and construction tasks in parallel rather than in series. So projects, like commercial buildings and toll roads/bridges that have a post-construction revenue stream associated with them, can turn on the income faster by using D-B.

DBIA: What makes your book different from other design-build books?

Gransberg: Our book focuses specifically on the pre-award phase of a D-B project and furnishes practical guidance to the owner, the owner’s preliminary design consultant, and the design-builder on how to develop and respond to a D-B RFP. We have a second one with the same publisher scheduled to come out next year that follows up and looks at the post-award phase. Other books on the market have either taken a global, theoretical approach to D-B or are focused on D-B’s legal aspects. We’ve tried to be very pragmatic in this book.

DBIA: What is the current state of design-build project delivery?

Gransberg: D-B project delivery is growing and being accepted by more public agencies as a viable project delivery method. The transportation industry, which has lagged commercial construction in alternative project delivery, is the latest area for explosive D-B growth.

DBIA: What makes you an expert at design-build project delivery?

Gransberg: I did my first D-B project in 1985 while I was an engineer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When I retired from the Army in 1994 and entered academia, I continued to stay involved in actual project development and execution as both a consultant to owners and design-builders and as a university researcher. I have been personally involved with several billion dollars worth of D-B projects in my career.

DBIA: What are the components of a successful design-build project?

Gransberg: A well-thought out RFP developed by a knowledgeable owner, an experienced D-B team, and most of all, an environment of trust and open communication between the owner and the design-builder.

DBIA: What do you see in the future of design-build?

Gransberg: I think D-B will continue to make inroads into those public sectors where it is not currently used, and I see owners continuing to choose D-B for those projects where compressing the delivery period is desirable and where being able to select both the designer and the builder on a basis of qualifications and past experience is critical to project success.

DBIA: Why did you think it was important to write this book?

Gransberg: Based on our experiences as D-B consultants to owners, it was evident that owners needed a reference that would help them think through the D-B pre-award process from concept to award. Our book does that. It also furnishes owners practical options at every decision point. It was also important to articulate the owner’s perspective to design-builders who were interpreting D-B RFPs and writing proposals.

DBIA: What is the most important aspect of the selection process?

Gransberg: The qualifications of the D-B team. If an owner picks a great designer that is teamed with a great constructor, it will probably have a great D-B project.

DBIA: What is the most important aspect you would like the reader to take from this book?

Gransberg: That it is important for the owner to invest the creative energy necessary to write an RFP that clearly articulates the project’s requirements in performance terms.

DBIA: What three books would you recommend to your readers?

Gransberg: Design-Build: [Planning Through Development] by [Jeffrey L.] Beard, [Michael C.] Loulakis and [Edward C.] Wundrum; Making Hard Decisions by [Robert T.] Clemen and [Terrence] Riley; Construction Cost Estimating for Project Control by James M. Neil.

INFO: DBIA (www.DBIA.org)