DBIA is taking a different approach to legislation at the national level.
While part of our mission is to ensure design-build legislation is passed and included in a variety of bills, DBIA also wants to take a “big picture” approach to lawmakers in Washington to make the authorization and appropriation process more conducive to design-build from the beginning.
It’s a matter of not just looking at what laws are passed that contain design-build legislation. DBIA is now working with lawmakers — appropriators and authorizers who pay the bills — and is trying to encourage a better way of doing business. Unfortunately the nature of the authorization and appropriation process often lends itself to other forms of project delivery, such as design-bid-build. Basically, money for government projects is provided in two bundles over a long period of time. Money is given for one aspect of the project, such as the building design. Then — often years later — funds are made available for the construction phase. With no money for other project phases available initially, participation from all aspects of the project becomes fractured.
With appropriation of money for particular projects provided up-front, however, the process would be tailor made for design-build.
It would encourage every member of the design and construction team to consult early in the process, which would definitely shorten the time between design and completion, limit change orders which would in effect limit litigation and conflict.
In the end, that process would save taxpayers money.
All of these aspects of early participation are the essence of design-build. If that attitude can change on Capitol Hill, it would open the door even wider for design-build acceptance and success. A constant with design-build is educating the public and lawmakers about its benefits, and this is a positive step toward not only encouraging design-build legislation, but encouraging a process that is more conducive to design-build execution.