Reflections

It has now been a decade since the creation of the DBIA Designation Program, and I am very pleased to say that not only is this program extremely popular but it is essential as well.

It all started on a bright autumn afternoon in 1999 during the DBIA Annual Conference in Dallas, when the seeds of the DBIA Professional Designation Program were firmly planted.

Later in 2000 an ad hoc committee was created to evaluate certification for individuals and accreditation for organizations involved in delivering design-build projects. Subsequently, at the 2000 DBIA Conference it was decided that that although the topic of initiating a professional individual designation program had been widely debated, few agued against these simple facts:

• The image of the industry suffers from inexperienced and under-educated practitioners claiming to utilize integrated project delivery and design-build methodologies when they may, or may not, properly employ these systems.
• DBIA is the recognized global educational leader in integrated best practices.
• DBIA is best equipped to identify and quantify the level of education and documented experience necessary for successful integrated delivery of the built environment.

Consequently, as the chairman of the DBIA Membership Committee, I was given the task of developing a comprehensive white paper for an individual professional designation program to be considered and adopted by the 2001 DBIA Board of Directors that addressed:

• Developing and delivering a professional designation program that is critical to the ongoing success and growth of DBIA and proliferation of integrated total project services.
• Professional designation, which continues to be requested by client owners who look for professional guidance in project delivery options. (If DBIA didn’t provide professional guidelines, some other organization would.)
• The fact that as penetration of design-build and integrated methodologies proliferates, the need for more stringent guidelines, standards, corporate and international certification and licensure may evolve. Providing a well-defined and implemented individual designation program is the first step in professionalizing the industry. (Specifically, industries that do not set their own standards will invariably have standards imposed on them by others).

The primary benefits of DBIA’s Professional Designation Program include:

• Identifying designees as a qualified professional to the industry and the public.
• Promoting design-build as a project delivery system to the community that will be using design-build services.
• Giving DBIA and design-build a more credible voice in governmental affairs by setting educational standards for those practicing design-build.
• Providing training for design-build professionals employed by DBIA members.
• An individual who successfully completes the requirements of the Program will be designated as a “Design-Build Professional.” Designees will have earned the right to display “DBIA” after their names, identifying them to Design-Build end users, and the community-at-large.

The board of directors officially adopted the Professional Designation Program during the 2001 DBIA Annual Conference, and on April 15, 2002, in Washington, D.C., I was indeed honored with the first of 20 DBIA Design-Build Professional Certificates by Michael Loulakis, Esq. DBIA.

Today in 2009 there are more than 500 DBIA Professional Designees, with several hundred additional candidates in the pipeline and flurry of interest from emerging professionals in this highly regarded credential — so much so that DBIA will be rolling out an entry-level credential — the Associate DBIA™ — in the next several weeks. Be on the lookout for this exciting addition and the requirements that accompany it.