As money for infrastructure and economy-stimulating projects is allocated to governments across the country, many municipalities will consider turning to the design-build delivery method. Lured by design-build’s efficiency and rapid construction pace, federal agencies and local and state governments will be tempted to leave behind traditional delivery methods. Because of the size and breadth of many government agencies, establishing universal buy-in to design-build methodologies will take time and effort.
Among the keys to working with a municipality on a successful design-build venture are contract and proposal clarity, building trust and teamwork and ensuring objectivity in the quality control process. Hiring an experienced design-builder, one who is familiar with successfully managing a design-build project, is critical to helping a municipality embrace the design-build delivery method.
Program and RFP clarity
For municipalities that have delivered most of their projects under traditional design-bid-build approaches, one of the biggest adjustments is the upfront effort required to define project requirements and specifications. Successful design-build delivery requires owners to spend a significant amount of time with a project’s end users to fully understand needs and expectations. This information is necessary to create a Request for Proposal (RFP) with sufficient depth and specificity to serve as a strong benchmark on which to base the contract documents, design and price. Working directly with end users to define project requirements and specifications will also allow an owner to more readily and confidently make day-to-day design and construction-related decisions.
Municipalities, like any owner with little design-build experience, will benefit from working with an experienced programming consultant or designer when developing an RFP and contract documents. A successful design-build project begins with a clear understanding of goals, responsibilities and outcomes. Strong program criteria should be created that spell out performance and prescriptive requirements. With those parameters established, risk can be assumed by the party best equipped to manage it and fewer problems will arise over the course of design and construction.
While it is the owner’s responsibility to properly draft the RFP and contract documents, the design-builder must ensure that they understand the program criteria. This is obviously a challenge when a project isn’t much more than a rough sketch, but the general contractor, architect and owner must work together from a project’s earliest stages. If all stakeholders are collaborating early in the project, developing common goals and cost-effective solutions, buy-in from municipal agencies and employees is sure to follow.
Adapting to design-build methods can be challenging, especially for a municipality or agency with decades of traditional construction experience. Many of these stakeholders at municipalities have only reviewed and permitted 100 percent complete documents and not multiple bid packages. There is a learning curve when working with design-build for the first time, and the most effective design-builders double as teachers. Some jurisdictions, such as Los Angeles County, have sent their employees through Design-Build Institute of America training. This is a great first step, but the design-builder should continue the education process in the field throughout the life of the project.
Building trust and teamwork through partnership
Engaging the municipality’s team early in the design-build process is important. The design-builder must work with the owner and other stakeholders to develop a team approach to decision-making on the project. Collaboration on design, budget and scheduling decisions can be challenging, but are necessary to respect and support the goals established for the project. A collaborative approach to the project helps develop a team with mutual buy-in from day one.
An avenue to build trust with an owner may begin when establishing a project cost. This was the case at Nationals Park, the 1.2 million-square-foot ballpark in Washington, D.C. Clark Construction, leading the Clark/Hunt/Smoot, A Joint Venture project team, had an open book estimate that was shared and refined with officials from the District of Columbia. The number was the basis for a guaranteed maximum price. This final number obligated the design-builder to stay within the established cap, but the contract also included a provision for shared savings, encouraging an economical design and creating a mutual goal. Taking much of the risk and assigning it to the design-builder also was a requirement of the contract.
As the design-build project progresses, ongoing and quick decision-making becomes more and more important. Owners and project partners unfamiliar with design-build may find the rapid pace startling. The owner should designate key decision-makers early in the project to allow the high level of responsiveness the schedule demands.
Trust and teamwork will mature over the life of a project, but can be jumpstarted through a formal or facilitated partnering process. Clark Construction has taken advantage of the partnering process on the company’s various design-build projects, including public and private sector jobs. Whether managed by a professional facilitator, a third-party or the committed effort of the project team, the partnering process is critical to building trust on design-build jobs and can help develop common goals, increase communication and help resolve any potential issues among the team.
Ensuring quality through independent oversight
One of the largest challenges for municipalities experienced in traditional delivery methods can be relinquishing portions of the quality control process. While some owners may retain quality assurance oversight through their own staff or a consultancy, in many instances, the comprehensive quality control inspection and documentation is passed along to the design-builder. In this case, the design-build entity should take steps to establish a management reporting hierarchy or an executive oversight committee for quality control that is independent of the immediate project team.
On Clark Construction’s design-build projects, this means the person responsible for quality control doesn’t report to a project executive or superintendent. Instead, that person answers to the officer-in-charge of the project. Reporting outside of a project’s day-to-day chain-of-command creates separation and independence, giving the owner assurance that the project is complying with all established processes.
Design-build is becoming increasingly popular with municipalities across the country. As a project delivery method, it ensures budgets are maintained, schedules are met and that a project’s design integrity is protected. Overcoming the initial hurdles can be an adjustment. Once trust and respect is established between a design-builder and a municipality, all stakeholders will benefit from the collaborative relationship on current and future opportunities.
About Clark Construction
Clark Construction Group, LLC is a nationwide general contractor that has delivered design-build projects for local, state and federal government and government agencies across the country. The company’s diverse design-build project portfolio has provided valuable insight and lessons learned that the company has incorporated into new design-build projects. Clark Construction Group’s projects have included Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, California Department of Transportation’s headquarters buildings in Los Angeles, multiple public facility energy upgrade projects for the state of California and several station, rail and infrastructure projects for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Current company major design-build projects include the DoD/BRAC 133 Project in Alexandria, Va. and the Water Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.