Owner Management of Design-Build Project Execution - Design-Build for Water and Wastewater Projects - page 223

after sufficient design is completed. Note that QBS may be inconsistent with internal poli-
cies that require fixed-price contracting, and, as a result, this type of selection may come
under greater scrutiny.
Once the project has started, the partnering process is a well-established tool to
encourage team and stakeholder understanding and cooperation. When the DB project
approach is new to an owner's organization, it is beneficial to have at least one partnering
session (also see chapter 8) between the owner and design-builder to discuss each party's
expectations and understanding of the procedures to perform the work. A partnering ses-
sion is also a platform for identifying and attempting to resolve potential misunderstand-
ings or disputes.
Effective Communications
Typically, DB projects will be delivered over a shorter schedule than during traditional
projects. This is partly due to having one bidding process versus two. There is also the
expectation that the integrated design and construction team can communicate rapidly
and effectively (DBIA 2011). In DB projects, the owner typically has a responsibility for
review and sometimes approval of elements of the design and is integrated into the com-
munications for the project. Having the owner's staff actively participating in the DB pro-
cess enhances communication between all parties and helps to commit all parties to the
common goals of the project.
Establishing communication processes and tools that allow for rapid submittal and
review of designs and technical information reduces the time that it takes to move informa-
tion from party to party. Most of the commercially available electronic tools that are used
for submittal management have “ball-in-court” tracking, which documents what stage of
action (i.e., submittal or review) the submittal has had, is having, and will have. Many
allow tracking of comments and questions, and this facilitates rapid resolution of issues.
The owner is in the best position to require that effective communication tools are
used on a project and to promote that the review process is an integrated and transparent
effort. The lines of communication between the owner, design-builder, and in some cases,
the owner's consultant(s) must be clearly defined.
OWNER MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
FOR DESIGN-BUILD EXECUTION
Many of the owner tasks of project execution differ during DB projects when compared
to DBB projects. These are discussed in the following sections.
Schedule of Values
On a traditional DBB project, it is possible to prepare a detailed schedule of values based
on portions, or take-offs, of the completed design. Because such detailed information is
not available during the initial stages of a DB project, the initial schedule of values will be
correspondingly less detailed, possibly based on major project components. This impacts
invoicing because payments will be based on achievement of milestones or percentage