Construction Management at Risk - Design-Build for Water and Wastewater Projects - page 303

Primary Responsibility

Design-Build CMAR

Risk Design-Builder Owner CMAR Firm Owner

Land and Easement Acquisition
Design
Building and Administrative Permits
Environmental Approvals and Permits
Quality and Quantity of Influent
Site Conditions
Schedule
Cost
Project Performance/Acceptance
Uncontrollable Circumstances
Materials Cost Escalation
LEED™ Certification

Figure 25-2. Risk allocation in typical DB and CMAR projects
Source: Adapted from WDBC 2011.

BENEFITS OF CMAR

The commonly cited benefits of CMAR include (1) early constructability input during the
design phase improves quality, shortens schedule, and lowers cost; (2) a collaborative busi-
ness relationship among the owner, designer, and CMAR firm in which the owner main-
tains direct control of project definition while gaining the benefits of integrated design
and construction; and (3) improved time and budget management by early pricing and
construction activities. There are additional benefits gained through the CMAR delivery
model, and they are discussed in the following sections.

Flexible Selection Criteria for Construction Manager

The CMAR firm is selected and hired early in the design process, preferably at or around
30 percent design but no later than 60 percent design. The CMAR firm is selected based
on its response to an owner's Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or Request for Proposals
(RFP), which defines the goals, budget, and time requirements for the project. CMAR
firms submit technical qualifications of construction ability and experience, descriptions
of team members for the project, the technical approach, and if required, pricing infor-
mation that may include preconstruction fees, general conditions, overhead, and profit
and/or project personnel rates. Unlike the DBB and price-based DB delivery methods,
the qualifications of the CMAR firm are the exclusive or primary selection criteria; the
project's construction price is not considered for CMAR selection. This allows the owner
to select the CMAR firm that is determined to be the most qualified based on the estab-
lished criteria.