Top Ten Strategies for Owners to Achieve a Successful Design-Build Project - Design-Build for Water and Wastewater Projects - page 338

MAKE CULTURAL ADJUSTMENTS TO
ESTABLISH A TRUE PARTNERSHIP
Organizations need to make cultural adjustments, including changes in roles and
responsibilities, to successfully procure and administer a DB project. The traditional
DBB project environment has conditioned owners to be intimately involved in numerous
details of the project, be the center of and gateway for communications between the
designer and constructor, and provide direction that can affect the means and methods
of performing the work. In DB projects, owners are not directly involved in any of these
activities. For DB, owners need to be active buyers, holding the DB team accountable for
integrating the design and construction to meet performance requirements of the contract
documents. The cultural adjustments to support DB include changes in how the owner
organization views, relates to, and works with the design-builder as compared to how
they have traditionally viewed the contractor in DBB projects. For DB, owners need to
macro manage the design-builder to meet performance requirements and not micro manage
(as is typical in a DBB environment).
When owner selection of the DB team includes the evaluation of qualifications and
technical excellence, as well as price, owners are more assured of engaging a team that
can be a partner and collaborator in performing the project while being accountable for
their contract obligations. In DB, owners should view their DB team as a partner rather
than an adversary. In this regard, the owner can more confidently establish a positive
working relationship with the design-builder to promote collaboration and cooperation
rather than a confrontational relationship, which is often found in the low-bid construc-
tion environment. This partnership environment, whether established through a formal
partnering program or an informal approach, should extend to both the owner's and
design-builder's organizations at all levels, including staff in contract administration,
finance, safety, scheduling, and operations. In day-to-day operations, collaboration should
be reflected in technical submittal reviews, schedule progress reviews, coordination with
third parties such as neighboring municipalities and permitting agencies, and in quality
reviews of completed work.
DEVELOP DESIGN-BUILD PROJECT EXECUTION
PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES THAT PROMOTE AND
LEVERAGE COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP
Many owner organizations that perform DB for the first time use their existing DBB
project management and administration processes and procedures. These processes and
procedures often prevent efforts to make cultural adjustments and promote a collaborative,
partnering approach. For DB, owners need to modify their DBB processes and procedures
to promote efficiency and collaboration in activities such as the following:
• Postselection/preaward negotiations to confirm the schedule of values, site oper-
ating procedures, communications procedures and protocols, and to clarify or
confirm other issues.
• Postaward meetings to implement submittal procedures, establish schedules,
establish project invoicing procedures, and implement quality review procedures.