Is Design-Build Right for You? - Design-Build for Water and Wastewater Projects - page 347

Table 3 0-1. Benefits of the DB project delivery approach
Horizontal and vertical communication and integration between professional
design engineering, construction, subconsultants, and construction disciplines to
accelerate decision-making and the implementation of solutions.
For GMP projects, transparency through open lines of communication to develop
and adjust the budget, which ultimately becomes part of the agreement.
Schedule
No surprises in the cost of the project, because all costs (e.g., fees, construction
costs, utilities, landscaping allowances) are included in the price that is developed
at the start of the project.
Joint project management between the designer and constructor within the design-
builder entity completes work faster with fewer problems.
Reduction of the delivery schedule by overlapping the design and construction
phases with potential for an improved product and cost savings.
Start and complete out-of-sequence phases such as grading, geotechnical
investigation/design, pouring and placement of foundations while final details are
being designed for other phases of the project.
Assumption of lower administrative efforts for the owner because the focus is on
project rather than each separate function.
Budget/Cost
Increased likelihood that the project will be constructed within the owner's budget.
Provides better prices and information regarding construction methods.
A reliable opinion of cost is made through a precise budget plan and reliable
estimate at the start of the project. The cost of each phase is decided during the
design phase without being an extra cost to the owner during the construction
phase.
Continuous value engineering and constructability analysis are performed from the
start of the project to arrive at a reliable and reasonable construction cost.
Reduction of change orders through preliminary and full design.
Highly adaptive and responsive in the field where important decisions can be
revisited during the construction phase without change orders or additional fees;
early professional design and contractor involvement can get better cost estimates
and enable efficient implementation. Additionally, elimination of the contractor
bidding phase immediately after the design phase saves construction time.
Quality/Expertise
Design-builders employ experts in all respective fields: engineering, architecture,
project management, construction, and construction management.
Meet or exceed all performance requirements instead of minimum design
requirements.
Design-builder retains the design professionals; where in the traditional DBB
process, the owner hires them directly.

(continued)

(continued)