Preparing an Owner Organization to Perform Design-Build - Design-Build for Water and Wastewater Projects - page 60

Education and Orientation
Providing education and orientation for key staff, as well as for other senior manage-
ment and staff of the organization, is beneficial to obtaining recognition and “buy-in” of
the DB initiative. An on-going educational process should be created and implemented.
Current staff may not be knowledgeable and prepared to support the DB method of proj-
ect delivery; their tendency may be to function in traditional ways and not perform in a
manner that is needed for DB projects. This circumstance can result in disputes, delays,
and increased costs. On-going education is also needed because staff may change during
the procurement, design, construction, and/or startup and commissioning stages of the
project.
Stakeholder/Agency Coordination and Communication
Meeting with all traditional stakeholders to communicate the organization's intent, objec-
tives, and general plan for performing DB projects is critical for them to understand the
reasons for using DB for executing the project. Stakeholders normally include user groups,
regulatory agencies, other utilities, related governing bodies, the design and construction
industry groups, and citizen groups.
Use of a Design-Build Consultant for Design-
Build Program Development
If the owner deems it helpful to employ a DB consultant for the project, a DB consultant
that is experienced in all processes that are required for successful delivery of a DB proj-
ect should be selected. It is critical to have the consultant on-board early in the planning
stage to assist with the preparation of documents and approaches and to provide guidance
for major decisions, such as selection of the projects to be delivered by DB and related
project planning. The consultant should have thorough knowledge and experience in DB
procurement processes, design and construction management activities, and risk manage-
ment contracting. Chapter 10 provides more information on the selection and the role of
an owner's consultant.
Design-Build Program and Processes
It is important to select project(s) that are suitable for DB method of project delivery based
on predetermined criteria reflecting the owner's objectives. This optimizes the time spent
on evaluating projects for DB delivery. Several considerations for this evaluation are pre-
sented in chapter 5. All projects are generally not suited for any one method of project
delivery.
The project delivery selection criteria should be closely evaluated as well as the design
and performance criteria for the project. Chapters 14 through 17 discuss topics related to
selecting the design-builder. Selection criteria can include design-builder experience with
similar projects, and it can be based solely, or partially, on price or qualifications. The level
of design criteria and performance requirements that are included in the technical criteria