Design-Build Procurement Approaches - Design-Build for Water and Wastewater Projects - page 69

then it is recommended that owners strive to adhere to the BVS methodology and use
evaluation factors other than price alone to make the selection as to the best value.
If a one-step process has a high degree of technical requirements in the RFP and the
bidder's proposal is based on RFP bridging documents, which are provided by the owner
in the RFP and represent at or near the 30 percent level of design completion, some may
believe that all of the competing design-builders are submitting proposals on basically
the same project, so selecting the lowest price would be prudent. With a one-step BVS
approach, where there is no SOQ to assess qualifications, the lowest price could be pro-
vided by the least qualified proposer, creating risk to a successful completion of the project.
Likewise, if a two-step BVS has significant technical requirements (i.e., RFP bridging
documents at or near the 30 percent design completion level) and there is a short-list of
qualified proposers, some may believe that all competing design-builders will submit pro-
posals on basically the same project, and they are all qualified, so the lowest price should
be selected. There are, however, several important considerations that an owner should
recognize when evaluating proposals. Proposers understand the importance of a low price
and will strive to be the lowest cost proposer. To achieve a low cost, however, proposers
may sometimes employ “get-to-the-table strategies,” such as submitting proposals with
deviations from the technical requirements or with inaccurate or unapproved assump-
tions that reduce costs, which may impact project scope and quality. Owners have to care-
fully evaluate all proposals to ensure that the project scope and quality requirements are
met and clearly identified in the proposals. Chapters 14 and 15 present more information
about RFQs and RFPs, respectively.
Progressive Design-Build
Progressive DB is a newer type of DB procurement and implementation and showcases
the flexibility that DB offers owners. This type of procurement can be a one-step or two-
step process, with an RFP or with an RFQ followed by an RFP to limit the number of
proposing design-builders to three to five, but usually three. As with QBS, a price for the
project is not developed by the design-builder for the proposal; thus price (for project
completion) is not a factor in selection. Owners may, however, request design fees or tar-
get project costs in their proposal, and those are typically included in the evaluation and
selection process. Design-builders are selected based on their qualifications, project per-
sonnel, financial standing, technical approach, project management program, and so on.
After selection, the design begins. Between 30 and 100 percent design completion,
the design-builder develops a cost for the project. This is typically an open-book GMP
but could also be a stipulated (or lump) sum. The owner is often involved in the price
development and thus has some control over equipment or subcontractor selection. If
the owner and design-builder cannot agree on a price for the project, progressive DB
contracts usually have an “off-ramp,” which allows the owner to either have the design-
builder complete the design and then proceed with a different procurement method (e.g.,
DBB), or take the design at its current level of completion and proceed with a different
approach. After the price for the project is established, the design-builder finishes design
and construction.