Design-Build Procurement Approaches - Design-Build for Water and Wastewater Projects - page 70

If the prevailing laws and codes allow progressive DB, owners can benefit from this
procurement approach because of: (1) including qualifications and other nonfinancial fac-
tors into the selection process; (2) a faster and more cost-effective procurement timeframe,
especially when using only the RFP, because design-builders are not performing design
and costing exercises for the proposal; (3) a high level of control over the project design
scope and quality, as well as equipment and subcontractor selection; and (4) high confi-
dence about the costs (that are developed with the open-book GMP method) and schedule.
American Water Intelligence (2011) discussed a major metropolitan owner choosing
a progressive DB for a large wastewater project for achieving a time-efficient and cost-
efficient procurement, which allowed for a project implementation with owner control of
the design decisions while getting contractor input on the design. Additional information
on progressive DB can be found in the Water Design-Build Council's The Municipal Water
and Wastewater Design-Build Handbook (Water Design-Build Council 2010).
Price-Based Design-Build
The price-based DB approach has the proposing design-builders submit stipulated (or
lump) sum proposals for the project. When price is the only selection factor being consid-
ered, owners are not able to include qualifications or other nonfinancial factors into the
selection and evaluation process. The advantages to this approach are that the lowest cost
for the project can be proposed, and the owner has cost certainty at procurement.
The main disadvantages to this approach are that unqualified design-builders could
be selected for the project. This is similar to what an owner may experience with tradi-
tional DBB. Water and wastewater projects are complex and require a high level of techni-
cal expertise for the chemical and biological processes that are typically used. Having an
unqualified design-builder could lead to performance issues, schedule delays, or noncom-
pliance with the treated water or wastewater.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROCUREMENT APPROACH
Selection of the procurement approach depends on many factors. These are discussed in
the following sections.
Defining the Project's Goals and Priorities
Evaluation of DB procurement approaches first requires that the owner consider the proj-
ect's scope of work, estimated cost, and timing constraints to determine if DB is an appro-
priate project delivery approach. The project's objectives then need to be developed to
determine if the DB method of project delivery can meet those objectives. If the project
continues to look feasible for DB delivery, then the owner's existing procurement policies
(see chapter 6) and applicable state laws must be reviewed.
Legal Feasibility
It is essential for an owner to perform a careful review of existing procurement policies
and state law to understand the authority and other requirements and to determine if DB