So you are putting out a project and plan to use progressive design-build.You have been working with your procurement department and an owner’s agent who suggests a two-step procurement process following industry best practices, but the process seems like it takes forever:
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The growing popularity of progressive design-build (PDB) delivery over the last decade has been celebrated by owners, contractors, and designers alike throughout the water/wastewater industry. The delivery method has proven beneficial in reducing procurement time and costs, allowing owners to work with a single point of accountability throughout design and construction, and driving innovative and creative technical and design solutions without the limitation of the singularly developed, prescribed solution presented in an RFP. The PDB approach encourages the owner and …
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When choosing a project delivery method for a water or wastewater project, it is imperative for the owner to understand the concept of the Spearin Doctrine and which party is accountable for the project design.
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With an ever-growing list of urgent water and wastewater infrastructure projects, the industry’s demand for expedited project delivery has increased, and project procurement is often overlooked as a way to get your job started—and finished— faster. Early collaboration enables ‘Quick Start’ procurement that contributes to achieving an owner’s schedule and cost commitment, with both the owner and design-builder reaping benefits.
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You can get your team to adopt new technologies and get the millennial workforce excited about craft labor. The key is in your approach to innovation.
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What is Value Engineering? Value engineering (VE) is a creative, systematic approach to providing the essential functions of a project at the best value. Successful VE results are achieved through an open, collaborative review of the project that considers life cycle costs, performance, quality, reliability, and safety. VE is one of the many benefits that collaborative-delivery methods such as CMAR, design-build, and progressive design-build offer to project owners.
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Are you a “hands-on” owner who prefers to work collaboratively through the design and construction of your project? Do you like to maintain control over all project phases? If so, construction management at-risk (CMAR) may be the best delivery method to achieve your project goals. As collaborative-delivery methods continue to gain owners’ understanding and respect for the benefits they can provide to achieve best project value, CMAR truly stands out in the crowd. It provides the flexibility to select both your design and construction partners while allowing collaboration to begin early in design and continue through preconstruction and construction. This is extremely beneficial, especially for projects with tight schedules or complex scopes.
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Triple Bottom Line (TBL) success involves a team commitment to balancing not only the economic (financial) components of a project, but also that of social responsibility and environmental stewardship. Projects that seek this achievement must focus equally on each of these goals. Using progressive design-build delivery, the Southwestern Parkway CSO Basin project in Louisville, KY, realized this success while supporting Louisville MSD’s mission to “provide exceptional wastewater, drainage, and flood protection services for our community.” This $78 million project included the design, construction, and commissioning of a large “capture and release” system that temporarily stores combined sewage during wet weather events. This temporary storage is facilitated by a 20-million-gallon concrete storage tank with associated wash-down systems, and a 30-mgd effluent pump station constructed below the Great Lawn of Shawnee Park which is part of Louisville’s Olmsted Park system. The project was led by Ulliman Schutte and their engineer of record, Burgess & Niple.
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(This story was originally published in the Dallas Business Review – Volume VIII. It has been edited slightly for length.) We were doing great until we built our new headquarters building last year. The construction was a nightmare! Yeah, we doubled our manufacturing space, but spent about 30% more than we could afford – and we’ll probably end up in the courthouse with the contractor before it’s all said and done. Our competitor beat us to the market because our contractor let the project stall and we missed our target for move-in by three and a half months. Sound familiar? In each of these scenarios, the owners’ outcomes didn’t meet their expectations. More and more, construction project delivery systems are being designed to control outcomes and give owners more certainty as to cost (including life-cycle costs), quality, schedule, and even certainty in terms of the level of an owner’s risk and the involvement of the owner’s staff in the construction process.
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At the end of the day, a successful design-build project comes down to working alongside people you can trust as true partners. Whether considering technical innovations, nailing down costs, or exploring creative delivery solutions, it’s essential that all players work together to achieve the project’s end goal.
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