Collaborative Delivery

“Quick-Start” Procurement Accelerates Project Delivery

“Quick-Start” Procurement Accelerates Project Delivery

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.

read more
Principles of O&M Engagement for Design-Build Projects

Principles of O&M Engagement for Design-Build Projects

As design-build (DB) becomes more common for the development and construction of long-term infrastructure, the engagement of the owner’s operations and maintenance (O&M) team becomes significantly more important to project success. For some projects, the traditional design-bid-build process may not have taken advantage of the institutional knowledge available from the owner’s O&M teams as facilities and systems were designed, constructed, and commissioned.

read more
Community Investment that Goes Beyond Water Quality

Community Investment that Goes Beyond Water Quality

A vibrant, diverse business community contributes to a region’s innovation and economic performance. Infrastructure projects offer opportunities for diverse businesses to endure long after the completion of a project. Actively seeking out and partnering with qualified small, minority- and women-owned businesses helps fuel sustainable economic growth, resulting in successful project delivery and stronger, more prosperous communities.

read more
Top 3 Qualities to Expect from a Quality Design-Build Contractor

Top 3 Qualities to Expect from a Quality Design-Build Contractor

As water/wastewater projects continue to increase in complexity, collaborative delivery methods for project execution are becoming increasingly favored among clients. As this shift gains momentum, clients need to be able to trust that their design-build contractor will help them realize the benefits of the collaborative delivery approach throughout the life of the project. The list below outlines several key qualities a water/wastewater client should expect from their design-build contractor.

read more
How Do You Decide the Best Project Delivery Approach?

How Do You Decide the Best Project Delivery Approach?

Most major construction projects in the water and wastewater industry have conventionally been delivered through a design-bid-build (DBB) method of delivery. However, collaborative project delivery (CPD) methods are being considered more frequently in the public sector because they can provide a variety of benefits over traditional delivery methods such as time and/or cost savings. It is important to recognize that these benefits sometimes come with trade-offs, such as reduced control or change in risk, so the pros and cons of each CPD method need to be weighed.

read more
Best Practices for Owners Making Collaborative Delivery and Procurement Decisions

Best Practices for Owners Making Collaborative Delivery and Procurement Decisions

Last month in working with a client to prepare for a collaborative delivery project, they asked some interesting questions about how they can achieve a successful project with more certainty and predictability. This was not the first time this topic has been raised. Others have also expressed a desire for guidance. The good news is that across the board we are definitely seeing a significant increase in successful client/contractor experiences that result from working in a collaborative and transparent environment. The guidance provided below is part of the discussion that occurred on actions needed to achieve a successful project.

read more
Balancing Self-Performance and Subcontracting in Collaborative Delivery Projects

Balancing Self-Performance and Subcontracting in Collaborative Delivery Projects

As the number and size of infrastructure projects continue to increase, while the qualified available workforce continues to decrease, contractors who traditionally identify as “self-performing” contractors find themselves having to make decisions on what scopes of work they ultimately need to self-perform for project success. This is especially true on the “mega-sized” projects.

read more
Do You Really Want to Contract with the Greater Fool?

Do You Really Want to Contract with the Greater Fool?

One of my typical roles as an owner advisor is to review proposed construction management at-risk (CMAR) and design-build contracts from a commercial perspective—i.e., what’s the likely marketplace reaction to the contract and is the contract consistent with the philosophy behind collaborative delivery? I am continually amazed by what I see.

read more