Glossary

Assuming a risk (or risks) and the associated potential financial burden. The term is used in allocating risks among various parties by determining which party is available to absorb and manage - and therefore is responsible for - a specific risk.

A business arrangement in which an asset is always available to deliver a defined level of service to an owner in return for a steady stream of payments, often used in DBOF and in P3 projects.

The documentation developed by an owner when evaluating the financial implications of a public-private partnership (P3) for financing a capital project. The business case considers the discount rate applied to cash flows expected from a project, efficiency factors...

Approaches to procuring and delivering a capital project that involve close collaboration among the owner, the designer, and the contractor - from design through completion. These include construction management at-risk (CMAR), fixed-price design-build (FPDB),...

The indirect results of alleged failures. Collaborative delivery contracts hold neither the owner nor the design-builder or CMAR firm responsible for the indirect results of its alleged failures. Due to the subjective nature and varying scope of state laws, it may be...

A collaborative delivery method in which the owner retains an engineering firm and a CMAR firm under two separate contracts; one for design and one for construction. CMAR project delivery is most often chosen when the owner wants to capture some of the benefits of...

A business arrangement in which an owner makes payments to a service provider in return for the actual level of service provided.

A commonly used delivery method in which an owner first procures and contracts with an engineer to prepare detailed design plans and specifications for a project. The owner then conducts a second procurement process and contracts with a separate firm to construct the...

A delivery method in which an owner enters into a single contract with a design-builder to design, permit, construct, test, and commission a project. Within design-build project delivery there are two basic variations: progressive and fixed-price.

Traditionally the engineer of record for the design of a project, who signs off on the finished project.