Design-Build: A Good Tool for School Construction?
During the last decade, the design-build project delivery method has gained momentum in the nonresidential construction market as owners have discovered the value of placing sole accountability with a single firm, usually a general contractor, that holds the contract for both architecture/engineering and construction.
While most K-12 school districts continue to use the traditional design-bid-build project delivery method out of legal necessity or preference, some have started using design-build for new construction and renovation projects.
As a team approach to design and construction from the beginning of a project, the design-build delivery method has the potential to foster a stronger partnership among the owner, contractor and architect, resulting in better control over quality, budget and schedule. For a school district with a complex project and/or a tight schedule, or a location in a geographic area or economic market where it is difficult to obtain bids from qualified contractors, design-build is becoming a viable tool to get a quality job done on time and within budget.
Recent federal legislation has expanded the availability of design-build project delivery for government agencies at federal, state and local levels. In some states, new legislation that permits educational entities to enter into public-private partnerships gives school owners access to the design-build delivery method. In Virginia , for example, the Public-Private Education Act of 2002 spurred an increase in K-12 design-build projects to 11.8 percent of total projects, according to the Virginia Department of Education’s Department of Facilities.
For school districts considering design-build for their next project, it is important to ask five questions of colleagues who have employed this delivery method:
1. How can design-build help ensure that the best-qualified general contractor will be successful in winning the contract? Design-Build enables the school district to hire a contractor based on qualifications — their ability to manage and deliver a project — rather than the lowest bid. While a school district can prequalify general contractors using a traditional design-bid-build project delivery method, the lowest bid will win the contract. However, with design-build, the school district hires the general contractor and architect as a team.
2. How can design-build help improve the quality of construction overall? Design-build allows the general contractor to select and negotiate a price with subcontractors who offer the best value — those with the ability to manage the project and staff it with people who do quality work and complete it on time at a fair price — rather than simply the lowest bidders. In a traditional design-bid-build project delivery method, even a well-qualified general contractor may have to award the subcontracts to the lowest bidders to remain competitive.
Design-build can also benefit school districts in a location or economic market where it is difficult to get contractors to submit proposals for traditional design-bid-build projects. For example, in rural locations, quality non-local subcontractors will have to pay long commuting costs or temporary housing costs for workers. In major metropolitan areas, quality subcontractors already have ample access to more profitable private-sector work. It is a contractor’s market today, which makes them very selective about the projects in which they will participate.
3. How can design-build help reduce excessive change-orders? Selection of a general contractor and, in turn, subcontractors based on their ability to perform for a fair price also helps to reduce excessive change orders because it gives them some flexibility to make minor modifications without having to issue a change order for every item in order to maintain a reasonable profit margin. If they offer rock-bottom pricing to win the contract, they will not be able to afford to offer any flexibility. No contractor is under any obligation to make modifications at no charge to the owner.
4. How can design-build help manage the design within budget? In the traditional design-bid-build method, the general contractor does not become part of the team until after the completion of construction documents. Design-build enables the contractor to participate in the design process, helping to manage costs through provision of pre-construction services: estimating, scheduling and design constructability reviews. The contractor has the ability to look at a design and, where applicable, suggest an alternate material, building system or construction methodology to manage costs and improve the schedule. In renovation projects, the ability to strategize the construction sequence is valuable in managing costs, as well as schedule.
5. How can design-build help create a tight schedule and limit delay claims? In addition to the advantages of early constructability reviews and estimating, the pre-construction services include preparation of a schedule early in the design process and regular updates of that schedule as design progresses. The contractor can also pre-order long-lead items to ensure their availability as needed.
Design-build also enables the owner to fast-track design and construction by executing early site work, foundation and steel packages while the design-build team is still in the process of completing the drawings. For example, a typical schedule for a new elementary school is 24 months from the time the architect is hired to the date the school is occupied. Design-build may allow the project team to shave 4-6 months off the schedule.
Contractors who are interested in winning future design-build projects also know that they must bring more to the table than the low bid; they must be driven by meeting the owner’s goals for quality, budget and schedule. Developing strong relationships with the owner and architect is important to the contractor’s long-term growth and success.
Douglas D. Westmoreland, AIA, REFP, LEED AP, is vice president of Moseley Architects and managing principal of K-12 work in the Richmond, Va., office. Westmoreland has 24 years of experience with 25 Virginia school divisions in educational facility design and is active in the Council of Educational Facilities Planners International. He can be reached at (804) 794-7555 or dwestmoreland@moseleyarchitects.com.