Guide for Design Management on Design-Build and Construction Manager/General Contractor Projects

Abstract

While the traditional design-bid-build (DBB) approach to project delivery remains prevalent among state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other owners of transportation facilities, some agencies have been selectively adopting alternative delivery methods that increase collaboration among the owner, designer, and constructor. Under the design-build (D-B) process, for example, the designer and constructor act as a unified team to deliver a completed project at a set price. Under a construction manager-at-risk (CMR) process, designer and constructor are engaged separately by the owner (as is the case under DBB), but the constructor is involved from the earliest stages of the design process; the designer and constructor are expected to work collaboratively to deliver a project that meets the owner’s requirements. Some agencies have adopted the term Construction Manager/ General Contractor (CM/GC) for a method that is generally similar to CMR but has more effectively facilitated the reallocation of risk among owner, constructor, and designer; and does not restrict the primary contractor’s performance of work tasks. (As used in this research, CM/GC was understood to include CMR.) Experience has shown that agency policies used to develop and administer traditional design contracts (that is, under DBB) are inadequate for these alternative delivery methods. The objective of this project was to develop a guide to effective design-management practices for owners using CM/GC or D-B. The research team reviewed recent experiences of DOTs and other public agencies regarding design management practices used on projects developed under CM/GC, D-B, and similar methods for project delivery. The team also investigated relevant experience from other construction industry segments. Considering such issues as liability and responsibility in CM/GC and D-B project development and measures of effectiveness for design management, the team developed a framework characterizing principal areas where owners’ design management practices under CM/GC and D-B project delivery processes are likely to influence project success and specific guidance for successful design management. The product is a guidebook for state DOTs and other transportation agencies on design management under CM/GC and D-B project delivery. The guidance is supplemented by case studies of projects successfully developed by several DOTs. This document is written to assist agency staff responsible for management oversight of facilities developed using CM/ GC and D-B and other such alternative procurement strategies.