Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation in the Public Works ...

equirements of construction; those are left entirely to the Contractor.
This contrasts with historical practice; in medieval times, and until
relatively recently, the roles of Designer and Builder were fused in the Master Builders
of the great cathedrals, 2 a model that persisted through the 19th Century.
For example, the Brooklyn Bridge, a paradigm of engineering
innovation was designed by John Roebling as Chief Engineer3; when he died at the
beginning of construction, his son, Washington Roebling, took over as Chief Engineer.
As Chief Engineer, Roebling was involved in the work in a direct way that modern
Designers usually do not; he participated directly in solving problems of construction
technique, method and sequencing, which today would be left to the Builder. There
has, at least in this respect, been a change in how things are built.
The current system, in which the roles of Designer and Builder are
separate and distinct, is a relatively recent development. In this system the Designer
prepares detailed plans and specifications which describe the finished project very
specifically. Then (usually in commercial projects, and almost invariably in public
projects) the specifications are advertised for letting to the lowest responsible bidder.
The low-bidder Builder constructs the Project while the Designer's
participation is limited to certifying to the Owner that construction is done in
accordance with the drawings and specifications. The Builder is usually solely
responsible for means and methods, sequences and techniques of construction. 4
2 A very readable novel describing in the practical terms the construction process of
that time, is in Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. The novel also described the
evolution of the construction of the cathedrals, particularly the trial and error of
innovations that evolved into the soaring arches and tall windows. See also J.E.
Gordon, Structures. or Why Things Don't Fall Down (1978), pp 210-215.
3 At the time its central span of 1595 feet was then the longest single span ever built.
It was the first suspension bridge of steel, stronger than lighter than iron; and the
steel wire was zinc galvanized to prevent rust. It functions today carrying loads much
greater than those contemplated by its designer.
4 In recent years the design-build concept, a modern refusion of design and
construction responsibility, has grown in the commercial world. It has also increased
in federal public works. See "ASCE Advocates Pre Qualifying for Federal Design
Build Jobs," Engineering News - Record, April 27, 1992, p 7. But it is almost
unknown in state and local public works, where most infrastructure replacement must
occur.
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