Alternative Project Delivery - Texas Water Development Board

Traditional Design-Bid-Build (“DBB”)
Description
Description of Project Delivery Methods
The traditional architectural and engineering project delivery approach begins when an
Owner, such as a state, a county, district or municipality, decides that a new asset is
needed and secures funding. A project management group, such as municipal
engineering staff, solicits the service of an engineer or architect to undertake the
design. In Texas, the engineer is selected based upon qualifications and experience
under the Professional Service Procurement Act. The engineer prepares for the
Owner a complete design, which includes associated technical bid specifications. An
attorney representing the municipality may prepare a construction contract to
accompany the design. In some instances, an engineer may utilize a standard form of
construction contract in lieu of an attorney preparing a contract for the project. The
design, specifications and contract are distributed with request for bids for the
construction. Applications for the construction permits are filed based upon the
complete design. The Design Engineer reviews the construction bids received and
the municipality awards the bid to the Contractor with the lowest responsive bid.
The municipality generally must obtain all necessary authorizations prior to the start
of construction. The project structure for a traditional DBB project is characterized in
Figure 2-1.
Figure 2-1
Traditional DBB Project Structure
Customer
Customer Customer Customer Customer Customer
Bonds
Owner
Design Design
Engineer Engineer
Contractor
Operator
Payment and
Performance Bond
Insurance for Risk
Mitigation
Design
Equipment &
Technology
Construction
Contractor
Startup / Testing
Operation &
Maintenance
B1381-Sect2 R. W. Beck 2-3