Owner's Guide to Project Delivery Methods - CMAA

3.3 Design-Build (DB)DescriptionThe design-build (DB) project delivery system has grown in popularity, and is seen by some inthe industry as a solution for addressing the limitations of other methods. For an owner, theprimary benefit is the simplicity of having one party responsible for the design and constructionof the project. While the other delivery systems often give rise to disputes among variousproject participants, with the owner acting as referee (or party ultimately to blame), in DBmany of these disputes become internal DB team issues which may not affect the owner.Under this system, the owner contracts with a DB team, which can be a joint venture of acontractor and a designer, a contractor with a designer as a subconsultant, a designer-led teamwith a contractor as a subcontracted entity, or a single firm capable of performing both designand construction. Since contractors are most comfortable in the role of risking corporatecapital in performing projects, they usually are the lead members of this sort of team. Onevariation of the typical DB team structure, known as fee-paid developer, involves the ownerengaging a developer, which then selects its own designer and contractor partners. Howeverformulated, the DB team performs the complete design of the facility, usually based on apreliminary scope or design presented by the owner.At some point early in the process, through a prescribed process, the DB team will establish afixed price to complete the design and construction of the facility. Once underway, the DB teamis then responsible for construction of the project, and for all coordination between design andconstruction.Risk AnalysisSince the design-build team is working together from the outset, DB offers the opportunity tosave time and money. However, the advantages of the system are offset by a significant loss ofcontrol and involvement by the owner and other stakeholders. Accordingly, it is difficult for theowner to verify that it is receiving the best value for its money without having a great deal oftransparency in the DB team.CMAA Owner’s Guide to Project Delivery Methods - August 201221