Is the Design Build Delivery Method the best for your construction project? While your contractor can help you select a construction Delivery Method, this article can help you understand what it offers. To begin with, this method separates design and construction into two parts of the project. Consequently, the owner will need to manage two separate contracts if the construction company doesn’t have in-house design build services. The first with the design firm and the second with the construction provider. Accordingly, the owner is responsible to coordinate contract management, scheduling, and any potential dispute resolution. The goal of the team is to work together to meet the owner’s building requirements. The Design Build method maximizes design and function and adherence to budget and schedule. Other benefits include:
Budget Management in Design Build
- Emphasis on budget awareness during design, as opposed to waiting for hard for bids to come in
- Because of an early knowledge of guaranteed costs it is easier to make changes, request value engineering, and/or add scope
- With fewer surprises there are fewer change orders
- Creates potential for lower construction costs
Communication in Design Build
- Single point contact for owner
- The identification of potential concerns can be before project starts
- Weekly meeting to discuss progress/schedules/hurdles
- Focus remains on owner’s values
- Promotes cooperation between project partners
Design Build Offers Faster Project Completion
- Overall bid time is reduced
- Project coordination and scheduling can begin earlier
- Construction and design can overlap
- Items with long lead times can be identified and ordered prior to the start of construction
- Constructability is reviewed throughout
Quality & Design Build
- Employ processes that qualify bidders to identify the best bidder for the project, rather than just accepting the lowest bid
- Encourages value engineering
- Quality control efforts can begin early in design phase and continue through construction
FI•CON fabrication and construction services can meet the most challenging projects. By combining these two services and our strategic engineering partnerships, we can design, construct, and customize a project to meet your building and fabrication requirements. We work in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, ports, mining, education, warehousing, health care, retail, and water treatment. To discuss your next project, contact us at ficonusa.com or (386) 792-3060
