What are the benefits of design-build for industry?
It can shorten the project delivery schedule and reduce costs, while providing a single source of responsibility and communications.
Many of our industrial clients view design-build as a good risk management tool. Design-build also saves our clients management time and expenses by allowing them to focus on their core businesses. And some clients appreciate the added confidentiality for their proprietary processes.
What kinds of projects are best suited to design-build?
Those where the client can conserve resources by relying on the designer-builder to manage the entire project. Projects on a fast track for implementation are also appropriate, as are remediation projects because the design phase is generally less complex and a smaller percentage of the entire project compared to a facilities design project.
What advantages have you seen in projects where you have collaborated?
We tend to work with the same clients on different projects for many years, building a strong relationship and a shared trust that enhances quality, cost savings, and client satisfaction. We can save our clients money through innovative solutions because we understand their goals and constraints.
We are managing design-build-operate site remediation projects for long-term clients who benefit from our ability to provide early indications of probable cost. This skill is based on our design-build experience and is invaluable in streamlining and negotiating corrective action.
What trends do you see?
This delivery method is growing fastest in the area of remediation. Right now, more than half of all private facilities improvements are delivered as design-build, and while design-build is newer to remediation, our clients like working with one firm and the faster approach.
What should a client consider before deciding to use design-build?
Clients need to be comfortable with a less detailed design, and then we can work together to enhance quality through creative use of the design-build relationship and contract-based incentives. In addition, the client and designer-builder must develop a trust-based relationship that will carry them through the changes inherent in design-build.
CDM's history as a leading design firm means that we incorporate all the elements of successful design. The overlaps between designer and builder and long partnerships also provide checks and balances that further improve quality, risk management, and cost control.