Engineering Inc. - May/June 2003 - 18

 Rather than lay off staff, Anderson notes, engineering firms will pursue
design-build work without fully understanding the pitfalls. tor say, a
project like the Cape And if there is any doubt that b u i l d for the
wrong reasons and do anywhere from a 10 per- Hatteras Lighthouse we'll use
s m a l l firms cannot compete a l m o s t always wind up with c e n t to
30 percent design. d e s i g n - b u i l d , says Donna effectively in the
design-build u n f u l f i l l e d expectations, says DeYoung says. But
when you Kalvels, a supervisory contract arena, consider the example of
Bill Mielke, co-owner of Ruek- have a strong probability of win-
specialist. But for visitor centers ACEC Chairman Dan ert & Mielke and a
member of ning, it is easier to manage until a n d other projects that
have DeYoung's 40-person firm, DJG ACEC's Management Practices the
contract comes through. e n v i r o n m e n t a l compliance Inc. By
establishing and sticking Committee. They discover too Business as Usual?
i s s u e s , we need to have more t o a few fundamental ground l a t e
that the design-build i n v o l v e m e n t in the design rules, DJG has
enjoyed remark- a r r a n g e m e n t was either the For the most part,
however, it process. able success in pursuing design- wrong approach or,
at the very would be wrong to categorize W h e r e design-build really
build projects. We never gam- least, not properly structured. design-build
as a routine way of benefits a federal agency, how- ble, and we work with
only one E n g i n e e r s are not immune doing business. Some owners,
ever, is in accommodating the contractor with whom we have e n g i n e e r
s , and construction from making this same mistake, nuances of
Congressional bud- e s t a b l i s h e d a strong relation- companies
frequently confess to especially in parts of the country geting. Congress
can add a mil- ship, DeYoung says. We only being unsure when and how to w
i t h sluggish economies. itary construction project to our go after
design-build opportuni- w o r k within the design-build R a t h e r than
lay off staff, budget with the requirement to ties that have best-value
selec- f r a m e w o rk . Assumptions that A n d e r s o n notes,
engineering h a v e it under a construction tion criteria and where we see
a d e s i g n - b u i l d will save time firms will pursue design-build
contract in the same fiscal year, while still producing a product strong
chance of winning. work without fully understand- explains Mark Grammer, a
civil as good as or better quality than The firm follows up with an ing the
pitfalls. e n g i n e e r in the U.S. Army design-bid-build frequently
intensive collaborative effort to Some of the hardest lessons C o r p s of
Engineers' technical result in mistakes, disputes, and create detailed
plans and reliable have been learned in the court- p o l i c y branch.
Design-build disappointments on both sides bids, bolstering DJG's chances
room. Attorney and construc- gives us a better chance of get- of the
contract. o f success. We still have to tion law expert Mike Loulakis ting
there. Owners who choose design- m a k e an up-front investment says
insufficient articulation of priorities in the project's state- ment of
work sets the stage for S misunderstandings as to what till unsure about
the basics of design-build engineer's role, legal obligations, and risks
in each party will give and receive. design-build. Michael Loulakis's
Design Build: and other project delivery systems? You're in Un l i k e
design-bid-build, the Lessons Learned is widely available through good
company. Questions about when and designer has the responsibility
bookstores and online services. how to apply design-build regularly come
up at for overruns and higher costs,
http://www.acec.org/
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