Analysis of Owner’s Design and Construction Quality Management Approaches in Design/Build Projects

Abstract

This paper explores and classifies current approaches to evaluating quality in design/build (DB) proposals. It does so by a thorough content analysis of 78 requests for proposal (RFPs) for public DB projects with an aggregate contract value of over $3.0 billion advertised between 1997 and 2002. In most DB projects, the owner requires the DB contractor to establish a firm-fixed price on a project that has not yet been designed. Usually, the owner also fixes the project delivery period. In the traditional design/bid/build (DBB) system, quality is fixed through the plans and specifications. Thus, in DBB, with schedule and quality fixed, the cost of construction is the factor in which the owner seeks competition. Conversely, in DB, with cost and schedule fixed, the scope and hence the level of quality is the main element of competition. This paper identifies the six owner approaches to articulating DB quality requirements in their RFPs. The six approaches are quality by qualifications, evaluated program, specified program, performance criteria, specification, and warranty. These are important for DB contractors to understand so that they can craft their proposal in a manner that is both responsive to the owners’ requirements and consistent with the owner’s system to make the best value contract award decision.