For many years, design-
bid-build has been the preferred contracting
method for Federal-aid projects. In design-bid-build, the agency or owner contracts with separate
entities for design and construction of a project. But there are now additional contracting
options, with the leading alternative being design-build. Design-build has been used on
many types of projects, from roadway resurfacing to complex bridge construction. This alternative
contracting method allows local public agencies, or LPAs, to combine design and construction
into one contract, accelerating project delivery. Design-build requires less administration
and can reduce project duration and cost by sharing risk with the contracting community.
Keep in mind that design-build laws vary from state to state, so check with your State department
of transportation to determine which specific design-build requirements apply. Applying
these requirements helps determine if design-build procurement is appropriate for your project.
If you choose design-build, there are accepted practices you should consider.
Design-build projects, like design-bid-build
projects, have specific Federal-aid requirements that the LPA must follow. To retain Federal
eligibility, you should be aware of some critical elements of the Federal-aid requirements.
Design-build projects have additional procurement
requirements that impact design-build team selection, the project development process,
and the relationships of the parties.
Other modules in this library provide detailed information on each of the requirements we
just mentioned.
Now that you are familiar with some of the requirements, let's look at a typical method
of solicitation - the two-phase procurement process. Phase one is centered on the Request
for Qualifications and phase two focuses on the Request for Proposal.
In phase one, three major steps occur:
We start with the Request for Qualifications
or RFQ. This is the agency's first opportunity to share its vision of the project and the
first chance for potential bidders to respond with how their experience can meet that vision.
Next is the evaluation of
Statement of Qualifications or SOQ. In this step, the agency evaluates
the SOQ based on pre-established criteria to determine the most qualified teams.
Then, there is the short-listing of eligible teams
Typically 3 to 5 teams are chosen to be included in the short list and move forward
in the process.
At this point, the agency moves into phase
two of the procurement process. In the
Request for Proposals or RFP, the agency provides contract
requirements to short-listed teams so they can prepare technical proposals and estimates.
During evaluation and selection
the agency develops a cross-cutting evaluation team to score the technical proposals
based on a weighted criteria. Finally, we get to
design and construction. Once the design-build team has been
chosen, it can begin construction immediately while
the design continues to develop.
The LPA is providing oversight and review of design components and construction operations.
Now that we have seen the key steps, let's look at an example, to see how we may apply
the process.
During phase one, our LPA called Hometown LPA -- solicits letters of interest from prospective
companies. Hometown then develops and issues
a Request for Qualifications or RFQ, to the teams that responded.
The RFQ contains the description of the project scope and required work, a Statement of Qualification,
instructions for completing the application and forms, and criteria for how the responses
will be evaluated and scored. It is usually at this stage that companies form legal partnerships
and develop project specific design-build teams. In our scenario, Quality Inc., Construct-It Inc.,
and Design-It Inc., respond to the RFQ by submitting their completed Statement of
Qualifications. They also ask questions of the LPA for clarification. As interested teams,
they are allowed to inquire about project details, such as scope, output or quantity
of product, and the LPA's receptiveness to innovative ideas.
After receiving the completed
Statements of Qualification from the design-build teams, Hometown
LPA responds to the teams' questions. Hometown LPA uses the evaluation criteria defined in
the RFQ to determine a short-list of eligible teams
that will receive a Request for Proposal. The typical list of eligible teams is three
to five but it can vary depending on project requirements. In our example, Hometown LPA
determines that Quality Inc. and Design-It Inc. are both eligible teams.
During phase two of the design-build solicitation process, Hometown LPA prepares and issues
a Request for Proposal
or RFP, that goes to the list of eligible teams in our case, Quality and Design-It.
The request package includes the proposal document and the preliminary design.
The two eligible teams are invited to
a pre-proposal meeting to discuss the project and may also conduct a field visit to the
project site. Hometown LPA follows the communication rules as established in the RFP when responding
to specific questions from either team, and can revise the RFP package as needed to maintain
consistency in the proposals.
Quality Inc. and Design-It Inc. respond to the RFP with two parts - the price proposal
and a technical concept, the design that shows how the team intends to complete the proposed
work. Quality Inc also provides an alternate technical concept that adds to, but doesn't
replace, the original design requirements. Hometown LPA evaluates the proposals using
the established criteria. Hometown can also allow oral presentations to clarify information
or discuss questions from the competing teams. Price proposals are opened only after evaluation
of the technical proposals.
Hometown LPA can use a variety of techniques to determine
the best value proposal. It chooses to use a best value technique
which divides the price by that team's technical score to get an overall score for
each proposal. These overall scores are arranged from lowest to highest and the best value
design-build team is selected. Hometown LPA selects Quality, Inc. to be the design-build
contractor for this project primarily because they demonstrated a 20-percent reduction in
construction time that increased their technical score.
Hometown LPA awards the contract to Quality
Inc, and notifies Design-It Inc that it was not selected. Since Design-It Inc was not
selected, a stipend is offered as reimbursement from Hometown LPA for a portion of the proposal
development cost. Including a stipend is allowable but not required under Federal rules
and its use is at the discretion of the project owners. When Design-It accepts this reimbursement,
Hometown LPA takes ownership of the conceptual designs submitted and can incorporate those
ideas into the project. Quality Inc. begins
construction on the project while still developing the design. Hometown
USA provides overview of both the construction and the design as the project progresses.
From our example, you can see that design-build
incorporates a two-phase process that allows you - the LPA - to select the best value
firm. Using design-build allows you to combine design and construction into one contract
and accelerate project delivery. Remember, you need to follow the design-build procurement
process required by your State DOT to ensure your use of Federal-aid funds is not jeopardized.
So, be sure to check with your State DOT for additional information and guidance before
using a design-build procurement process.