Design-Bid-Build
Design-Bid-Build is the traditional project delivery method in which an owner contracts with an architect/engineer to design a project. The project is competitively bid and a contractor is selected and awarded a separate contract for construction.
Advantages
Insures quality control
If the contract requirements are not met, provisions of the contract can compel the contractor to correct the work. Without detailed working drawings and specifications, there is little an owner can do to control the quality of the contractor's work.
Your building is fully defined
With design-bid-build, the facility is fully defined by detailed working drawings and specifications before bids are solicited. This means there is little uncertainty about what the project entails and what the contractor is required to deliver by entering into a contract with the owner.
The smaller architect/engineer contract is awarded based on subjective criteria of experience and qualifications (representing about 5-10 percent of the building cost).
Awarding construction work by competitive bidding reduces the opportunity for bias and inappropriate influence to play a part in awarding the construction contract. (This represents about 90-95 percent of the building cost.)
Avoid conflict of interest
The architect/engineer works for the owner and represents the owner, not the builder. This avoids the potential for conflict of interest inherent in other delivery methods.
Competitive bidding results in lowest costs
With design-bid-build, the contract is awarded to the bidder who offers to construct the building for the lowest price. This competition motivates bidders to offer the lowest price they can because they know price is the main basis for awarding the contract. Also, since the building is fully defined by detailed working drawings and specifications, bidders do not need to increase their bids to cover contingencies that might arise if a building is not fully defined.
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