July 30, 2024
Progressive Design-Build Explained
Insights and Learnings on Progressive Design-Build
The world is constantly becoming more complex, with an ever-increasing need to build upon what exists and improve established ways of doing business. Public infrastructure projects are no different, and as they increase in complexity the need for new project delivery methods has become apparent.
Progressive Design-Build (PDB) is one such example of evolving a known project delivery model in order to better meet the demands of these projects. It’s not an entirely new concept within the transit industry; rather, it’s a continuation of practices learned through other alternative delivery methods.
Defining the Parameters of Progressive Design-Build Projects
Before diving into the minutia of comparisons with more established alternative delivery practices, it’s helpful to ground ourselves with a specific definition of what exactly Progressive Design-Build is. As stated by the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), it uses a “qualifications based or best value selection, followed by a process whereby the owner then progresses towards a design and contract price with the [Design-Build] team.”
Here, the Progressive Design-Build team works directly with the client to finalize the project's scope - which is different from traditional Design-Build projects where the client defines the scope and the contractor/designer work based off a lumpsum cost. And, different still from Construction Manager / General Contractor (CM/GC) where the client, designer, and contractor jointly develop the project scope, but the designer is contracted directly to the client.
The goal of Progressive Design-Build is to develop a design that best accomplishes the owner’s goals via feasibility studies, value engineering, and cost analyses. A team approach to betterment and tracking helps maximize value for the owner by constantly looking for innovative solutions to achieve project goals.
How Progressive Design Build Differs from Similar Delivery Methods
As established in the definition, Progressive Design-Build’s key difference is transferring design responsibility from the owner to the contractor at the onset of the project. If you’re familiar with the complexities involved with heavy civil engineering, you know the differences don’t stop there. While there are areas of overlap, PDB, CM/GC, Design-Bid-Build (DBB), and Design-Build have various levels of involvement from stakeholders. What has made Progressive Design-Build become a more attractive offering in recent years is this elevated level of collaboration.
Notably, the project price in a Progressive Design-Build project is not necessarily locked at the onset of the project. The advantage to owners in this model is it allows flexibility in determining the best value, as well as solutions to hurdles discovered during procurement.
Unlike a Design-Bid-Build project, having the contractor responsible for design, with the owner still retaining final say, provides an avenue to identify more areas to provide value while accomplishing owner goals, with the owner still retaining final say on all decisions. Here, the Progressive Design-Build team serves an advisory role to the owner, providing said owner more control over the project. Eric Meisgeier, Project Manager on the Progressive Design-Build East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, says this gives the broader team the ability to tailor asks to an owner’s needs. In his experience, this can even save owners on overall project costs.
Many of these value finds can occur during the validation phase at the onset of the project, which is another key differentiator of Progressive Design-Build. It’s also crucial to a project’s success to get right, as all subsequent phases rely upon the validation phase’s success. DBIA defines it as such:
“The purpose of the validation exercise is to gather the best information as early in the project as practicable so that decisions made by the parties are based on the most accurate, reliable information available. The end result of the validation exercise is a realistic estimate of the project budget for a reasonable project scope and within an achievable schedule, all of which takes into account known variables and risks on the project. Once the parties agree on realistic parameters for the project, the validated scope, schedule, and budget can then be used with collaborative design and construction tools such as design-to-budget or pull planning to further the design and schedule and develop an accurate maximum cost in the next phase of the project.”
While this can be daunting, having the full team involved in an actively collaborative environment from the start has the potential to find ways to set up the project for unparalleled success. Creating this level of trust at the onset has the added benefit of carrying through the entirety of the project, providing a baseline of collaboration, problem-solving, and solving issues before they have the chance to occur.
So, while the general Progressive Design-Build process experiences a large amount of overlap with a CM/GC or Design-Build project, the collaboration between designer and contractor allows PDB projects an extra layer of flexibility. The designer, owner, and contractor also maintain a high degree of collaboration throughout the entirety of the project rather than primarily through the pre-construction phase.
Every alternative delivery method is rooted in a level of collaboration between all parties involved in working towards ideal project outcomes. Progressive Design-Build simply takes this mindset to another level, with a high level of collaboration occurring through every phase of a project.
Advantages of a Progressive Design Build Project
Why has Progressive Design-Build become such a hot topic in the transit industry recently? Why was it developed as a delivery method in the first place? To answer both questions - when done right, PDB provides numerous advantages to all parties involved. By nature of the process, it fosters interactive discussions stemming from open dialogues, leading to unfettered explorations of ideas that lead to improved project results.
A traditional Design-Build project method does present some challenges to owners. While the designer works with the contractor for improved constructibility, bids depend on preliminary design, so uncertainty often surrounds the project’s scope. Progressive Design Build offers a solution to this. Here, the team iterates on constructibility from the start to ensure affordability and avoid the change orders that can offset the cost-effectiveness of a typical Design-Build project.
From experiences on large Progressive Design Build projects such as East San Fernando Valley and G-Line BRT Improvements, we’ve found three categories where Progressive Design-Build truly shines:
Design Management & Risk Mitigation
An appealing aspect for owners is shifting design risk to the Progressive Design-Build team, although they must be comfortable relinquishing that level of direct control on a day-to-day basis. The further upside is this process inherently increases coordination between the designer and contractor, which can help progress design schedules and reduce costs. This process provides more effective risk mitigation, as the Progressive Design-Build team assumes lead in collaboration between all parties, including ownership of design errors, omissions, and quantity busts.
Improved Stakeholder Interface
The Stacy Witbeck team on the East San Fernando Valley Transit Project has found working through solutions has led to more confidence for both the team and key stakeholders. This process spurs innovation by allowing the team to rethink specific asks in order to find the best approach to different challenges, all while working in constant dialogue with the owner to ensure every avenue has been explored. The owner remains highly involved throughout the process, facilitating implementation at each step.
Cost and Schedule Certainty
It may seem counterintuitive that a project with a less finite cost to work against at the start would be able to provide more cost certainty, but it can certainly be the case. While a pre-final design is necessary, by allowing the contractor to influence the design the Progressive Design-Build team can oftentimes discover savings.
Jim Prior, Estimating Manager on the G-Line BRT Improvements Project for Stacy Witbeck, stresses the importance of consistently providing estimates and schedules throughout the process to compare with the findings of an independent Cost Estimator (ICE). Doing so allows the owner to see the impact of design choices, allowing for adjustments prior to full design development and the cost spent doing so.
Is Progressive Design-Build right for you?
Despite, its advantages, Progressive Design-Build can present challenges and has been described as a “full-contact sport” by owners who have successfully implemented this delivery method. All parties involved must be committed to constant communication and collaboration, with a project-first mentality to ensure the job gets done. If you’re interested in further reading, we’ve also created a a paper detailing best practices in implementing Progressive Design-Build into transit projects, to further help the industry collectively create best practices. Because together, we’re all helping shape the way America connects.