Wolgast Blog - Construction Trends, Tips and Information

Preliminary plans, such as those provided in a Phase I of the Design-Build process, are the most efficient and economical means to determine the budget for your construction project.

While there has been a shift in the numbers¹, there are still many business owners out there who are skeptical of the Design-Build method of construction.  They are more familiar with the traditional Design-Bid/Build method where they hire an architect, then have general contractors competitively bid the project, and the contractor with the best price/value builds the project.

Other than taking time to prepare a plan when the weather is poor for construction (so you can be ready when the weather is conducive for construction) there are additional benefits to contact your design/builder or general contractor in the winter.  Let me clarify that the following explanation works best when applied in Michigan and other cold winter states.  

The basic difference of D-B over general construction is the relationship between the architect and builder.  In this project delivery, they are on the same team. A doctor only needs to work with one entity to design and then build his or her office.  Also in this scenario, the doctor is protected from any discrepancies from the architect’s drawings to contractor’s construction application.  With D-B, the contractor and architect are consulting on budget, application, and material quality throughout design, so when construction starts there are very little interruptions or change orders. Should there be a discrepancy, the Design-Builder will work it out without involving the owner unnecessarily. This protection is valued by doctors who oftentimes aren’t as familiar with construction, nor have the time to deal with these issues on site. All of these reasons are exactly why D-B was created as an alternative to general construction.

As an update to this blog originally posted a few years ago, we have new information to add  from the June 2018 Design-Build Utilization Report funded by Design-Build Institute of America. Findings in this report determined that popularity continues to grow for this delivery method. The results showed, "Design-Build Construction spending in the assessed segments is anticipated to increase 18% from 2018 - 2021", and will likely represent 44% of construction spending by 2021. Researchers determined that the education of building owners on Design-Build benefits is gaining traction, and more owners are experiencing enjoying the benefits first hand.  Additionally, FMI Corporation, a management consulting and investment company, had released a report in March 2019 titled 2019 AGC/FMI Risk Management Survey, whereby they found that "38% of contractors were <planning> to increase their in-house design capabilities last year and 43% this year".  So there will be more collaboration, less risk, and more competition among design and construction moving forward.

Original blog article:

According to the May 2013, “Design-Build Project Delivery Market Share and Market Size Report” by Reed Construction Data and RS Means Intelligence, Design-Build construction delivery method has taken an additional 9% of the construction market since 2005 and General Construction has lost 10% of the market share in that same time.