Selection factors and success criteria for design-build in the USA and UK

Today's owners of constructed facilities are increasingly investigating a variety of alternative procurement methods. These methods include design-build, turnkey, and construction management. A tremendous growth in design-build and limited existence of documented research on owner's attitudes toward design-build necessitates a focus on this particular delivery strategy. To address the area of selecting design-build procurement strategies, a comprehensive research study was conducted on USA and UK owners for constructed facilities. The results from a survey of 137 owners are discussed to determine expectations of success and quantify reasons for selecting design-build. Success criteria identified and analysed include; on budget, on schedule, and conforms to user's expectations. Selection factors identified and analysed include: establish cost, reduce cost, establish schedule, shorten duration, reduce claims, large project size complexity, and constructability/innovation. The study concludes that owner's most frequently select design-build to shorten duration. Owners expect that the single point of responsibility and the ability to fast-track design and construction inherent in the design-build process will shorten the delivery process. It is also the conclusion of this study that owners judge project success by budget variation, schedule variation and conformity to expectations. Although the main motivation for choosing design-build as an alternative delivery method is to shorten duration over other procurement methods, the criteria for judging its success are the same.