Specialist Contractor Perspective on Design-build in the Public Sector

Manny Fine, who was once my boss and mentor, provides a sentient account of the perils of the specialist foundation subcontractor in a world of public sector design-build contracting. He opens by relating the comfort foundation specialists have with the private sector design-build model. A model that, he states, enjoys the freedom of innovation with what is believed to be a genuine interest and flexibility in concept, receptivity and contract in the private sector, which has led to public sector interest and dabbling in the design- build delivery method. Fine then describes a public sector arena for design-build fraught with difficulty for the specialist foundation subcontractor, which includes great effort for low return, contract restric- tions, narrow interpretation of alter- natives, and a low flexibility by the owner for alternative methods and risk assumption. His conclusion is that the design-build delivery method in the public sector results in duplication and wasted effort by the foundation specialist(s). He deems the evaluation process to be unsophisticated and lacking the ability to select the best proposal in terms of solution and or cost benefit and that the owner needs "to find ways to be more receptive to alternative or value engineered proposals." Now, 27 years later, we witness a well-established and flexible private sector design-build market driven by specialist foundation contractors and their partner consultants that has welcomed new technologies and driven innovation. Typically, there is more definition to the small- to medium-sized private projects (up to $15 million in value), whereas large design-build projects often see early contractor input and a team selected during the design process. The success of public sector design-build delivery has increased significantly since the time of Fine's commentary with many very suc- cessful applications and new 'models