Procuring Design-Build Services Flashcards

Which of the following is a key risk to the owner when issuing an RFP with a highly prescriptive design before procurement?

Answer: The owner assumes greater design liability, reducing the design-builder's single-point responsibility

Overly prescriptive designs shift design responsibility back to the owner, undermining the single-point accountability that is a core benefit of design-build delivery.

In design-build procurement, 'bridging' refers to:

Answer: The owner hiring a separate designer to develop partial design documents used as the basis for the RFP

Bridging involves the owner retaining a designer of record to develop concept or schematic documents that are then included in the RFP as the design basis for the design-build competition.

What evaluation criterion is most appropriate for assessing a design-build team's ability to manage complex coordination between design and construction?

Answer: Management approach and organizational plan

A management approach and organizational plan criterion evaluates how the team will integrate design and construction disciplines, which is central to design-build success.

An owner wishing to reduce proposal preparation burden on design-build teams should consider:

Answer: Limiting Phase 1 submissions to qualifications and a brief project approach narrative

Restricting Phase 1 to qualifications and brief narratives reduces the cost and effort required from proposers while still allowing effective shortlisting.

A design-build team submits a proposal that exceeds the stated project budget. The owner should:

Answer: Evaluate the proposal against all criteria and consider whether value justifies the higher cost

Owners should evaluate proposals holistically; a higher-cost proposal may offer superior value, and the procurement documents should specify how budget compliance is handled.

The term 'shortlisting' in design-build procurement refers to:

Answer: Reducing the field of interested firms to a manageable number of pre-qualified teams for the RFP phase

Shortlisting narrows the pool of respondents from an RFQ to typically three to five qualified teams who are then invited to submit full proposals.

Which procurement method allows the owner to select a design-build contractor early based on qualifications and then negotiate scope and price as design progresses?

Answer: Progressive design-build

Progressive design-build allows early contractor selection based on qualifications, with price and scope refined collaboratively as the design develops.