DBIA Procuring Design-Build Services 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When evaluating design-build proposals, a technical evaluation panel should ideally:
- Include only the owner's legal and finance staff
- Comprise members with relevant technical, project management, and owner-representative expertise (Correct answer)
- Be composed entirely of independent third-party auditors
- Be limited to two evaluators to ensure consistent scoring
Correct answer: Comprise members with relevant technical, project management, and owner-representative expertise
A well-rounded technical evaluation panel with diverse expertise ensures proposals are assessed on all critical dimensions—technical merit, management, and owner needs.
Question 2: In a design-build RFP, an 'owner's project requirements' (OPR) document primarily serves to:
- Establish the contractor's markup and overhead rates
- Communicate the owner's functional, performance, and quality expectations to proposers (Correct answer)
- Define the legal terms and conditions of the design-build contract
- List subcontractor pre-qualification requirements
Correct answer: Communicate the owner's functional, performance, and quality expectations to proposers
The OPR articulates what the owner needs the project to accomplish in terms of performance, functionality, and quality, guiding the design-builder's solution development.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes the risk allocation principle that underlies design-build contracting?
- Risks are evenly shared 50/50 between owner and design-builder regardless of source
- Each risk is assigned to the party best able to manage, control, or insure against it (Correct answer)
- All risks are retained by the owner since the design-builder only performs services
- Risks are transferred entirely to the design-builder through a blanket indemnification clause
Correct answer: Each risk is assigned to the party best able to manage, control, or insure against it
Sound risk allocation assigns each risk to the party best positioned to manage it, which improves project outcomes and overall cost efficiency.
Question 4: A 'design-build contract' that uses a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) structure provides the owner with:
- A fixed price that cannot increase under any circumstances
- A cost ceiling with potential savings sharing if actual costs are less than the GMP (Correct answer)
- Guaranteed design completion by a specific date regardless of changes
- Protection against all differing site conditions without additional cost
Correct answer: A cost ceiling with potential savings sharing if actual costs are less than the GMP
A GMP contract caps the owner's cost exposure while often including a shared savings provision if the project is delivered under the guaranteed maximum.
Question 5: An owner decides to hold one-on-one meetings with shortlisted design-build teams during the proposal period. These meetings are called:
- Scope clarification arbitrations
- Pre-proposal conferences or one-on-one meetings (Correct answer)
- Post-award design reviews
- Value engineering workshops
Correct answer: Pre-proposal conferences or one-on-one meetings
Pre-proposal one-on-one meetings allow owners to clarify RFP requirements with each shortlisted team individually, often under confidentiality to protect innovative ideas.
Question 6: Which document, issued after a design-build project is awarded, formally authorizes the design-builder to begin work?
- Letter of Intent (LOI)
- Notice to Proceed (NTP) (Correct answer)
- Certificate of Substantial Completion
- Preliminary Project Assessment
Correct answer: Notice to Proceed (NTP)
The Notice to Proceed (NTP) is the formal written authorization from the owner to the design-builder to commence work on the project.
Question 7: When scoring design-build proposals, weighting technical factors more heavily than price is most appropriate when:
- The project is a simple repetitive building type with well-defined requirements
- The project is complex, innovative, or involves significant technical risk (Correct answer)
- The owner wants to minimize procurement time and cost
- All proposers have identical qualifications and experience
Correct answer: The project is complex, innovative, or involves significant technical risk
High technical weighting is justified for complex or innovative projects where the quality of the proposed approach significantly affects project success.
DBIA Procuring Design-Build Services 4
When evaluating design-build proposals, a technical evaluation panel should ideally: