Water Design-Build Council Blog

One of the many overlooked benefits of collaborative delivery is the flexibility offered through the various approaches. In particular, utility and government agencies with limited resources for water infrastructure projects are finding that collaborative approaches such as progressive design-build delivery give them more flexibility to optimize not only the price, but also the overall result and experience for the owner agency and its ratepayers. In the recent article published in Water Innovations, and included in Water Online’s e-newsletter, “Collaborative Approaches that Deliver Flexibility” features a comparison of conventional delivery to various forms of collaborative delivery, with a focus on flexibility. Of the many benefits, adding more flexibility to how projects are evaluated, planned, designed, and ultimately delivered can help fill the gap between available and needed resources. Because every project or program has different drivers, stakeholder interests, and project conditions, rigidly adhering to a single approach for program or project delivery limits both the effectiveness of a solution and the value of the solution for ratepayers. Water system owners have an opportunity to become more flexible through collaborative delivery models, allowing owners to make best-value solution decisions through increased flexibility and improved information. These models offer varying degrees of flexibility and carry associated benefits as well as challenges. But in each case, flexibility is provided through collaborative behavior.  

Embracing collaboration, a key initiative promoted by the Water Design-Build Council, is much more than just a concept. Through the WDBC’s 12 years of existence, we have experienced a dramatic shift in delivery models. Whereas design-build and CMAR were considered “alternatives” just a few years ago, they are now the “go to” delivery tools for owners across the country. The reason? The benefits of true collaboration are showing how success can be achieved.

As I sit at the airport in Minneapolis reflecting on the week's events at the DBIA Water/Wastewater conference, I can't help but think about how much fun we have as an industry.

This piece was originally published here on April 1, 2016.

 As the final weeks of being President of the Water Design Build Council conclude in 2015, I stand amazed by what we have accomplished within the very spirit of collaboration that is design build.  Over the past year, the Water Design-Build Council has held true to its mission:

The outlook for progress in the water infrastructure industry looks very bright; and Black & Veatch's 2015 Strategic Directions Report further confirms that collaborative delivery models such as design-build and construction management-at-risk are at the forefront of making it become a reality. 

This report, which surveyed 454 qualified utility, municipal, commercial, and community stakeholders, more than half of which responding were utilities, found that they were either currently using, or already considering the use of, design-build as part of the delivery strategy to implement their capital programs.

As I reflect on this year's DBIA conference, I was encouraged by the dialogue between owners and practitioners during the General Session “Finding Common Ground Through Best Practices.” The open and candid discussion centered heavily on the key role owner's advisors (OA) and owner's engineers (OE) play during the life cycle of the project, from procurement planning through delivery and startup.