D
Publish and Present
Keith Abraham
Project Director
Nigel Nixon and Partners, Inc.
Bromsgrove, England, United Kingdom
Nigel Nixon, P.E.
Chairman
Nigel Nixon and Partners, Inc.
Wallingford, England, United Kingdom
This presentation will highlight the advantages of Design Build procurement, the different role plays of the port designer from that of traditional procurement, importance of appropriate Owner Requirements, form of contract and bid evaluation process. Design Build allows the Designers the opportunity to increase their skill set to design more cost efficiently, incorporate innovation, adopt alternative and safer build methods and to meet tighter Contractors’ schedules. Owner’s Representatives need to have skills beyond those of traditional cost consultants and project managers to ensure that the Owner’s Requirements are being met and complied with. The Owner’s Representative is the first responder to a client providing independent valued advice rather than a design centric response that could be otherwise given by the Owner’s own design team. Risk identification, assessment and valuation is key to enable a Contractor to provide a cost certain delivery. Reference to an exemplar case study project is made, demonstrating faster, a more efficient and less costly delivery process while maintaining highest quality with minimal work changes. This case study comprises a new Container Yard, delivered for a major shipping line as part of a 30-year lease contract with a major US Port Authority. How standard conditions of design and build contracts can be adapted to best achieve cost certain delivery, information ownership to reduce Owner risk and early partnering with a selected Contractor are all discussed. How limiting the bid list yields best cost-effective design approach while not compromising any audit checks on market pricing. Comparing traditional procurement with EPC procurement will also be addressed highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of both processes. Finally, the Paper will address issues surrounding Contractor selection. Lessons learnt from experiences in adopting this form of procurement in other parts of the world will also be included highlighting the dos and don’ts.