Will the traditional project delivery method be replaced by a new alternative approach – the progressive design-build method?

Background

The most widely used project delivery method in Québec is the “traditional” approach, in which the services of the lowest cost compliant general contractor are retained based on the drawings and specifications prepared in advance by the client and its professionals. 

In the past few years, clients have increasingly been moving away from the traditional method in favour of alternative project delivery methods due to the advantages they afford: stronger collaboration between project stakeholders, better allocation of risks and fewer disputes, to name but a few. 

The most frequently seen alternative, the “design-build” method, has the distinctive feature of entrusting the design services to a design-builder, which acts both as designer and builder. The fact that the design builder is responsible for the design helps limit constructability issues and problems with coordinating the drawings and specifications of various trades.

However, there are certain disadvantages to the procurement processes that lead up to the award of a design build contract. These include: 

• Proponents have to invest considerable resources to develop a preliminary work design just so they can file a proposal. The compensation offered to unsuccessful proponents generally does not cover all of the costs incurred; 
• The possibility for proponents to propose innovative solutions is often limited by numerous technical requirements and the absence of an effective two-way dialogue during the proposal process; 
• Add to this the rule requiring that the contract be awarded to the lowest compliant proponent, which tend to deprive the client of any added value the design-builder might have to offer. 

In light of these inconveniences, a new project delivery method is emerging in the market – the progressive design-build (PDB) method.  

How the PDB method works

The PDB method is based on the premise that the best value for the project will be achieved by allowing the design-builder to draw on its expertise, experience and creativity right from the design phase.

The procurement process of the PDB method has four (4) main steps:

Advantages of the PDB method

The advantages that the PDB method provides to both the design-builder and the client include:

• The project is “de-risked” by promoting a stronger and more open collaboration between the design builder and the client and allowing for a better distribution of the project’s risks;
• The financial risk is reduced for the client, which *who”? benefits from the services of a design-builder without being required to financially commit itself from the outset under  a construction contract; 
• The costs and risks inherent to the procurement process are reduced to the proponents’ benefit, which has the effect of increasing the private sector’s interest in public projects; and 
• The creativity of design-builders is promoted, and the project’s value is maximized as early as in the work’s design phase. 

Conclusion

Although the PDB delivery method is starting to spread in British Columbia and the United States, it has not yet made its way to the rest of Canada and Québec. One variant of this concept developed by Defence Construction Canada does, however, exist in Québec – the modified design-build mode that is currently used in the fighter squadron facility project in Bagotville.

The PDB method is not an option for all public-sector clients – at least not for the time being – due to the regulatory framework that governs public contracts in Québec. Our current rules favors that lump sum construction contracts be awarded to the proponent having proposed the lowest price. The PDB method is an option in the private sector, however. 

Finally, the PDB method is an interesting solution in Québec for clients that are looking for a more flexible procurement process and wish to better maximize their project’s value, especially in a context of labour shortage where it is in the stakeholders interests to work together to better allocate and control the risks associated with completing large projects.