Design/build process is a term used to describe The Lundy Group’s method of building construction. The Lundy Group, as developer, serves as the principal-in-charge of the project and hires the general contractor and architect. A building design cannot be finalized until the team is assembled and the design/build process begins. This directly involves The Client in the selection of team members and the major decisions as to pricing, cost-benefit value engineering, and final selections. The contractor is hired independently from the architect and reports to Lundy. Conflicts are resolved through our team building process and management. The core team is then composed of four basic members:
1. The Lundy Group, developer
2. The Client, client
3. The mutually selected Project Architect
4. The mutually selected Contractor
Our approach is to first assemble the architect, The Client, the contractor and ourselves in order to review the program and outline the basic elements of the building. Many aspects of a basic building have been listed in the following pages. We can suggest certain elements that we believe will result in the highest flexibility, and the greatest cost/benefit to The Client. After review and modification by The Client, the proposed building elements will be summarized and developed into a design package by the architect.
Once completed, the drawings and specifications will be given to several subcontractors in each trade group. These subcontractors will respond by proposing their team, their initial pricing, and why they feel they should be chosen. In their team proposal, they will be asked to submit their design engineers, installation team and their maintenance team for service after completion. The subcontractor’s team will include HVAC, structural and steel, plumbing, electrical and interior upfitting. As the project design proceeds, additional team members such as landscaping, interior finishes, and others will be added.
The selection of a team of contractor and subcontractors involves the usual financial and performance review as well as intangible aspects like personal chemistry and the ability to work together. The analysis is then straightforward in its financial review, but also subjective, based on the intangible aspects of people’s relationships. The following weighting criteria have worked well for us in the past. This criteria or weighting provides some format for selecting the right team. The criteria are:
? 65% of the total selection criteria is based on the team pricing of the schematic design. Each contractor has its own unique method of reviewing, pricing, and proposing their costs. The important goal at this time is to achieve a commitment to the process, to the value engineering yet to come, and to the evidence of appropriate pricing margins of profits and changes.
? 15% of the selection criteria is based on the design of the individual subcontractors for their specific trades. When we provide schematic drawings, each subcontractor or major trade will be asked to respond with their review of the schematic design and propose their individual trade design in greater detail.
For example, the mechanical systems could be initially designed as gas/electric combined rooftop units, one per floor, oversized 20% in excess of standard design criteria. The mechanical subcontractor would be asked to review this, propose manufacturers, alternative designs should they feel it would be more cost effective (and why they think this is so) and how they would actually install and maintain their proposed system.
? 5% of the selection criteria is based on the contractor and subcontractor background, experience, as well as proof of their ability to perform. The contractors most prevalently used by The Lundy Group have built many facilities of this size and can demonstrate substantial experience.
? 15% of the selection criteria is based on the subjective aspects of people’s relationships, chemistry, and demonstrated commitment to our process. The important aspects of this involve their flexibility, their trust in the concept and team, their willingness to be open about their pricing and profits, their willingness to accept change and value engineering, their relationship with the municipality, and their proposed individuals.
This process asks that each major proposed team member meet and evaluate the individuals who will actually be working the job because this is where the relationships will mean the difference between success and failure.
The basic design will be reviewed in team meetings to be held at least weekly, during which time each subcontractor team member will submit its design, pricing, and value engineering for review. Through this process three important events will occur:
1. Each team member will have the opportunity to see each other’s designs and have an opportunity to have input. One example of this in one building is that by moving a rooftop HVAC unit over one column, we saved $15,000 in structural steel costs. Through iterations of design, we end up with systems that each team member has designed, so they can install them without conflict with other systems or elements.
2. At all times, The Client will be involved in the governing decisions. You will have the opportunity to be there when designs are presented, to know why the design was proposed and how savings can be passed on if alternatives are accepted.
3. The costs of all aspects will be known at all times. Selection of savings or value engineering can translate directly into reduced rental rates or can be traded off for higher quality/costs or additions in other areas.
A preliminary schedule was submitted in our initial proposal under Project Description. The time periods are reasonable and can be met, but only with the commitment of each team member.
What The Client gets out of this process, and the principal advantage of selecting this approach, can be summarized as follows:
1. Involvement in all aspects of design, pricing — all of the decisions that will affect the flexibility of the building and its use to The Client.
2. Complete understanding and agreement of all cost/benefit value engineering tradeoffs so that savings are either used for improvement in other areas of the project or are passed through in lower rental rates.
3. Control over the destiny of all aspects of the financing, costs, structure, and evolvement of the partnership.
4. Recipient of a building as if it were an owner?occupied, totally dedicated project.
From the initial design and permitting, the design team continues to meet weekly on the job site. These weekly meetings are for resolving problems that arise on the job, such as two trades trying to install their work in the same space, or any lacking details of assembly or design, etc. This is also a forum for the exchange of ideas during which the trades, the people actually doing the work, participate. They do this in order to give ideas on how to do their jobs better, cleaner, more quickly, or with fewer materials. This usually results in work
that the laborers like to take part in because it is what they know best and what they do best, resulting in the greatest quality of work.
As additional trades are needed, the appropriate workers are brought into the process. The landscaping design is started almost immediately. The installation of underground conduits for the irrigation occurs at the same time as the plumbing. This relieves the normal circumstance of the irrigation people digging around a completed site and hitting other buried cables or pipes. This also allows for the site work to be done in a manner that gives the landscaper the best starting point. We form a total team with one objective — the project.
As the project reaches completion, the trades begin to reduce their workload and transition to the maintenance required on their systems. We require that the trade that designs and installs a system also provide the maintenance for that system. It falls under the simple concept that if they designed it and installed it, the system should work without breakdown. This full service concept helps ensure proper design and installation if the trade knows they will have to be responsible for it after completion.
At the end of construction, a formal tour of the property is begun. This results in a “punch list” or list of remaining or corrective work. This list is updated weekly and sorted by trade so that each trade knows exactly what they need to do to complete their work. Final payments are withheld until this entire list is completed.