design-build
Learn about our innovative approach to engineering and construction.
TERREX ENGINEERING & CONStRUCTION
Our General Approach
The Design-Build process of project delivery requires that all engineering and construction documents (plans, drawings and specifications) be completed by in-house professionals that include senior engineering managers, project engineers, CAD designers, and senior construction managers. The overall process also requires that all site construction be completed by a partnering general contractor that is an integral part of the Design-Build team from the early stages of project planning through the preparation of construction documents through the completion of all site construction.
The Terrex-General Contractor project team of skilled and experienced professionals readily takes on the responsibility of assuring that any given Design-Build project is completed within expected deadlines and within critical budgets. Our entire project team actively reviews and endorses all project construction drawings throughout the ongoing preparation process. This process guarantees that all site-related issues that may pose a threat to project schedules and budgets, are thoroughly addressed during the overall project design effort and well before the start of any site construction.
Project Delivery Options & Advantages
The Design-Build approach has been proven to significantly decrease additional project costs due to unforeseen site conditions in addition to errors and omissions by both the design engineer and general contractor. The Design-Build method of project delivery also allows for the “fast-tracking” of any given project by eliminating significant amounts of wasted management and administrative time that is always associated with the more orthodox “Design-Bid-Build” method of project delivery.
"design-build" vs "Design-bid-build" approach to project delivery
Traditionally, the vast majority of all transportation, infrastructure and pavement-related projects are delivered (completed) via a “Design-Bid-Build” (DBB) model where the design engineer represents a project owner during the entire design and construction management phases of a given project. Consulting engineering firms and contractors alike are rigidly structured and managed to conduct business in accordance with the aforementioned DBB model. Although it can certainly be argued that said model, or process, is the “tried and true” way to go for most land development or public works-related projects, there are any number of problems with DBB projects that have very significant and negative impacts on a project’s successful outcome for any number of reasons or issues. The bottom line is that, in the DBB model, contractors are typically motivated to maximize profits with only token, or marginal regard for the project owner’s best interests.
As is the case more often than not, an owner’s only safeguard against excessive project budget overruns, extended work completion deadlines, and poor construction, in addition to potential large and unacceptable legal and/or arbitration costs, is the construction management skills of the project design engineer; which may or may not be up to the challenge of dealing with a bad contractor who just happened to be the project’s low bidder.
The crux of the above-referenced problem is that the project engineer and general contractor are, by necessity, contractual adversaries with only marginal motivation to work as a team with common objectives to work toward a uniformly successful and cost-effective project.
A Design-Build (DB) model, or approach toward project delivery, eliminates a very high percentage of costly and waste of time project issues. A DB model allows for a quality project delivered on time and within budget by simply recognizing that it is in the short and long-term best interests of all parties involved with either a public works or land development project regardless of size and complexity, to develop a mutually rewarding working relationship.
The advantages of Design-Build
The project owner has the advantage of working with a “pre-qualified” general contractor as selected by the Design-Build engineer. Accordingly, the owner is assured that the project general contractor has extensive and proven experience with the construction of critical utility and pavement components of a challenging public works or land development project. This approach to a given project’s scope of work allows an owner to have heightened confidence knowing that a contractor is on the job focused on quality of work, as opposed to making up what was left “on the table” by a low bidder.
The role of each DB partner (owner, engineer and contractor) are better defined within binding project agreements allowing for productive good faith negotiations that are focused on quality project outcomes taking advantage of the experience and expertise of all parties involved.
It has been proven by numerous engineering and construction case studies that the DB method of project delivery allows for the near complete elimination of contractor change order claims that result in excessive project cost overruns that threaten project profitability. These claims are significantly eliminated by replacing the prototypical competitive low bid contractor selection process with a deliberate and systematic process by which the owner, engineer and general contractor are all heavily involved with a given project’s development, planning, design and eventual construction.
By utilizing the DB method of project delivery, the quality of all project engineering and construction, with extremely few exceptions, will meet and exceed any owner’s expectations even for the most complex of public works and land development projects. Terrex and its partnering general contractor have the proven experience with all aspects of public works and land development projects that is second to none within the extended inter-mountain region.
Better Quality
By utilizing the DB method of project delivery, the quality of all project engineering and construction, with extremely few exceptions, will meet and exceed any owner’s expectations even for the most complex of land development projects.
Faster Completion
Project schedules and critical deadlines are better adhered to for the simple fact that all the DB players have a thorough understanding of the complexities of a given project that otherwise would threaten critical construction deadlines and schedules.
Cost-Effective
When all parties carefully and systematically assess the unexpected excessive cost elements of a given project, there are very few unpleasant surprises during a project’s construction and very few reasons to escalate the final project cost.
