A Study On Problems And Approaches In Design-Build Delivery Method Application

As the traditional design-bid-build delivery method is inadequate to meet the demands and challenges of the changing world, the alternate design-build delivery method has been increasingly adopted in many developed countries due to its evident advantages, such as single-point responsibility, shortening time, leading contractors to keep on technological upgrading. Although Design-build has been frequently adopted by procuring entities in foreign countries, it is rarely seen in domestic procurement for the reason of not having common consensus on certain key issues. The aim of this research is to combine the design-build delivery method theory with the condition of Chinese construction industry to pave the way for application. This research has studied on three issues as follows:1, Design an organization format for Design-build contractor. There are four organization formats for DB contractors in the world. Every form has its advantage and disadvantage. In China, we cannot simply choose one of them to apply. The construction market condition is quite different from foreign countries'. So how to become the DB contractor is the most important question for both large-scale construction company and consultant firm. Also, Medim and small firms will have to choose between expanding to be a bigger firm or managing as a professional subcontractor.2, Design the Design-build contractor selection procedure(tendering procedures) and the evaluation criteria. Contracts are fundamental to any project, and selection of the main construction contractor is a critical and vital task. In traditional delivery method clients are normally constrained to select lowest bidder for contracting. But it is not suitable for DB contractor selection. The correct choice of a DB contractor is contributing significantly to the overall success of the design-build project, ideally resulting in a "win-win" environment for both the client and the design-build team. So we facilitate a formulation of a basic contractor selection model as the guideline for owners using prequalification process and two-phase bid evalutionin which leads to the most valuable bid in the long term.3, Investigate the current market and policy environment for DB delivery method application. We study on the market demand, barriers to entry, law and regulation policy to get full vision of DB market environment. As a result, we know that it is bacially suitable for DB procurement application but there are also some pitfalls such as law contradiction and lack of adequate DB contractors. This part of study gives the potential impacts of Design-Build delivery method on business strategy of the companies and the industry structure in China. It also enables the public sectors to resort to the proper means to promote the DB procurement application.