Myth Exposed? Public Agency Staff Cutbacks with Design Build

In February, during our monthly telephone conference, we continued our Division 4 Literature Review, with  “The Impacts of Design-Build on the Public Workforce,” authored by Douglas R. Gransberg and Keith Molenaar.  The article examined the validity of concerns raised in California that using Design-Build (“DB”) to deliver public infrastructure projects might result in staff cutbacks and erosion of capabilities within the California Department of Transportation.

The article analyzed the use of DB on public infrastructure projects in other jurisdictions to conclude that DB would not result in staff cutbacks within the California Department of Transportation.  The article determined that wider use of DB on California public infrastructure projects would result in the saving of millions of dollars by eliminating a second procurement process, and also result in increased certainty of project costs because of the likely reduction in change orders.

The article then analyzed some of the concerns commonly raised against using DB and determined that those concerns were not justified.  Specifically, the article determined that using DB on public projects does not compromise the quality of design, does not result in poor construction management practices, and does not result in the loss of skills and expertise needed by the public agency to carry out their essential in-house functions.

The article suggests that DB should be used as a delivery model for infrastructure projects. The article reached the following specific conclusions:

(1)        DB is a proven project delivery tool that promises faster project delivery, increased cost certainty and comparable quality;

(2)        The concern that DB will eliminate jobs for public engineers appears unfounded (just the opposite);

(3)        Implementing DB does not mean DOT’s will stop using the traditional design bid build method;

(4)        DB requires a well qualified public staff and requires them to exercise even more engineering judgment; and

(5)        The use of DB does not reduce the work load of public staff, but may result in a change of their role.

Perceptions die hard and it will be interesting to determine how much DB will be used on public infrastructure projects in California and other states over the coming years.

Joel Rhiner