- Accountability for the entire project – By engaging the builder to deliver the complete project, one team only is accountable for all components of your project – concept to completion. That includes how much the project costs, how long it takes to complete, and how it looks in the end. When the same group is responsible for the design and the build, the design phase tends to pay closer consideration to costs and scheduling, which helps reduce costs. Only one entity is held accountable if problems occur thus, eliminating owner liability for design and construction issues.
- One point of contact – From concept to completion, all the design and construction needs are handled through one source. Instead of back and forth communication between the architect/owner and owner/contractor, it is now streamlined to a single point of contact. With traditional contracting, the owner has to seek each company separately. The architect and the builder have no connection until the plans are placed up for bids. Owner serves as mediator for any design and construction issues that occur for each party
- Speed up the process – One of the main benefits for engaging the builder first is the time savings. While the traditional method of preparing 100% complete detailed design documentation before awarding the construction contract has its distinct advantages, the process is often exhausting and time-consuming. Design and construct by comparison allows the construction tender to be let as early as the project brief can be defined and concept designs drafted. In turn, the builder is able to begin preliminary works and start construction sooner, perhaps even before the design is fully completed.
- Reduce the project risk – In traditional contracting methods where the client is responsible for completing the design, the Client is also responsible for the risk of design errors or omissions made by the design team. Another benefit of design and construct is the ability to contractually assign that responsibility, and therefore the risk, to the design and construct builder
- Innovate your build – Much like architects and engineers are the experts in their respective fields of design, builders are the experts at construction and harbour a wealth of knowledge when it comes to constructability, new building materials and the latest construction technologies. The design and construct approach enables the client to bring another valuable specialist, the builder, to the design table to ensure that construction innovation is incorporated into the project.
- Specialist construction knowledge – From project management principles, we know that the ability to influence a project is at its greatest at the start of the project life-cycle. Introducing a professional builder during the project’s inception can ensure that “buildability”, construction sequencing, material selection and other specialist construction knowledge can be incorporated in the project planning phase
- Cost planning certainty – A key benefit of engaging a design and construct builder is the ability to share in their cost planning skills accumulated from previous project experience, historical benchmarks and industry rates. Likely cost increases occur during the design phase because designers do not have access to construction costs. This could cause project delays if the construction documents must be recreated to reduce costs.