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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 3: Research Overview. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25692.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 3: Research Overview. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25692.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 3: Research Overview. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25692.
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1 The use of alternative contracting methods (ACMs) has accelerated the delivery of high- way design and construction projects. These changes came about through efforts of FHWA and state transportation agencies over the last 30 years. Early successes on large, high-profile projects—such as the I-15 in Utah, the Intercounty Connector in Maryland, and the Sellwood Bridge in Oregon—resulted in shorter project delivery times with less disruption to the traveling public. Thus, many agencies were motivated to implement ACM projects, and the use of ACMs is increasingly becoming commonplace. Although these early examples were relatively large, ACM is not only applicable to large projects. Recent data show that almost half of the state highway agencies are routinely using ACMs on projects less than $20 million in value (Alleman et al. 2015, Alleman et al. 2017). The impact of FHWA and state agencies’ innovative efforts should not be underestimated. The development of ACMs—such as design–build (D-B) and construction manager–general contractor (CM-GC)—required significant procedural and cultural changes on the part of agency staff, as well as on the part of the consulting and construction industries. Therefore, it is not surprising that state agency ACM manuals and national research efforts focused on the early project phases; namely, procurement and project delivery method decisions. A review of current ACM manuals reveals only a few manuals that addressed contract administration processes in detail, with the New York State Department of Transportation (New York State DOT) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Minnesota DOT) being two of the best examples. Similarly, AASHTO’s Recommended AASHTO Design–Build Procurement Guide and the Guidebook for Construction Manager/General Contractor Contracting for Highway Projects focused on setting projects up for success by concentrating mostly on the pre-award phases of the process. This research addressed the need for national guidance on ACM post-award contract administration by producing the following guidebooks: • NCHRP Research Report 939: Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 1: Design–Build Delivery and • NCHRP Research Report 939: Guidebook for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 2: Construction Manager– General Contractor Delivery. These guidebooks provide the necessary methods and tools to help state agencies better administer D-B and CM-GC contracts on highway construction projects. This research report documents the rigorous process followed to produce these two guidebooks. C H A P T E R 1 Introduction

2 Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods 1.1 Problem Statement The objective of this research was to produce two practitioner guidebooks in AASHTO for- mat based on the identification and analysis of the tools utilized on a range of ACM projects for post-award contract administration of D-B and CM-GC projects. The primary research question these guidebooks addressed was “What are the most effective tools for post-award contract administration of D-B and CM-GC projects?” As previously mentioned, the majority of existing ACM manuals focused on the procurement phase, highlighting a post-award gap and presenting a tremendous opportunity to study and document post-award phases. The goal of these guidebooks was to focus on the following phases: • Alignment, • Design, • Preconstruction Services (CM-GC only), • Construction, and • Project Closeout. 1.2 Research Objectives The research team developed the following six distinct objectives to accomplish the goal of developing two guidebooks for D-B and CM-GC contract administration: 1. Present the most effective tools for post-award contract administration for D-B and CM-GC projects. 2. Identify tools for different complexities and sizes of D-B and CM-GC projects. 3. Describe effective tools to implement project design and construction quality assurance. 4. Highlight critical elements of pre-award services contracts and procurement documents that address and mitigate risks in post-award contract administration. 5. Identify and contrast different strategies for post-award contract administration of D-B and CM-GC projects. 6. Recommend implementation strategies and training for parties involved in post-award contract administration of D-B and CM-GC projects. 1.3 Research Framework and Scope of Work The overall research framework stemmed from (1) a rigorous identification of the research components through state-of-practice reviews and case studies, (2) a peer-review process that measured contract administration tool effectiveness, and (3) a tested approach to combine all of these critical components into comprehensive and agency-friendly guidebooks. By using these guidebooks, agency personnel will be able to develop programs and select the most effective ACM contract administration tools on the basis of project type and complexity. The objectives of this research were accomplished through the following nine distinct tasks: Task 1a. Review State-of-Practice—Identify, critically review, assess, and summarize agen- cies’ current applications and key products of relevant research on post-award ACM contract administration, with a focus on tools and processes used by various agencies. Task 1b. Select Projects—Apply a methodologically rigorous approach to select 30 diverse D-B and CM-GC projects. Task 1c. Develop Contract Administration Integrated Definition Process Models— Develop a series of integrated definition process models to define the ACM contract administration process at an appropriate level for data collection and to aid in laying out the AASHTO guidebooks.

Introduction 3 Task 2. Develop a Draft Framework for ACM Administration—Combine the Task 1a, 1b, and 1c findings into a coherent organizational framework that clarified roles, responsi- bilities, and tools for CM-GC and D-B contract administration processes. Task 3. Develop an Interim Report—Present the NCHRP project panel with a comprehensive report of the findings and description of the processes. Task 4. Conduct Project Case Studies—Use a multiple case study approach to analyze, summarize, and document methods and tools in use by state agencies on the projects identified in Task 1b. Task 5. Evaluate and Calibrate Tools’ Effectiveness—Conduct peer review panel testing of the framework to map ACM tools’ effectiveness on various project types. Task 6. Develop Guidebooks and Testing—Test guidebooks with an independent expert panel and state agency project teams. Task 7. Develop Implementation Memo—Develop a PowerPoint training outline and an executive summary. Task 8. Finalize Guidebooks—Develop guidebooks with effective tools and data gathered from all previous tasks and NCHRP project panel guidance. Task 9. Finalize Research Report—Document the research process and findings. 1.4 Report Outline This research report describes the steps taken by the research team to develop the final guidebooks for D-B and CM-GC post-award contract administration and to accomplish the previously described objectives and tasks. The outline of this research report is as follows: • Chapter 1. Introduction – Discusses the background, objectives, and research method • Chapter 2. State of the Practice – Presents the state-of-practice results • Chapter 3. Update to the AASHTO Guide for Design–Build Procurement – Identifies examples of D-B contract provisions used to update the existing AASHTO Guide for Design–Build Procurement • Chapter 4. Modeling the Contract Administration Process – Presents the integrated definition models for design–bid–build (D-B-B), CM-GC, and D-B created to define the contract administration phases • Chapter 5. Case Study Project Selection – Presents the process used to identify and select case studies • Chapter 6. Case Study Interview Protocol – Presents the method used to conduct the case study interviews • Chapter 7. Agency Contract Administration Tools – Presents the processes used to identify, select, develop, and test the agency contract administration tools • Chapter 8. Guidebook Development and Testing – Presents the steps taken to develop and test the final guidebooks • Chapter 9. Conclusions and Recommendations – Presents the results of this research and recommends future research • References and Bibliography • Appendices – Appendix A: Alternative Contracting Methods State Legislation and Manuals – Appendix B: Case Study Summaries – Appendix C: AASHTO Guide for Design–Build Procurement Provision Updates

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Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 3: Research Overview Get This Book
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The use of alternative contracting methods (ACMs) has accelerated the delivery of highway design and construction projects. These changes came about through efforts of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state agencies over the last 30 years.

The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 939: Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 3: Research Overview provides the necessary methods and tools to help state agencies better administer Design–Build (D-B) and construction manager–general contractor (CM-GC) contracts on highway construction projects.

This Research Report documents the rigorous process followed to produce these two Guidebooks.

Vol. 1, on design-build delivery, and Vol. 2, on construction manager–general contractor delivery, are also available.

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