Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 2: Construction Manager–General Contractor Delivery (2020)

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19 5.1 Introduction This chapter discusses the design phase and presents tools that contribute to design develop- ment. It addresses • CM-GC design process overview and • Design phase contract administration tools. The agency engineer is ultimately responsible for the design. However, the CM-GC process will inform the design phase using the contractor and, potentially, the independent cost estimator’s construction knowledge. The agency, engineer, and CM-GC collaborate as an integrated team. The agency plays a key role in keeping communication channels open during design by providing timely feedback. Design should proceed so as to achieve a safe and functional facility that meets standards and benefits from the efficiency of constructability input. Design plans should provide adequate guidance for construction, rather than for bidding. Design plans should also meet the agency’s as-built requirements. 5.2 Construction Manager–General Contractor Design Process Overview The design phase of a CM-GC project resembles that of a D-B-B project. There is a sepa- rate engineer and contractor, as opposed to D-B when one entity is responsible for completing design and construction. The CM-GC phase is different from D-B-B due to the involvement of the construction manager. The engineer strives to develop a design to optimize the contractor’s means and methods. The engineer can also provide multiple construction contract packages to allow for ordering long-lead items or for phasing construction to shorten the delivery period. The outputs of the design are the design documentation; environmental, utilities, and permit- ting restrictions; and construction work packages. Key activities for the design phase include the following: • Ensure design compliance. – Ensure environmental compliance. – Manage utilities and permits. – Manage right of way and temporary construction easements. – Ensure functional requirements. – Ensure schedule requirements. • Manage work package coordination. • Review design package. • Approve design invoice. C H A P T E R 5 Design Phase Administration

20 Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods • Manage design documentation. • Enact a contract modification, which impacts design. • Negotiate post-design services. 5.3 Design Phase Contract Administration Tools In this phase, the agency seeks to facilitate design development. Agency staff or consulting engineers may perform design. There is a contractual separation of design and construction. The CM-GC does not perform design but provides construction feedback on design. In this phase, agency administration tasks focus on infusing contractor knowledge in design to maximize con- struction efficiency, as well as allocating risk equitably to minimize costs. Agency administration tools should facilitate innovation that achieves project goals while maintaining safety and quality in a cost-effective and timely manner. Agencies have developed design standards to promote consistency and avoid risk. CM-GC project delivery can have alternative project goals (e.g., increasing innovation or accelerat- ing project schedules). When project teams need to promote innovative ideas, they can use 16 Deviations from Agency Standards. This tool allows for innovation beyond the traditional D-B-B design standards but documents any exceptions and the reasoning behind them. By clearly articulating this approach, the design team can focus more easily on project goals and select suitable standards—perhaps from other states—or specifications unique to the project that will meet the agency’s goals. The design team needs to know when to interact with FHWA on federally funded projects. 10 FHWA Involvement Overview clarifies when FHWA staff are invited to meetings and when they are to receive required design documents. Collaboration between the agency, engineer, CM-GC, and FHWA on federally funded projects can be structured and strengthened with 8 CM-GC–Specific Partnering. Partnering can help bring peo- ple together and keep them communicating during the design process. 5 Regulatory Agency Partnering can promote good working relationships between the regulatory agencies and the team during design. This can save time because the parties can review site constraints and design options together before a permit application is prepared and submitted. An 11 Permit Commitment Database can be developed during design to help ensure that commitments made during the design phase are carried out during construction. When jurisdictions, utilities, and other stakeholders are involved, the 4 External Stake- holder Coordination Plan can be implemented so their feedback can be considered in design as early as possible. 19 Public Announcements is a tool to keep the public informed about the project scope, schedule, budget, and how the CM-GC delivery method will benefit the project. Research for this guidebook found that agencies view 9 Continuity of Key Team Members as a tool for project success rather than just a process. Continuity means that the agency, engineer, and CM-GC staff that worked on the project during procurement and alignment continue to work on it during design. These staff members help ensure continuity so that issues that have been decided previously are not discussed again and so that the project understanding that was built during alignment allows the design to proceed smoothly. 6 Co-Location of Key Personnel involves physically locating key team members from the agency, engineer, and CM-GC in a single location. Design can require significant interface CM-GC partnering can go beyond the agency, engineer, and CM-GC to include FHWA and regulatory agencies and to ensure that all stakeholders have input in key design decisions.

Design Phase Administration 21 between many disciplines, and having everyone physically nearby helps facilitate timely com- munication. As design issues are being discussed, decisions need to be made. 20 Delegation of Authority is a tool that puts decision-making authority into the hands of the agency’s engineer in charge of the project. This brings confidence to the team that decisions will be made in a timely manner by people knowledgeable about the project. A number of tools serve to bring relevant team members together during the design process. 12 Discipline Task Force brings together team members from the agency, engineer, and CM-GC to advance design relative to a specific discipline. 15 In-Progress Design Workshops bring together team members from different disciplines so that multiple perspectives and factors can be taken into account during design. In-progress design workshops are meant to develop and discuss design options; however, 17 Over-the-Shoulder Reviews focus on obtaining review comments on a specific design option. To supple- ment agency labor and expertise, some agencies use 13 Independent Party Design Reviews to move the design process forward in a timely manner. The variety of project team members and disciplines reviewing and providing feedback on the design provides a form of quality control. The CM-GC process allows engineers to expedite the design process by focusing on what a single contractor requires for construction. This is opposed to the D-B-B process, where designs must allow for multiple contractors to bid for the plans. However, the agency will need to have a set of as-built plans at the end of the project for asset management. To this end, 14 Plan Standards focus on the content that agencies will need for as-built drawings. Design phase tools are initiated in either the alignment or design phases. Tools for the design phase can help team members understand their roles during the design phase and encourage communication and collaboration. Some of the tools in this phase help move the design process forward while minimizing the need for iteration and rework. Tools to inte- grate feedback during design can facilitate project progress and provide a form of QC. Tools that clarify how to handle deviations from plan standards and agency design standards can help keep the project team focused on project goals and contract requirements. Establishing patterns of strong communication and collaboration during design can support a strong construction phase. Table 5.1 lists the design phase tools. It also includes recommendations for tool use with levels of project size and complexity. The tool descriptions in Appendix A elaborate on the tools and their applicability by project complexity and size. 5.4 Summary The design phase of a project is a collaborative effort between the agency, the engineer, and the CM-GC. This chapter highlighted tools that agencies can use to administer design. Approximately half of the tools for this chapter were initiated in the alignment phase. Therefore, team members should already be familiar with using these tools. The agency will introduce the team to any new tools that begin in the design phase. The primary goal of these tools is to help project participants communicate, document, plan, and execute design efficiently. This list of tools may inspire agencies to develop new tools or adapt some of these tools based on the needs of a particular project or the organizational structure of their agency. Appendix A provides additional information on tools that were generously provided for this guidebook by leading agencies. Schedule acceleration is perhaps the most common CM-GC project goal, so agencies must support an accelerated design process through team-oriented tools.

22 Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods Table 5.1. Summary of construction manager–general contractor design phase tools. Note: = Recommended; = Consider case by case; = Not recommended. Tools for Construction Manager–General Contractor Design Contract Administration Phase Project Complexity Project Size A lig nm en t D es ig n P re co ns tr uc ti on C on st ru ct io n C lo se ou t N on co m pl ex M od er at el y C om pl ex C om pl ex > $5 0 m ill io n Phase 2. Administer Design of Construction Manager–General Contractor Project 4 External Stakeholder Coordination Plan 5 Regulatory Agency Partnering 6 Co-Location of Key Personnel 8 Construction Manager– General Contractor– Specific Partnering 9 Continuity of Team Members 10 FHWA Involvement Overview 11 Permit Commitment Database 12 Discipline Task Force 13 Independent Party Design Review 14 Plan Standards 15 In-Progress Design Workshops 16 Deviations from Agency Standards 17 Over-the-Shoulder Reviews 19 Public Announcements 20 Delegation of Authority $1 0 m ill io n $1 0 m ill io n– $5 0 m ill io n