Photo courtesy DBIA
The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) and the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) have released a report showing challenges and solutions in project delivery from the perspective of federal owners.
The report is a summary of an open discussion and brainstorming session between various leaders in federal project delivery, which the organizations co-hosted.
“While the forum was open to discussion as it relates to all project delivery, design-build project delivery immediately surfaced as something that works well when properly executed,” said Lisa Washington, DBIA’s executive director and CEO. “The owners at the forum discussed early knowledge of costs and appropriate allocation of risk as the two main advantages of design-build. Further, there was a large discussion on the critical role of procurement professionals—especially contracting officers—in unleashing innovation and creating better projects. For this reason, we will be hosting a similar forum in the near future, featuring only contracting officers in order to develop further recommendations.”
Brig. Gen. Joe Schroedel, SAME executive director, said by bringing together leaders from 11 different federal agencies, the forum was able to provide a broad assessment of the issues the government—working with industries—faces in delivering projects benefiting the nation.
“From budget constraints to agency-staff turnover to inconsistently defined requirements, neither government nor industry can solve these and other complex challenges alone,” Schroedel explained. “True industry-government collaboration focused on developing solutions, along with establishing the right tools, people, and processes will be essential to successful project delivery in the federal marketplace.”
In addition, the report summarizes discussions related to each area and describes proposed solutions. In some instances, the solution lies with the federal agency and other times with collaborative change.
