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Pages 18-24

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From page 18...
... result i n significant gains not only in quality achievement and cost reduction, but in timeliness, which can have considerable intangible as well as tangible value Thus, the discussion which fbllows centers on various design and constru9tion procurement modes having potential application within the mi l i ta ry f a c i l i t i e s procurement system, and on current practices and procedures which tend to inh ib i t the considerat ion of alternate modes and the e f f i c i e n t operation of the design or construction process once mode selection has been made 2 5 1 Procurement of Design and Construction Services Al thou^ the Departments are experimenting wi th , and, m special circumstances, using some of the newer procurement modes, the ma;jonty of mil i tary f a c i l i t i e s s t i l l are acqmred throu£^ the more conventional process of separate sequential contracts fo r design and construction Sequential design and construction procurement is unquestionably the most practicable procurement mode, given the current mil i tary f a c i l i t i e s funding process (authorization and appropriation) Early each year, the mi l i ta ry Departments siibmit their request fo r funds to the Congress fo r f a c i l i t i e s planned for construction during the forthcoming f i sca l year Simultaneously, the mi l i ta ry Departments request funds fo r the planning and design of f a c i l i t i e s fo r which construction funds w i l l be requested one year hence Therefore, design funds usually are available some eigjit or more months i n advance o f construction funding This period generally is used to accomplish design so that construction can begin immediately once funds fo r construct ion are made available This process also provides the opportunity fo r obtaining f i rm estimates of construction costs from f i n a l design drawings before the Congress must act on construction funding The mil i tary Departments are not prevented from using design funds which are s^propnated at the same time as construction funds, however, when this is done i t erodes funds that otherwise would be available fo r planning and design of f a c i l i t i e s to be included m the siibsequent request to the Congress, and the eig^t or more months that could have been used for the design process are lost Most of the alternative procurement modes now available require either simultaneous design and construction funding or funding withm a one-year period Therefore, i f these alternative procurement modes are to be more generally used, the Congress w i l l need to provide the necessary funding f l e x i b i l i t y I t is recognized that separate sequential contracts for design and construction are l ike ly to remain the principal procurement mode for the immediate future Not only is i t compatible with the present funding process, but experience with most other modes of procurement which show promise -- such as phased construction, design/construct, two-step, construction manager, and to ta l cost 59
From page 19...
... bidding ».a.s as yet insuf f ic ien t to permit isolat ion o f those qiplications where superior co? t-effBCtiveness can be adiieved In fac t , some of the alternative procurement modes may not be applicable to certain portions of the mi l i ta ry f a c i l i t y procurement program Eiqpenence xn the private sector, however, indicates that each does have certain advantages when properly applied and I t I S believed that the i r use (or continued use)
From page 20...
... major subcontracts are l e t Therefore, fo r projects where such concerns are important or c r i t i c a l , this procurement method should be given serious consideration However, because the r isk of changes during the construction phase IS greater/than with other procurement modes, close coordination between the architect-engineer and the contractor performing the early work is essential Also, substantial financial commitments may have to be made before f i n a l f ixed costs are known, and subsequent price reduction revisions may be d i f f i c u l t to make Phased construction can be used by the Faci l i ty Procurement Agents as a procurement mode, but so also can i t be used by design/construct contractors or construction managers on behalf of the Agents, and in conjiqiction with other procurement modes When used as the sole procurement mode. I t places a responsibility on the Faci l i t ies Procurement Agent to accept a greater share of the responsibility for construction work scheduling and labor relations -- ' usually the domain o f the general contractor I f this method is to be ef fec t ive , i t is imperative that purchase and expediting services be managed by personnel su f f i c i en t ly competent to minimize potential construction scheduling and labor problems (2)
From page 21...
... judgments must be made, and therefore he must rely heavily on the conpetence of the design/construct team When u t i l i z i n g the design/construct mode, the Faci l i t ies Procurement Agent would be required to ensure that the performance c r i t e r i a presented to the contractor are reasonably detailed, otherwise, the concept presented may not ref lect actual f a c i l i t y objectives I t i s equally important that the Facil i t ies Procurement Agent have some available mechanism for ensuring contractor a b i l i t y and in tegr i ty so as to avoid design solutions which ca l l fo r minimum construction e f f o r t and which meet the performance c r i t e r i a only nominally I f the Agent is not capable o f ensuring both, then use of design/construct procurement should be avoided (3) Two-step Procurement - Hie mi l i ta ry Departments have successfully used two-step procurement on a l imited basis f o r obtaining f a c i l i t i e s such as housing, warehouses, and hangers This approach also is predicated on development of s i i f f i c i en t ly detailed, though not unduly res t r ic t ive , performance c r i t e r i a The f i r s t step consists of development and issuance by the Faci l i t ies Procurement Agent of a request for proposals, subsequent evaluation o f proposals, and i f necessary, discussion with potential bidders, without detailed price information, to determine concept acceptability The proposals siibmitted during this step need not be i n the form of f i n a l design documents but must contain suff ic ient information to demonstrate f u l l understanding of f a c i l i t y objectives and to enable a comprehensive evaluation by the Facil i t ies Procurement Agent Ihose proposers judged responsive are then invited to participate in the second step i n which more complete designs and to t a l cost information are presented, and a contract is awarded Although this technique has been employed principal ly fo r the procurement of complete f a c i l i t i e s or building systems.
From page 22...
... engaging a construction manager f o r a f ixed fee to act as the owner's representative m providing professional management o f the construction process Depending on contractual agreement, the scope of the construction manager's responsibilities can include responsibility fo r coordination between owner and designer i n budget formulat i o n , provision of information on construction tedinology, management of the procurement e f f o r t , supervision o f construction, as well as a wide range of other services i f desired To use this mode successfully, the construction manager must have the expertise and personnel capabilities which correspond to the contract responsibil i t ies, especi.ally m such areas as engineering, budgeting, cost estimat i n g , scheduling, purchasing, inspection, management, and labor relations To be considered qua l i f ied , a construct ion manager should have a history of successful performance m both the management and furnishing of professional services during design The construction manager approach has many of the same advantages as the phased construction and design/construct procurement modes m the sense that coordination o f the design and construction process is optimized In addition. I t can provide fo r a better selection of both architectengineer and construction capabili t ies, because the manager has the ab i l i t y to break out various phases of the construct ion e f f o r t fo r assignment to uniquely qual i f ied people and organizations Because he is not t i ed to the restrictions imposed by use of the t radi t ional design and general contractor services, he can employ such practices as prebidding, separate bidding, and prepackaging of bids fo r subcontracts, thus obtaining a wider involvement of the construction commmity and the advantages of more competit ive bidding on a greater portion of the work Although the construction manager mode can be applied to jobs of any size and type, greatest advantage can be gained m applying i t to major projects and whenever a nunber o f smaller projects can be aggregated for execution under a single responsibility (5)
From page 23...
... service required f o r a t o t a l f a c i l i t y thiougjiout i t s l i f e cycle However, t o t a l cost bidding need not be applied only to the procurement of a complete f a c i l i t y The method can be used f o r procuring major items of equipment or siibsystems which require routine maintenance or periodic replacement Such procurement, which focuses on lowest to t a l net cost ( i n i t i a l purchase price less manufacturer's repurchase guarantee plus manufacturer's operation and repair cost guarantee) , does not res t r ic t competition and permits the owner to better budget annual operating costs As noted previously, many of these alternate procurement modes are part icularly q)
From page 24...
... building-system concept To accomplish the l a t t e r , however, requires (1) a substantial organized market, (2)

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