The Water Design-Build Council (WDBC) has announced the release of its third edition of its Municipal Water Design-Build Handbook, now available online.
With a new section on Design-Build-Operate, this updated and expanded version continues to provide readers with an overview of important factors to consider in implementing water and wastewater infrastructure projects using the various delivery methods of Design-Build (DB), Construction Management at-Risk (CMAR) and Design-Build-Operate (DBO).
One of the more important features of the 2013 version is the new terminology advocated for use in the water industry. No longer are terms such as ?alternative? or ?traditional? project delivery used in this document. WDBC now urges all industry members to focus on, and use the term, ?collaborative? process. The reason for this change is that in reality, the practice of design-build delivery is a collaborative approach for water projects; and after over 20 years of application, it is no longer an ?alternative? method.
Similarly, the term ?design-bid-build? is no longer a ?traditional? delivery method. DBB is only one of the many options that water industry owners have available to them for use in implementing their infrastructure projects, which does not have the same level of collaboration as design-build.
The contents of the updated Handbook also include references to ?Best Practices,? provide industry guidance for both owners and practitioners, and address the following topics:
- Understanding the Basics of Design-Build and CMAR for water infrastructure projects
- The spectrum of project delivery methods and key factors to use in the decision-making process
- Planning for a Design-Build or CMAR project and determining the best method for a particular water infrastructure project
- The major steps in the procurement process for Design-Build and CMAR projects
- Risk allocation in Design-Build and CMAR projects and understanding the basic allocation principles
- Management an oversight of Design-Build and CMAR contracts
- The final steps of a project, start-up and commissioning, project acceptance and transitioning to owner operations
- The key components to implementing a Design-Build- Operate project
- An appendix highlighting award winning Design-Build, CMAR and DBO water infrastructure projects
