Infrastructure & Public Works Blog : San Francisco Infrastructure Lawyer & Attorney : Hanson Bridgett Law Firm : Public Works Construction : Sacramento, Marin County, Northern California

On October 22 and 23, 2009, the Harvard Graduate School of Business and Graduate School of Design jointly sponsored a symposium on Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). IPD is a project delivery method where all of the key participants (owner, contractor, designer and key subcontractors) are engaged at project commencement to collaboratively design, develop and execute the project. Participants’ compensation is based on overall project outcome, measured against an agreed target cost, and liability within the IPD group is waived or greatly reduced. IPD has produced exceptional results in healthcare, and more recently, in a range of commercial and institutional projects.

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In a word, yes.  Most public agencies are required to award their public works construction projects to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.  Failure to comply with public bidding requirements can result in a legal ruling which can void the contract.  However, there are also a variety of alternative project delivery methods (design-build, construction manager at-risk, job order contracting, public-private partnerships, lease lease-back etc.) that are available for select public agencies to use for qualifying projects.  The difficulty is that the statutes which authorize these alternative project delivery methods are not organized in any logical fashion.  I recently prepared a paper summarizing the main alternative project delivery methods available to public agencies in California, with a chart at the end that provides statutory references.  The paper was included with the materials at the Integrated Project Delivery Seminar Series.  In addition, the paper was included with the materials at the Lean in Public Sector Construction Projects Workshop and served as the basis for a presentation I gave on the topic.  You can view a copy of the paper by clicking here. 

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Governor Schwarzenegger recently announced a plan to promote public-private partnerships in order to meet California’s long-term infrastructure needs. (See Los Angeles Times article.) Public-private partnerships are contractual agreements which are formed between public agencies and one or more private companies whereby the private company finances, builds and manages public facilities for a specified period of time.

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Earlier this month, the American Institute of Architects California Council ("AIACC") and the American Institute of Architects ("AIA") jointly published a comprehensive new guide to Integrated Project Delivery methods.  The document is entitled "Integrated Project Delivery: A Guide," and can be downloaded here.  The Guide marks an exciting step forward in the development of Integrated Project Delivery concepts and making IPD a viable alternative for the construction industry.   

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At the AIA National Convention in San Antonio on May 2, the AIA California Council issued an intriguing working definition of "Integrated Project Delivery."  The goal of Integrated Project Delivery is to approach construction projects in a more collaborative way, taking advantage of technological tools such as Building Information Modeling.  Click here to view the document published by the AIACC. 

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The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) recently issued the version 1.0 draft of the National Building Information Modeling Standard (National BIM Standard).  The National BIM Standard has been in the works for over four years, and is a collaboration between over 30 subject matter experts throughout the capital facilities industry.  An industry review and comment period is now in effect until May 21, 2007.  

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Building Information Modeling (BIM) utilizes computer technology to represent building structures and systems in terms of functional, as well as graphical attributes.  This technology may some day change the nature of collaboration between design professionals and contractors on construction projects.  This article examines the benefits and challenges of implementing Building Information Modeling.  Click here for the full article in adobe PDF format.

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Pursuant to three separate bills, the state legislature expanded existing statutory authority to award construction contracts on a design-build basis to apply to more cities and counties as of January 1, 2006. In each case, the duration of the statutory design-build authority was extended to the year 2011, and the dollar threshold was lowered to $2.5 million per project for counties. Following is a short summary of the bills:

·        AB 1329 (Wolk): This bill added section 20175 to the Public Contract Code, and authorizes cities in the counties of Solano and Yolo to award construction contracts on a design-build basis. The authority only applies to buildings and directly related improvements, and does not apply to streets, highways, public rail transit, or water resources facilities and infrastructure. The statute has a sunset provision for the year 2011.

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http://www.bart.gov/about/projects/oacnews.asp

On February 13, 2006, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (“BART”) issued an advanced notice of a Request for Qualifications for the design, build, finance, operation and maintenance of a three-mile connector railway between the existing Coliseum BART station to the Oakland International Airport.

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