Construction Project Delivery Approaches

Choosing a project delivery method plays an important role in the ultimate success of your project. Because each project is unique, there is no one delivery approach that is right for all clients. That’s why we help you find the most cost-effective and efficient solutions to meet your project’s specific requirements. Although we manage a variety of project delivery formats, we believe the following methods offer the best solutions to meet client needs.

Construction Manager-at-Risk (CM@R)

The construction manager acts as a consultant to the owner in the development and design phases to help shape the outcome of a construction project. The CM-at-Risk holds all the contracts with subcontractors and works under a guaranteed maximum price. This delivery method offers a single point of responsibility for the delivery of a project with a high level of control during the design or preconstruction phases. The CM serves as a consultant by focusing on budget development, costs and schedule, and constructability of alternative designs, systems and materials. This method appropriately incorporates construction expertise at a time when it is most useful to the owner and the design team. Team-wide use of technology, as in other delivery methods, is integral to the delivery of successful construction management. Building information modeling (BIM) and virtual design and construction (VDC) centralize information, resolve conflicts between systems prior to construction, and create efficiencies.

Benefits of CM-at-Risk:

• The CM acts as the owner’s agent during preconstruction
• Full preconstruction services available
• Qualification, experience and team-based contractor selection
• Balances excellent owner advocacy with risk assumption by the CM
• Speeds overall project delivery

Construction Manager as Agent (CMA)

With the CM Agency approach, the owner is responsible for procuring and holding all trade contracts for the construction phase, which the CM can coordinate. The design team and the construction manager each act as the owner’s agent in this delivery method. The CM is responsible exclusively to the owner and acts in the owner's interests at every stage of the project. During the preconstruction phase, the CM provides critical input to the design team and owner regarding cost estimates, scheduling, constructability, value engineering and general technical assistance. During construction, the CM oversees subcontractors on behalf of the owner and manages the overall progress, quality and flow of information.

Benefits of CM as Agent:

• Provides design and construction expertise without conflict of interest
• Qualification-based CM selection
• Improved schedule delivery options allowing fast project delivery
• Early budget input/control
• Maximum advocacy for owner

Program Manager (PM)

With this approach, the emphasis is on developing programmatic solutions that extend beyond a single project. This design approach provides great efficiencies, construction and design fee savings, control of quality and scheduling, and fiduciary responsibilities to the owner. The program manager functions as an agent of the owner and establishes budgets, schedules, procedures and policies for an owner’s concurrent corporate or public building programs. Services typically include early program consultation, designer selection guidance, program development, program budgets, infrastructure management, post-occupancy functional review and more.

Benefits of a Program Manager:

• Consistency of management controls
• Leveraged purchasing
• Economies of scale
• Full advocacy for owner
• Flexible and broad scope of services
• Acts as an extension of the owner’s staff

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a new delivery model based on lean construction principles. It adds value through maximizing efficiency and collaboration of all project team members (owner, A/E, builders, trade contractors, facility managers and end users). Owners select team members based on technical expertise and teamwork, forming a truly collaborative environment in which risks and rewards can be shared among team members. IPD also integrates trade contractors’ expertise into the design effort through a competitive and value-based procurement process. This team collaboration results in building designs based on actual equipment and systems, superior constructability reviews, and information prior to construction implementation documents. Team-wide use of technology, as in other delivery methods, is integral to the successful implementation of IPD. Building information modeling (BIM) and virtual design and construction (VDC) methods centralize data collection and dissemination, resolve conflicts between systems prior to construction to reduce risk, and gain efficiencies to the project. Kraus-Anderson also offers a unique hybrid version of IPD that provides many of the same benefits of IPD’s team selection and collaboration through the use of a conventional CM-at-Risk (CM@R) delivery model.

Benefits of IPD:

• Early involvement of key participants
• Collaborative innovation and decision making
• Mutual respect and trust
• Shared risks and rewards
• Open and enhanced communication
• Intensified planning preconstruction management
• Use of computer technology to integrate technical information and improve communications
• Optimizes effectiveness and efficiency throughout project life cycle
• Continuous process improvement

Design-Build (DB)

Design-Build method provides a single-source responsibility for all services for planning, design, constructing and commissioning of a project. Using criteria prepared by the owner, design and construction teams are selected to provide project development. The design-build team then develops drawings that fulfill the owner’s criteria and provides the owner with a single fixed fee for design and construction. The team receives proposals from the subcontractor and assumes responsibility for project delivery.

Benefits of Design-Build:

• Single point of responsibility for design and construction
• Integrated design and construction results in faster schedule outcomes
• Early identification of guaranteed cost