Bridging Method for Construction Project Delivery

What is Bridging in Construction

The Bridging method is a tried and true method for completing construction projects. Bridging is more effective than other methods in protecting the project owner's interests. In a design-build contract, the bridging method places final design and construction responsibility on the contractor. However, unlike a typical design-build contract, the owner is fully protected from the start with all aspects of the design and specifications that are important to the owner, and the owner ends up having an agreement with the contractor to have full design-build responsibility.  All aspects of the design and specifications that are important to the owner are fully protected by the Owner's Design Consultant ("Bridging Architect"), while proposing design-build contractors are free to use their skills and capabilities to provide the owner with the best total price and time of completion proposals.

A properly executed Bridging project's construction price is not only as dependable for the Owner as a price based on final Contract Documents under the traditional Design-Bid-Build method, but it is even more dependable because the Owner's exposure to contractor-initiated change orders due to errors or omissions in the contract documents is greatly reduced. Frequently, change orders result in considerable increases in the ultimate building contract price. Bridging should be considered for every construction project as a cost-effective and efficient form of project delivery that, when done correctly, would save the owner time and money.

Two design firms are involved in the bridging process. The first is under contract with the owner, and its duties extend halfway through the design process. The resulting documents define the aspects of the project that the owner wishes to control; they also provide enough detail to allow the selection of a construction company. The documents allow the contractor to seek alternative construction methods and thus achieve cost savings in construction technology. Following the selection of the contractor, the contractor appoints a second design firm (with approval by the owner). This design firm is hired as a subcontractor by the contractor and is in charge of final construction drawings and specifications. Construction does not start until the construction drawings are completed and all parties agree that the owner's intentions will be carried out.

Advantages

Bridging typically saves money on contract prices and provides the owner with a fixed construction price in about half the time and at half the cost of traditional design. Bridging also significantly reduces:

•        Costs incurred as a result of a change order initiated by the contractor.
•         Claims made against the owner
•         Delays/costs/disputes associated with resolving the ever-present post-construction "bugs."

Bridging also speeds up and smooths out construction, and project acceleration processes work well with it.  All of these advantages for the project owner, on the other hand, can be obtained using Bridging without sacrificing:

•         Possibility to be creative.
•         Control of design.
•         Control over design specifics.
•         Engineering quality.
•         Construction quality

The Bridging Method in Action

Schematic Design: After the program of requirements and budget have been established, and the site has been located, the Owner hires a Design Criteria Consultant (DCC) to complete the schematic design. There will be consultation between the DCC and the engineers. At this stage of the design process, however, few engineering drawings will be included in the DCC's drawings.

Design Development + RFP: The DCC is in charge of preparing the bridging contract agreements, which serve as the foundation for the Owner-Design-Builder agreement. This necessitates a DCC effort at least as comprehensive as an architect's usual design development services; yet, the finished documents will be vastly different because far more architectural design will be done. A combination of performance and design specifications will be prepared by the DCC and its consultant engineers. The bridging contract materials, which also serve as the Request for Proposal, are made up of the DCC's designs and specifications as well as other legal documents. To safeguard the Owner, the design, and the quality of the construction, everything should be thoroughly developed and/or specified by the DCC and incorporated into the DCC's design documentation.

Bid/Negotiation Phase: The Design-Builder submits definite bids, or a firm pricing is negotiated with a chosen Design-Builder. As a Subcontractor, the Design-Builder will use an approved, distinct design professional, or the Design-Builder may be a design-build company. Once satisfactory prices have been received, the Design Builder's design professional is given notice to proceed with the preparation of final comprehensive Construction Documents.

Construction Documents: The DCC oversees the creation of Construction Documents, which are prepared by the design Design-Builder's professional. These are the documents that are commonly referred to as building documents. The DCC examines these documents and reports to the Owner, who handles any concerns that arise as a result of the examination. The DCC, on the other hand, does not authorize these documents. The Contract Documents will be supplemented but not replaced by the Construction Documents prepared by the Design Builder's design professional. If a discrepancy is uncovered later, the Contract Documents will take precedence over the Construction Documents.

Second Step Award: From the standpoint of the Owner, one option to explore is to give the Owner the opportunity to terminate the contract for convenience at the end of the Construction Documents Phase by paying a previously agreed-upon fee for the Construction Documents (with the Owner then owning the documents). This is a crucial safeguard since it preserves the Owner's leverage at this point. It also necessitates the Design-Builder and the design-Design-Builder's expert adhering to contract restrictions.

Construction Phase: The Owner manages the design-build contract, with the DCC or other independent inspectors or testing firms witnessing and reporting on the work in progress. The Design-Builder's design professional inspects shop drawings and files them with the Owner on a regular basis. The DCC's reports to the Owner result in progress payments to the Contractor and retained funds.

Bridging Design-Bid-Build Delivery Method

The procedure of bridging with Design-Bid-Build is well-known in the industry and is logical and well-organized. Before allowing construction to begin, the owner receives a firm price based on all contract documents. The Owner has a direct professional relationship with the Architect and Engineer. Obtaining a sufficiently reliable total price, on the other hand, takes too long and costs the Owner too much. The strategy assumes that architects and engineers have the most knowledge of construction processes and costs, which is not always the case. Assumes that the Contract Documents (final drawings and specifications) are error-free, which is unattainable.

Bridging  Design-Build Delivery Method

The design-build bridging construction method is a two-step process that differs significantly from design-build in two ways. First, the owner hires a separate architect or engineer to set approximately (30-50)% of the project's "design criteria." After receiving proposals from design-build firms based on the design criteria package, the owner hires a design-builder to complete the design and construction. The design criteria package serves as a "bridge" document between the initial project concept and the design-build phase, as the name implies. These bridging documents include enough preliminary drawings and specifications to allow design-build bidders to submit a quick to react bid.

The second distinction between design-build bridging and design-build is in the fee solicitation and contract award criteria. Fees for design-build services are not solicited in the RFQ, and the contract is awarded based on the qualifications-based selection method under the design-build method. Fees and price estimates are solicited in the RFP for design-build services under the design-build bridging technique, and the contract for these services is granted based on the lowest responsive, responsible bidder standard of award.

Bridging  CM-at-Risk Delivery Method

The Contractor CM-at-Risk enters the process early in order to offer costing, timing, and construction method information to the Owner's Architect and Engineers while the design is still being finalized. The contractor is paid a fee and secures subcontractor pricing that are competitive. At one or more phases during the design process, the contractor delivers a "Guaranteed Maximum Price" (GMP). But a GMP based on less than 100 percent full drawings and specifications is not contractually enforceable and can be deceptive to the Owner, just as it is in Design-Build. In many circumstances, a conflict might arise as a result of the CM-at-Risk using the same subs on other projects while also acting as a typical general contractor on other projects. The "finger pointing" problem that plagues Design-Bid-Build is also present with CM-at-Risk.

There is no conflict of interest if the Owner's Design Consultant and an external project Manager are the same firm because the Owner's Design Consultant is not the Architect/Engineer of Record. As a result, the responsibilities of Owner's Design Consultant and project Manager can be played in a variety of ways:

•               Separate Owner's Design Consultant and External Project Manager
•     Owner's Design Consultant in collaboration with Owner's Internal Project Manager
•         The same firm serves as both the external project manager and the owner's design consultant.

Conclusion

The bridging method has detractors because it has the potential to limit the design-build team's inventiveness. Bridging, on the other hand, aids the conventional Owner's transition to the design-build project delivery system by offering an "independent" design criteria consultant and a comfortable scope definition level. As the Owner develops expertise dealing with the dynamics of the design-build process, this strategy may lead to full use of the design-build project delivery system.