Article: Rethinking and Recalibrating Design-Build

by David J. Hatem, PC
December 2020

For a PDF version of the article, click here

In the last 18 months, the signs and signals, if not alarms, that something is seriously veering off the tracks in Design-Build (“DB”) delivery on major public infrastructure projects have become increasingly evident by comments and actions of a number of diverse and important constituencies in the construction, design and insurance industries.  The root causes of many of the negative experiences and trends on those DB projects arise out of certain Owner procurement and contractual practices that are adversely,

“Fixed Price Affects Engineers Too!” David Hatem Published in Latest Engineering News-Record

In his letter to the editor, David discusses how a previously written article, “Fixing Construction’s Fixed-Price Condundrum,” highlighting that fixed-price procurement used on design-build and P3 projects negatively impacts contractors, has major significance for design professionals as well. David argues that liability issues arising for architects and engineers working on projects with design-build and P3 delivery methods with fixed-price procurement combined with increased unreasonable and imbalanced contractual risk allocation will render these project delivery methods unsustainable.