Construction Delivery Methods in the United States Air Force

Construction Delivery Methods in the United States Air Force
Author: Isaak Gerard Giefer
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019
Genre:
ISBN:

This report analyzes construction delivery method use in the United States Air Force (USAF) and determines which methods prove to be more effective and efficient and which construction delivery methods should be pursued. The construction delivery methods undergoing analysis are design-bid-build (DBB), design-build (DB), construction manager at risk (CMAR), and integrated project delivery (IPD). A literary review of previous studies on the aforementioned construction delivery methods, particularly regarding studies performed within the United States (US) federal government and US military branches is presented. The benefits for each construction delivery method is discussed, as well as the common obstacles and problems with each one. A survey was conducted in which 145 contracting officers in the USAF responded, and the survey results are analyzed and compared to those found in the literary reviews. Two major conclusions drawn from the literary review and survey are that DB should be used over DBB in most cases, and IPD should be examined as a viable USAF construction delivery method candidate. With the literary review, DB is seen as superior to DBB in almost every regard, and the surveyed contracting personnel tended to favor DB over other construction delivery methods. For higher complexity or large projects DBB can offer more control but sacrifices timeliness. IPD has data that suggests it can be a construction delivery method that is better than DB and DBB but currently cannot legally be used for USAF construction contracts because the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) restricts it. DB should be defaulted to as the go to construction delivery method if the project is a viable candidate and there are not extenuating factors that suggest another method be used. It should be explored what parts of IPD can be implemented for now, while larger legislative changes to the FAR are made at the congressional level.

Design Build Project Delivery in the Air Force Reserve Command

Design Build Project Delivery in the Air Force Reserve Command
Author: Kathleen Richardson
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2009
Genre: Construction projects
ISBN:

Design Build is rapidly becoming one of the most commonly used project delivery methods in the construction industry. The United States Corp of Engineers (USACE) has started implementing its own version of Design Build with the introduction of Military Transformation in April 2005. Per the Department of the Army (2008) Military Transformation is a term employed by the Corps to implement the use of alternate project delivery method as a means of achieving best value. The United States Air Force (AF) and the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) are expected to establish a target of 75% of all future Military Construction Projects (MILCONs) executed when using the Design Build method. The use of this delivery method results in significant changes to the relationships between the various parties associated with facility project delivery compared to the traditional Design Bid Build method. AFRC construction project procedures and requirements must also change.

An Investigation of the Application of the Design/Build Method to Military Construction Program Projects

An Investigation of the Application of the Design/Build Method to Military Construction Program Projects
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 101
Release: 1989
Genre:
ISBN:

In recent years, Air Force senior Leadership has become concerned with the use of the conventional design-bid-construct acquisition process for Military Construction Program (MILCON) projects. The process is slow and often very expensive. In an effort to improve the MILCON process, the Air Force has been testing the design/build acquisition method. This case study examines the design/build method used by three private sector contracting firms, and looks at the results of the application of the design/build method to two Air Force MILCON projects. The research objectives were to study the steps involved in the design/build methods used in the private sector and compare them to the method used by the Air Force and to determine if the method was effective if reducing the time and costs required for MILCON projects. The results showed that the design/build method used by private sector firms is effective in reducing the time required to construct a facility. However, the cost of constructing a facility using design/build can actually be higher than if it were built using the conventional method.

The Performance of the Design-build Alternative Delivery Approach in Military Construction

The Performance of the Design-build Alternative Delivery Approach in Military Construction
Author: Allan Lee Webster
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1997
Genre:
ISBN:

The U.S. construction industry is highly competitive, as well as fragmented. Despite this, construction has a significant impact on the U.S. economy. In 1994, the National Science and Technology Council estimated that the industry provided over 10 million jobs and produced $850 billion in project revenues (new construction and renovation) or approximately 13% of the gross domestic product (Wright, 1995). Unfortunately, the industry has been in a long downward slide and has only recently begun to recover. The problems of the U.S. construction industry in previous decades have been well documented, discussed and analyzed. Historically, the construction industry is slow to change (Schriener, 1995). In recent decades, the fluctuation in the building market, specialization, dissatisfaction with the traditional design-bid-build process, rising costs, schedule delays, demands for higher quality and increasing litigation have forced those in the construction industry to adapt or be driven out of business. Additionally, owners who do not tolerate poor quality and high costs within their own firm cannot and will not tolerate poor business practices within the construction industry. A quote from a 1983 study by the Business Roundtable perhaps best sums up the problems of the construction industry: 'Owners, who pay the bills, no longer get their money's worth for construction in the United States' (p. 3). Alternate delivery/contracting methods, modernization, value engineering, partnering and more aggressive management practices have come to the forefront as the construction industry attempts to counter its decline. For example, the design-build delivery approach has fast become an accepted project methodology. The U.S. Department of Commerce predicts that design-build will account for half of all nonresidential U.S. construction by 2001 (Rosenbaum 1995).