Trends in Quality Management Approaches to Design–Build Transportation Projects

Beyond time and cost savings realized through alternative project delivery methods, the salient question has been whether project quality is degraded by either the speed of design and construction or the owner's loss of direct control. Decisions made in the early phases of a project create impacts that may not be evident until many years after the project commences operation. Research conducted 10 years ago showed that owners assumed the design–build team's qualifications automatically translated into design and construction quality. This study determined whether owners had changed their approach to quality management in design–build projects. Content analysis of 58 bid documents for design–build projects ($13 billion aggregate contract value) issued between 1999 and 2013 by state departments of transportation (DOTs) revealed a noticeable shift in DOTs' dependence on qualifications. Most DOTs are now evaluating competing design–build teams' design and construction quality plans before the award. This finding indicates an increased focus on design quality requirements during the preaward stage and suggests that DOTs are recognizing the importance of design quality in the project's overall quality standard.