Coordination of Design Contract with Construction Manager-at-Risk Preconstruction Service Contract

A recent NCHRP study found that seven state departments of transportation (DOTs) have some type of experience using construction manager-at-risk [(CMR), also termed construction manager general contractor (CM-GC)] project delivery. This project delivery method's major advantage was observed to lie in the collaboration between the designer and the builder during the preconstruction phase, which was found to reduce delivery time and project costs. Preconstruction collaboration does not happen automatically in CMR project delivery. To be effective, the requirement to collaborate must be included in both the design and preconstruction services contracts. This paper reports on changes to DOT design contracts successfully employed in CMR transportation projects. It concludes that an agency's standard design services contract must be modified to coordinate directly with the CMR preconstruction services contract to maximize the benefits associated with this project delivery method.