Survey Reveals Water Utilities Turning to Alternative Delivery Methods

March 25, 2009
R.W. Beck survey shows utilities benefiting from design-build and design-build-operate methods

R.W. Beck’s second Alternative Project Delivery (APD) survey of water and wastewater utilities nationwide shows the utilization of alternative delivery contracting methods are an efficient and cost-effective means of procuring and developing their infrastructure projects. Utilities and municipalities responsible for new or upgraded infrastructure can benefit from design-build and design-build-operate methods, which are increasingly pursued compared to traditional design-bid-build methods.

“Alternative delivery methods can be delivered affordably and with a shorter timeline while owners offset risks onto a single design-build contractor,” says Steve Gates, R. W. Beck senior vice president and principal author of the firm’s survey team. Furthermore, owners who have used design-build contracting express very high satisfaction with it in the survey, he said.

Key points of interest include statistics of the time and cost savings associated with APD, its growing industry familiarity and the rate of owner satisfaction using APD methods.

“The benefits of alternative delivery are real in any economy,” Gates said. “But as today’s project owners face greater accountabilities to deliver taxpayer-funded water and wastewater infrastructure, APD offers a real path to both efficiency and success.”

For more information about the latest survey results, contact Steve Gates at [email protected].

Source: R.W. Beck

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