"Emperor Joseph II:
My dear man...your work is ingenious. It's quality work... there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few...
Mozart:
Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?
From the film, "Amadeus, by Peter Shaffer, 1984"
The "traditional" method of bidding for both design and construction costs historically leave owners with cost overruns, broken schedules, and a compromised final outcome to their projects.
The design firms and builders who are low-bid winners have to find justifiable ways to recoup and protect profit. One contractor even made this shrewd observation: Contractors don’t make money on change orders; they simply make up for what they should have quoted on their bid but they didn’t, because winning the bid is the object of the game.
The design-bid-build systemis broken and ineffective. Bidding leads to cutting corners. The project team is a shotgun marriage of convenience, and the so-called teammates end up working against each other. Consequently, projects come in over budget, over schedule, and under quality.
What's the alternative? Negotiate based on a trusted, non-adversarial relationship. This is much easier said than done. It requires all parties to initial "test" each other, gain experience working together, and be creative in the development of design and construction solutions. Owners also have to be "enlightened" that such a project delivery approach is in their best interests. All parties will benefit from working together in this manner, so give it a try.
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