General contracting

In the 'General contracting' model, the client first contracts with the designer/architect to create the project and tender documents. Then, the client and architect request bids from different general contractors based on the tender documents, which contain all relevant project information. The client then selects the contractor with the lowest bid or after further negotiations. In this approach, the client has limited involvement in the process and the selection of specialized contractors or suppliers.

Benefits and insights:

1. The Design-Bid-Build model has few advantages over other forms of collaboration, except for projects where the client is legally required to use this method or is highly experienced in contracting construction services.

2. For this project delivery method, it is crucial that the client provides a clear project description to the designers who create well-coordinated construction documents for bidders.

3. The "Design-Bid-Build" model is most successful when the project team demonstrates excellent communication skills and well-coordinated contract documents. This method also benefits from a pre-qualified, selected list of bidding contractors who have expertise.

4. The client takes on more risk with this method of project delivery, particularly when there is a large pool of bidding contractors.