CEMP-E
TI 800-03
1 July 1998
d. The Government's responsibility is to review the Design-Build contractor's design for
compliance with the RFP. Review for compliance is normally limited to the RFP technical
specifications and accepted proposal requirements. The Project Criteria Approach determines
the extent of design and other requirements provided in the RFP technical specifications by
the Government. The number of reviews, percentage of completion for review, and the design
detail expected at each submittal must be determined as part of the Project Criteria Approach.
The Government must specify in the RFP the submittal requirements for the Design-Build
contractor's design.
1-6. KEY POINTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM THIS INSTRUCTION. The following are
important points that should be obtained from this instruction in order to ensure quality and
provide a successful project with the Design-Build Acquisition process.
a. When using the D-B process, a "corporate approach " should be used for project
execution from design directive to project completion. With this process, engineering will not
hand off a completed design to contracting for an advertisement, nor will contracting hand off
the contract to construction with little or no engineering involvement after award. Each
organizational element will stay involved in the project at all times.
b. After a contract award, the D-B contractor is fully responsible for his own design and
construction and is liable for its faults. The Government should not place itself in an approval
position unless there are critical designs such as energy feeds, heating, ventilating and air-
conditioning (HVAC), energy budget limitations, utility monitoring and control systems (UMCS)
preparation, electronic security systems (ESS), etc., in which the Government wants to share
the risk in design with the D-B contractor.
c. The team of Design Criteria Professionals is an essential part of the overall corporate
approach and should remain involved in the D-B project from inception to project completion.
d. The Management Team should decide the project criteria approach during
acquisition planning. The goal is to provide a balance between the RFP and the proposal
development which provides the Government and the D-B contractor a clear, mutual
understanding of the contractually required end-product.
e. Any condition or element absolutely essential to the project must be stated in the
RFP. The D-B contractor is only required to meet the minimum requirements of the RFP and
his or her accepted proposal. The D-B contractor may elect to increase his or her technical
evaluation advantage or conform to engineering and construction practices and standards that
exceed the minimum requirements contained in the RFP. If the D-B contractor does propose
higher quality or standards than the minimum requirements in the RFP, those standards will
become part of the contract. The RFP should make it clear as to what advantage an offeror
may gain (if any), by adding enhancements or innovative features in the proposal, or by
conforming to higher engineering practices and standards than as specified in the RFP. The
Design Criteria Professionals and other members of the Management Team are then
responsible for reviewing the contractor's design to verify compliance with the combined RFP
and accepted proposal. Reviewers should avoid making review comments requiring features
or conformance to standards outside the requirements of the RFP and the accepted proposal.
If the Corps of Engineers and customer requirements are not clearly defined and required in
1-6
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