An exploration of team integration in design-bid-build projects

A recent large sample study of project delivery in the United States (U.S.) concluded that more integrated teams led both directly and indirectly to more successful construction projects. Concurrent with this U.S. study, construction projects in Spain were surveyed using the same data collection questionnaire. While the sample size of participating projects in Spain was not as large as the U.S. and targeted only design-bid-build (DBB) deliveries, there were notable differences in the levels of team integration between the two data sets. Comparable DBB projects in Spain had significantly fewer team members participating in high-quality, multidisciplinary interactions than their U.S. counterparts. However, they relied on greater use of qualifications and experience in selection. DBB projects from the U.S. and Spain data sets are compared, with respect to their use, and proportion, of the team participating in: design charrettes, joint goal-setting, building information modeling (BIM) and construction phase co-location. To further explore these differences, we also examine how DBB delivery is implemented in the U.S. and Spain. While it was discovered that Spanish DBB projects did use some tools to increase team integration, the findings of this comparison suggest that the Spanish industry could improve team integration by: (1) incorporating earlier construction team involvement; (2) promoting cost transparency with open book construction contracts that transition to a lump sum near the completion of the project, and (3) encouraging the designer and contractors to use BIM throughout the project.