North Carolina Creating New Culture For Road Projects

By Mary Buckner Powers

	(Photo courtesy of NCDOT)

North Carolina Dept. of Transportation officials are working to revolutionize their design-bid-build process. They are making major changes to their bread-and-butter delivery system by incorporating lessons learned from design-build to construct projects more quickly and more efficiently.

Department officials stress that most state transportation projects, which are relatively small, will continue to be procured through traditional methods but that they are working to capitalize on the innovations and positive elements of design-build by incorporating them into traditional contracts. "With the right emphasis, the state can develop a process for design-bid-build projects that will result in more assured costs and schedule," says Steven DeWitt, NCDOT’s director of construction. "We know there is a better way out there."

NCDOT has plenty of experience with both delivery systems. It has awarded $1.2 billion in contracts per year for the last few years. Most have gone design-bid-build. But it also has awarded 16 design-build contracts worth $663 million since 1998, when the state legislature first approved use of the integrated delivery method. And it plans to award another $193 million in the second half of 2005, followed by another $136 million in 2006.

To improve its contracting process, NCDOT has established an Alternative Delivery Systems Section. New contracting methods now are in the conceptual stage but they will mirror the design-build process in certain ways, says DeWitt. Shortlisting, constructibility, innovation, quality assurance and better environmental management are high on the list.

NCDOT contract delivery is being speeded. (Photo © 2004 Brian Dressler Photography)

The new ADS section includes groups for design-build, value management and alternative contracts, which is a breeding ground for new types of contract delivery systems, says Rodger Rochelle, who manages the section as its chief engineer. "We need people dedicated to the program to find the lessons learned from design-build and to keep track of what’s good, what’s bad and what can be transferred to conventional projects," he says.

Rochelle is putting together a group of nine engineers to mirror a private design-build team. It includes experts in hydraulics, bridges, roadways and traffic control. They are becoming a self sufficient group that can handle scoping, establish contracts and deal with submittal and constructibility problems, just like a private design-build team, Rochelle says.

Opportunity Knocks

Shortlisting is one of the strongest design-build elements that can be incorporated into traditional contracting. "Stronger prequalification programs may be the most critical of all of the lessons that have been reinforced through the success of design-build," says DeWitt. And contractors agree. "It allows us to use innovation to make a project more constructible and speed them up," says Drew Johnson, vice president of the heavy highway division at Barnhill Contracting, Tarboro, N.C.

But the changes don’t stop there. The state has a list of changes it wants to make in the design-bid-build process but incorporating them remains a problem because not all alternatives are applicable to all projects. The department’s challenge is to establish criteria for deciding which things work best for which projects and then develop menu models that can be used by the agency and the contractors. "The challenge is trying to get people to understand the benefits of these changes and to get them to try new things," DeWitt says.

One of the first chances NCDOT had to incorporate design-build principles on a traditional job was an emergency repair, still under way, of Interstate 40 near Asheville where a rockslide caused a portion of the highway to slide down a hill. "We wanted to use local contractors but we wanted to use a prequalified geotechnical specialist," says Rochelle.

NCDOT put together a design-build geotechnical package and selected a best- value proposal. "We told the local contractors that we would make a low-bid selection but they would have to incorporate the geotechnical contractor we selected and its plans into the bid," Rochelle says. NCDOT calls the method a design-build contract "nested" in a low-bid contract.

One of the benefits is that NCDOT was able to use local contractors and a specialty design within existing procedures. The contracting process worked well but still needs refining Rochelle says. The main weakness is the risk of selecting a specialty contractor that does not finish its work on time. "We are working through some of those issues," he says.

Design-build procedures were used to prequalify geotechnical specialist on I-40 rockslide.

NCDOT also inserted design-build practices into a design-bid-build project that involved very complex traffic issues. "We gave the contractors a full set of plans, signed and sealed, but we left traffic control and phasing up to them," say Rochelle. It was very similar to a bid-plus-technical proposal type contract. Rochelle says the department had a concept of how to deal with the traffic, but the contractor’s method of dealing with it was very different. "The department was taking a guess. But why should we do that when the contractor can tell us what’s best for him," Rochelle says. LPA Group, Columbia, S.C., ended up saving NCDOT 16 months on the job because it designed the traffic flow rather than state designers says Elam Frazam, vice president of LPA’s design-build and construction services.

On another project with a traffic control issue, NCDOT traffic control designers said that there was no way that the job could be done without closing a ramp, says Rochelle. His group told the design-build contractor that they were not permitted to close the ramp. "They found a solution," he says. Rochelle’s group now will take the design-builder’s plan back to department traffic officials so that they can see how the design-builder solved the problem. "We have to be diplomatic, but most people are happy to learn new ways," he says.

Another innovation on Rochelle’s list came on a design-build project where the north and southbound lanes of an Interstate needed to be expanded over a roadway. Rather than widen the dual Interstate bridges, the design-builder lowered the grade of the Interstate and built a flyover for the secondary road. Building the roadway over the Interstate was quicker, safer and required fewer bridges, says Rochelle. Design-builders generally build bridges a little differently, he says. They reduce the number of spans and add retaining walls at the ends of the bridge to make them shorter. "It makes for more rapidly constructible bridges," he says.

Some lessons are paying off. Officials from Blyth Construction, Charlotte, which is part of the Hubbard Group, Orlando, say that NCDOT was open to its plan to divide one of its projects into more manageable segments, which allowed the company to work at its own pace. "NCDOT has given us the opportunity to bring innovation and ideas to the table," says Brian Webb, Blyth’s construction manager.

While integrating their new procedures, Rochelle and his group learned that NCDOT designers are not as current as others on technological developments. In the past, NCDOT has been very prescriptive about its intelligent transportation system requirements he says. Once his group realized that design-builders are more up to date on cutting-edge technology, it began to rely on the private sector to find the best technology.

Another important lesson that Rochelle’s group learned is that design-builders find problems and ambiguities in the state’s design manuals and standard drawings much faster than designers hired by NCDOT. "They are much more vocal about the problems," says Rochelle. His group now tracks the ambiguities that design-builders find. "It’s important to us that we make the changes in the manuals and the drawings so the problems won’t come up again," he says.

	Environmental permitting procedures are streamlined using design-build lessons learned.

Utility relocation is a good example and another big hurdle for DOT’s because a large percentage of projects are delayed because of it, says Rochelle. But after watching design-builders smoothly handle utilities, NCDOT is taking the same approach. "We offer utilities incentives to do what they promise, when they promise it," he says.

The ADS team also has learned to think beyond its traditional methods by working with design-builders on their approach to an environmental permitting problem. NCDOT learned late that it would need an environmental permit on an I-77 project. "Normally, we would delay the bid until we got the permits. Instead, we told the design-build teams to design [the project] as normal and to prepare the necessary documents for a permit or to design it to negate the need for a permit. We let the economics dictate," says Rochelle.

All of the teams designed the project to eliminate the need for a permit. "We saved 15% on the cost and avoided a full construction season just by avoiding the permit," says Rochelle. Ordinarily, NCDOT would have thought it was necessary to go through the normal permitting procedures, says Rochelle. "The permit alone would have taken a year and a half to acquire."

NCDOT also has learned to handle interaction with environmental agencies in a less formal manner by watching design-builders at work. Rather than seeking environmental concurrence through large formal gatherings of 20 people, Rochelle’s group holds informal three-person meetings to iron out problems. These are the types of techniques that are being tracked in the hope of applying them to design-bid-build. "We are taking out bureaucratic steps here and there," he says.

Working Together

In the NCDOT world, each design unit does their piece of the puzzle but it is not until the contractor gets the job that anyone looks at the big picture, says Rochelle. "Maybe our design is less expensive, but as part of the bigger picture it might make the project more expensive or take longer," he says.

As an example, Rochelle says NCDOT may design a narrow bridge but a design-builder might make it wider, which may increase upfront costs but expedite the project and save money in the long run. NCDOT now has upfront external reviews by contractors of its designs so they can advise the design team on potential time and cost saving measures. "We see that a lot of what we’ve done in our design-build jobs for NCDOT has been incorporated into their own methods," says Wayne Moody, HDR’s transportation section manager for the Carolinas. "The department has shown a willingness to take the lessons learned from one job and carry them forward to the next one."

One thing they all learned is that design-build teams move quickly so the NCDOT design-build team also is training to act with equal speed. "We don’t wait two weeks for a response any more. We pick up the phone and say ‘can we meet tomorrow,’" Rochelle says. That approach has raised the bar for other groups within NCDOT, creating a culture of efficiency.

To save time, Rochelle’s group has learned to review contracts only to meet state requirements and safety standards. "We’re not checking the exact numbers anymore. If a contractor made a calculation error on the amount of concrete needed for the project, it’s not our problem," he says. Reducing analysis allows NCDOT to return documents to contractors within 10 business days. "Outside of the design-build group, it can take 30 to 40 days," Rochelle says. Now, the traditional department group is beginning to move more quickly as well, he says.

Rochelle says he also has had to learn to let go of his control over the details of the projects. "The design is sealed by a P.E., I have to realize that he’s as good as I am. I’ll check what I have to check, but I won’t check the details," he says.

NCDOT learned that teamwork produces quick, cost effective and quality projects. (Photo courtesy of NCDOT)

The department even learns from design-build proposals that it does not use. It pays a stipend for proposals from short-listed teams that are not selected and studies them to look for ideas. "It may not have been viable for that project but it may be for one down the road. So we save it and implement it later," Rochelle says.

"NCDOT is trying to think outside the box and is open to changes that reduce costs. It has made officials and contractors feel more comfortable about changes and alternative designs," says Barnhill’s Johnson.

Word of the efficiency of the new methods now is circulating throughout the agency. "Folks are starting to come to us and are asking about our successes," says Rochelle. The group plans to publish a newsletter and develop a Website with periodic reports on lessons learned.

A critical reason for the success is that the NCDOT support runs all the way up to Secretary of Transportation Lyndo Tippett, says Rochelle. Ultimately the most important change within the department is in the people. Rochelle no longer will tolerate an attitude of "it’s not my job." He expects his people to understand that they are all working toward a common public goal and that joint efforts promote efficiency and higher quality work. "We are all working together to get the quality we expect," he says.

Click here for features archives >>