You don't have to take our word for it alone - a recent study conducted by Fails Management Institute (FMI) projected prosperous times for Design/Build lay ahead. Design/Build is becoming so widely used and depended on, it may soon deliver close to half of all projects in the United States.
Design/Build spending to top $1 trillion between 2018-21
The optimistic future for Design/Build was most recently laid out in FMI's June 2018 "Design-Build Utilization" report. In the document, spending on Design/Build construction nationwide was projected to reach $1.19 trillion during the three year-period between 2018 and 2021. At the end of that window, Design/Build will account for 44 percent of all projects delivered in the U.S., a statistic significantly even higher than the 39 percent seen between 2013 and 2017. By 2021, Design/Build will see a market value of around $320 billion, up from $274 billion in 2018.
Fueling much of the rise in Design/Build is the spending increase in highway/street, manufacturing, and education projects. Design/Build spending is forecast to increase for every project type (including commercial, office, health care, and transportation). Several specific categories will see the highest compound annual growth rates: highway/street (7 percent CAGR between 2018 and 2021), manufacturing (6.6 percent), and education (5.8 percent).
The spending increases on infrastructure and school projects has positive implications for a greater movement across the nation to use Design/Build for more public projects.
Report reveals Design/Build benefits is positively influencing spending
An overarching reason why Design/Build is expected to experience such gains? Project stakeholders prefer it. The FMI report detailed modern owners' needs as a key driver in adoption of alternative delivery methods, primarily Design/Build. Owners in the report said delivery schedule had the greatest influence on their selection for a delivery method, which could help explain the increased use of Design/Build.
FMI also reported owners enjoyed the advantages of Design/Build in large and complex projects, potentially because such projects enable more opportunity to innovate on cost savings. Overall, the trend will lead to greater utilization of Design/Build on project sizes above $25 million, the report noted.
One challenge addressed by FMI was the need for greater education on Design/Build. While the methodology will no doubt pique the interest of more owners and developers, understanding exactly what it is, how it works and what benefits can be derived will be important.
To learn more about the real-life applications and uses of Design/Build, contact Keystone Construction today. A proponent of Design/Build for 30 years, our experience and successful track record can help you become more familiar with Design/Build and how it can be leveraged.