English |Dutch en | nl
D&C projects in non-residential construction Iv-Bouw Installations Risks Technology

The consultant as a risk-bearing partner?

The building contractor is usually the lead party in calls for tenders for D&C projects in non-residential construction. As in-building installations are becoming an increasingly important part of the work but are not one of the specialisations of a building contractor, the contractor will need support from an installer or consultancy in the tendering phase. Given the impact that installations have on the price and quality of a tender, it is essential for the building contractor to make a good choice when choosing a party to provide support. Erik Vegt, Director of engineering company Iv-Bouw, advocates choosing a consultancy, provided that the consultancy is willing to participate as a risk-bearer. 

'A well thought-out integral design including installation engineering is decisive for the winning tender'

Technology forms an increasingly important element of our buildings. No matter whether a building is an office, school, nursing home, museum, data centre or sports complex – the requirements set for technical installations  are tightening all the time. This is due to the functional requirements but also to sustainability and safety requirements. A winning tender is possible by producing a well-thought out design, with all disciplines optimally harmonised and compliant with all requirements.
 

Responsible for the design

In a D&C tender, the contractor is responsible for the design. It is important for the contractor to get support from parties with whom he can produce a winning tender, but given the design responsibility the contractor also needs to establish cooperation with parties capable of minimising the design risks and sharing the risks. To do this the building contractor can enter into cooperation with one or more consultants and one or more subcontractors (installers). The contractor will then rely on the design capabilities of the consultants and will seek to place as much responsibility as possible to the subcontractors (installers) in the tendering phase. A disadvantage of this structure is that the price becomes unnecessarily high because of a string of risk provisions that all parties concerned must create. Another drawback is that the harmonisation of the design between the parties is often less than perfect because no one party can assume the role of orchestrator.

There is an alternative approach that can eliminate away these disadvantages. It involves the building contractor entering into cooperation in the tendering phase with a multidisciplinary engineering firm that assumes full responsibility for the design and additionally takes complete responsibility for materialising the engineering of the installations.
 

Five conditions the consultancy must meet

1. Knowledge of the specific market concerned
2. Experience of D&C projects
3. In-depth knowledge of installation engineering
4. Willing and able to participate in a risk-bearing way
5. Knowledge of detailed engineering (plan for performing the engineering work)
Would you like to know more about the possibilities for your project? Iv-Bouw satisfies the above criteria in respect of numerous sub-markets (including healthcare, education, offices, data centres and sports complexes) and is willing to participate as a risk-bearer. To learn more, please contact Erik. 
 
We are always on the lookout for new talent. How can you strengthen our team? Working at Iv means working on challenging and varied projects every day. At the office or on location. Check now to see if you can find an exciting challenge within your specialism!