Aug. 7, 2015 -- The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) has recognized the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati's (MSDGC) Oakley Separation Sewer Project in the Water/Wastewater category for exemplary collaboration and integration in the design-build project delivery method. DBIA also nominated the District for a National Award of Excellence.
The $12.2-million project, which included a half-mile of 60- and 72-inch storm pipes and near-surface sewer pipes, not only came in ahead of schedule and under budget, but well ahead of MSDGC's Consent Decree compliance deadline as well. Construction wrapped up just 15 months after the notice to proceed; the District saved more than $3.3 million, or about 25 percent.
The Oakley project design team relied on expertise from MSDGC, Brown and Caldwell, Ulliman Schutte Construction LLC, IBI Group, and Midwest Mole. Opening the door to a design-build approach expedited the project's completion, quickly eliminated two combined sewer overflows and reduced the cost of the District's capital projects.
"To win a National Design-Build Project/Team Award, projects must not only achieve budget and schedule goals, but also demonstrate advanced and innovative application of design-build best practices," said Lisa Washington, CAE, Executive Director/CEO of DBIA. "Your winning project showcased how the project team went above and beyond achieving cost, schedule and quality goals, demonstrating unique applications of design-build best practices to raise the industry's bar even higher."
Brown and Caldwell Project Director Stephen Gates added, "This prestigious award is high praise for the excellent collaboration of the project team. The District is being recognized for its leadership in completing the first infrastructure project in the state using design-build contracting under Ohio Construction Reform -- significantly reducing project costs and helping to expedite completion of a critical economic development project."
Weekly meetings, close coordination and flexibility allowed the design team to wrap up the project without affecting the city's critical economic development. This project's success surpassed all expectations in terms of solution optimization, collaboration, flexibility, risk allocation/sharing, quality, delivery time, cost savings, impact to stakeholders, partnering, and teamwork.
"Community relations remained very strong throughout the project, resulting in extraordinarily positive feedback," Ali Bahar, principal engineer with MSDGC, said. "The project was revolutionary for us, because it proved that the proper application of collaborative delivery systems can yield tremendous benefits. This project's success has proven the benefits of a design-build approach."
See also:
"Ohio water district to improve asset management with new technology"
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