This is the second part in a four-part discussion about an upcoming design-build (D-B) case study. Last month, we highlighted the D-B firm's business plan and how it assisted them in being selected to implement a D-B solution for deferred maintenance of this historic building's mechanical and electrical systems. The job, Project X, began with a proposal by the firm to the Building and Maintenance (B&M) committee for a historical building in New England, to complete a facility assessment of the building infrastructure.

When performing a facility assessment, the D-B firm needs to first start with a method of presenting the final report. Before a company sets out to create the solutions, they need to understand what the end product (final report) is going to look like. They need to "paint the picture" for the customer. Doing the building survey and identifying "what's wrong with this picture" is the easy part for D-B engineers. They often will know very quickly what is wrong with the equipment and/or systems based on their years of experience. What the D-B team doesn't know is "How will the customer embrace the proposed solution(s)?"