Course Introduction
Design-build project delivery integrates design and construction responsibilities within a coordinated contractual and management framework, creating opportunities for faster delivery, improved constructability, stronger collaboration, and clearer accountability. However, the model also introduces distinctive challenges involving design development, performance requirements, contractor responsibility, client decisions, technical interfaces, risk allocation, cost certainty, and change management.
This course provides a comprehensive framework for managing design-build projects from project definition and procurement through design development, construction, commissioning, handover, and closeout. Participants will examine the principles that distinguish design-build from traditional delivery models and learn how to structure project management practices around integrated design and construction responsibilities.
Participants will develop practical skills in defining employer requirements, performance specifications, project scope, design criteria, deliverables, responsibilities, approval processes, schedules, budgets, procurement strategies, and project controls. The course places particular emphasis on managing design development within a construction-oriented environment while maintaining control over requirements, quality, cost, schedule, and constructability.
The programme also addresses commercial and contractual aspects of design-build delivery, including contractor selection, risk allocation, design responsibility, warranties, performance requirements, variations, claims, extensions of time, payment mechanisms, design liability, and dispute avoidance. Participants will explore how contract provisions and project management practices can work together to create appropriate incentives and reduce delivery uncertainty.
Design-build projects are increasingly influenced by digital engineering, Building Information Modelling, modular construction, sustainability requirements, climate resilience, supply-chain disruption, advanced construction technologies, and evolving procurement practices. The course therefore examines emerging approaches for improving design coordination, constructability, collaboration, information management, quality assurance, and lifecycle value.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to plan and manage design-build projects more effectively, establish clear requirements and governance arrangements, coordinate design and construction activities, manage contractor performance, control cost and schedule, address contractual and technical risks, and support successful commissioning and handover. The course is designed to strengthen practical project management capability across infrastructure, buildings, industrial facilities, utilities, and other design-build environments.
Duration
5 days
Who Should Attend
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Design-build project managers and project directors
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Engineering and design managers
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Construction managers and site managers
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Architects and engineering consultants
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Project engineers and technical leads
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Procurement and contract management professionals
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Commercial managers and quantity surveyors
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Project controls and planning specialists
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Cost engineers and financial project controllers
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Risk management and project assurance professionals
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Client representatives and owner’s project managers
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Public infrastructure and capital project professionals
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Contractors and design-build delivery teams
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Quality assurance and quality-control professionals
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Commissioning and handover specialists
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Project management office professionals
Course Objectives
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Develop a comprehensive understanding of design-build project management principles, delivery structures, responsibilities, lifecycle requirements, and differences from traditional project delivery models.
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Equip participants with practical methods for defining employer requirements, performance specifications, design criteria, project objectives, scope boundaries, deliverables, and acceptance requirements.
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Strengthen participants’ ability to coordinate integrated design and construction activities while maintaining control over technical requirements, constructability, cost, schedule, quality, and project interfaces.
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Develop practical skills for establishing design-build project execution plans, work breakdown structures, schedules, budgets, resource plans, governance arrangements, reporting systems, and project controls.
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Enhance participants’ understanding of design-build procurement and contractor selection, including evaluation criteria, technical proposals, commercial assessments, risk allocation, and collaborative delivery arrangements.
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Strengthen the ability to manage design responsibility, technical reviews, approvals, design changes, design liability, document control, constructability, value engineering, and engineering interfaces.
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Develop practical capabilities for managing design-build costs, schedules, variations, claims, extensions of time, payment milestones, performance guarantees, contingencies, and commercial risks.
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Improve participants’ ability to identify and manage technical, contractual, construction, procurement, stakeholder, environmental, safety, quality, and supply-chain risks throughout design-build implementation.
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Equip participants to establish effective performance monitoring and reporting systems covering design progress, construction progress, cost, schedule, quality, risk, changes, procurement, safety, and contractual performance.
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Prepare participants to apply emerging design-build approaches involving Building Information Modelling, digital twins, modularisation, prefabrication, artificial intelligence, sustainable design, and lifecycle-oriented project delivery.
Comprehensive Course Outline
Module 1: Foundations of Design-Build Project Management
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Understanding the design-build delivery model, its defining characteristics, contractual structure, integrated responsibilities, benefits, limitations, and application across different project types.
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Comparing design-build with traditional design-bid-build, EPC, EPCM, construction management, alliance, and public-private partnership delivery approaches.
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Examining the design-build project lifecycle from project definition and procurement through design, construction, commissioning, handover, and closeout.
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Identifying common design-build challenges including unclear requirements, design changes, contractor coordination, client decisions, cost uncertainty, interface issues, and performance disputes.
Module 2: Project Definition, Employer Requirements, and Scope Management
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Developing clear employer requirements covering functional objectives, performance standards, technical criteria, quality requirements, site conditions, interfaces, deliverables, and acceptance requirements.
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Establishing project scope and work breakdown structures that provide sufficient definition while preserving appropriate contractor flexibility for design and construction innovation.
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Developing requirements management and traceability systems that connect client objectives with design outputs, construction activities, testing, commissioning, and final project acceptance.
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Managing scope boundaries, assumptions, exclusions, interfaces, dependencies, site information, owner-supplied items, and client responsibilities throughout the design-build lifecycle.
Module 3: Design Management and Integrated Technical Coordination
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Managing conceptual, preliminary, and detailed design development while ensuring alignment with employer requirements, performance specifications, constructability, budget, and schedule.
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Coordinating architects, engineers, specialist designers, contractors, suppliers, client representatives, authorities, and other technical stakeholders across multidisciplinary design activities.
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Establishing design review, approval, verification, validation, document control, configuration management, technical query, and design-change processes.
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Applying constructability reviews, value engineering, design optimisation, standardisation, modularisation, and lifecycle analysis to improve design-build outcomes.
Module 4: Design-Build Procurement and Contractor Selection
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Developing design-build procurement strategies that establish appropriate technical, commercial, contractual, evaluation, and performance requirements for prospective contractors.
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Preparing procurement documentation including employer requirements, performance specifications, evaluation criteria, contract conditions, schedules, technical data, and bidder information.
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Evaluating contractor proposals based on technical capability, design approach, construction methodology, programme, cost, risk management, quality systems, and organisational capacity.
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Managing clarification, negotiation, contract award, mobilisation, early contractor involvement, and transition from procurement into integrated project delivery.
Module 5: Design-Build Planning, Scheduling, and Project Controls
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Developing integrated design-build schedules connecting design deliverables, approvals, procurement, fabrication, construction, testing, commissioning, and handover milestones.
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Establishing cost and schedule baselines that reflect design development, construction requirements, risk allowances, contingencies, resources, cash flows, and contractual commitments.
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Applying progress measurement, critical-path analysis, earned value, forecasting, variance analysis, trend monitoring, and performance reporting to design-build projects.
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Managing project changes through structured scope, cost, schedule, design, technical, and commercial change-control processes that preserve baseline integrity.
Module 6: Contract, Commercial, and Risk Management
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Understanding key design-build contract provisions covering design responsibility, performance obligations, warranties, guarantees, payment, variations, claims, delays, defects, and completion requirements.
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Establishing risk allocation frameworks covering design risk, site conditions, construction risk, procurement risk, regulatory requirements, client decisions, interfaces, and unforeseen conditions.
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Managing variations, claims, extensions of time, acceleration, disruption, defects, design liability, payment certification, commercial correspondence, and dispute avoidance.
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Developing integrated risk management systems that connect contractual risks with technical, financial, schedule, procurement, construction, quality, safety, and stakeholder considerations.
Module 7: Construction Management, Quality, and Safety
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Coordinating construction activities with ongoing design development, technical approvals, procurement, material availability, work packages, site logistics, and project interfaces.
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Establishing construction monitoring systems covering productivity, physical progress, resources, work quality, technical issues, safety performance, constraints, and corrective actions.
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Implementing quality assurance and quality-control processes covering design verification, inspections, testing, non-conformances, corrective actions, documentation, and acceptance.
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Integrating health, safety, environmental, social, and regulatory requirements into design decisions, construction methods, contractor management, site controls, and project reporting.
Module 8: Stakeholder Management, Collaboration, and Project Leadership
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Establishing collaborative working arrangements among clients, designers, contractors, consultants, suppliers, regulators, communities, operators, and other project stakeholders.
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Managing client decision-making, approvals, communications, information requirements, stakeholder expectations, change requests, and responsibilities within an integrated design-build environment.
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Developing leadership approaches for multidisciplinary teams that encourage early problem-solving, accountability, technical coordination, transparency, and constructive commercial relationships.
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Managing stakeholder concerns, community impacts, grievances, competing requirements, regulatory expectations, and communication risks throughout project implementation.
Module 9: Commissioning, Handover, Performance, and Closeout
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Planning testing, commissioning, performance verification, systems completion, operational readiness, training, documentation, and client acceptance from the early stages of project delivery.
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Managing punch lists, defects, outstanding works, warranties, as-built information, operation and maintenance manuals, asset registers, certificates, and final acceptance requirements.
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Establishing performance management systems that assess project delivery against cost, schedule, technical performance, quality, safety, functionality, and contractual requirements.
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Conducting project closeout, final commercial reconciliation, lessons learned, contractor performance assessment, benefits review, and transition into operations and asset management.
Module 10: Emerging Issues and the Future of Design-Build Delivery
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Applying Building Information Modelling, digital twins, artificial intelligence, automated design analysis, collaborative data environments, and digital project-management platforms.
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Exploring modular construction, prefabrication, advanced manufacturing, robotics, automation, off-site production, and their implications for integrated design-build delivery.
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Integrating climate resilience, low-carbon design, sustainable materials, circular economy principles, energy efficiency, environmental performance, and lifecycle value into design-build projects.
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Preparing design-build organisations for supply-chain volatility, technology disruption, cybersecurity, skilled-labour shortages, regulatory change, and increasingly complex performance expectations.
Training Approach
This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.
Tailor-Made Course
This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808
Training Venue
The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.
Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant
Certification
Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.
Airport Pickup and Accommodation
Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808
Terms of Payment:
Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.
