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3.10 CHAPTER THREE

mitted for owner review. In addition, they must accompany applications for state or fed-
eral funding assistance.

Bid Documents. Final design plans and specifications can be formatted to allow con-
struction using one of several contracting approaches. Normally, conventional bid docu-
ments are used that allow the owner to accept competitive bids and award the entire con-
struction job, or job components, to the lowest qualified, responsible bidder. Under this
approach all elements shown in the bid documents are the contractor's responsibility to
construct, with the owner and engineer inspecting the project to ensure compliance with
bid documents. In some instances, major equipment to be installed on the project is pre-
purchased by the owner and supplied to the contractor for installation. Prepurchased equip-
ment is normally used to accelerate the construction schedule or to allow use of propri-
etary equipment.
Another bid approach gaining popularity is use of a "design-build" format. Under this
approach, only preliminary engineering is completed for bidding, with final design pre-
pared by the lowest, qualified, responsible bidder. The owner then monitors compliance
with bid documents during construction, usually with assistance from the preliminary de-
signer. The primary benefit of the design-build approach is the single source of respon-
sibility provided to the owner, allowing a single point of contact for design and con-
struction issues. Combining design and construction responsibilities provides a greater
potential to shorten the project implementation period by overlapping design and con-
struction. One of the primary concerns with using design-build is the possible loss of
checks and balances between the designer and contractor, which is provided by the tra-
ditional contractual separation between both parties.

CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE

After completion of final design and incorporation of all pertinent review comments, the
water treatment plant design can proceed into the construction phase. During construc-
tion of water treatment plant facilities, a number of design issues must be addressed to
ensure the successful implementation of the contract documents. These relate to bid ad-
ministration, construction administration, design disciplines coordination, and owner and
regulatory review of change orders.

Bid Administration
The time flame required for bidding varies depending on the size and complexity of the
project but is normally about 30 to 60 days. Bid administration activities generally in-
clude printing the bid documents, conducting prebid meetings, answering bidder ques-
tions, preparing addenda to bid documents, bid evaluation and award recommendation,
and contract preparation. Bid administration concludes with the award of the construction
contract and the issuance of a notice to proceed to the selected contractor.

Construction Administration
The administration of project construction consists of a number of tasks that must be pro-
vided to oversee the work in progress. Some of the principal duties include