Data Center Design-Build vs. Design-Bid-Build

Posted by Kim Otte on Sep 30, 2011

I just saw an interesting article on Computerworld.com "A tale of two U.S. government data center projects" where one project came in on-time and within budget and one went over budget and was late. The moral from the story is that the project that went over budget used the Design-Bid-Build (traditional bid/spec) approach and the one that came in on-time and within budget opted for a design/build approach – where you have a single point of contact and that contact is very familiar with the project from the start and can make any necessary changes fairly quick.  Many times, as in the case of the over budget project, when a problem arises you have to negotiate with multiple teams to get things fixed which more often than not results in delays. 

At EEC we work with our clients on either type of approach, however, we recommend the Design/Build approach. The need to bring technology projects on-line fast challenges traditional construction practices. The drawing below depicts the scheduling difference between a traditional construction schedule and a design/build schedule on a typical job:

 Data Center design/build schedule

 

The typical characteristics of the design/build approach are faster completion time (as represented here), the potential to be more cost effective, and turnkey responsibility is low risk for the client.

The data center construction phase is impacted by all the preceding events, missing even the smallest detail could wreak havoc later on. EEC has project managers EEC's data center construction team hard at workthat are thorough in making sure that all key milestones are being followed and are on track. The procurement phase is a critical component of construction management; our project manager devotes considerable effort and attention to the organization of this function. They establish key dates and monitor submittal and delivery cycles for long-lead equipment. This requires a keen eye on vendor management – developing an early, clear, and concise view of every vendor’s role.

Also, our internal network of resources including our product specialist, electrical and mechanical engineers, and specialized technicians all work together to make sure construction standards, schedule, and design specs are adhered too.

Have you recently built a data center or planning to build one?  Which approach did/will you take? We’d like to hear from you.

 

Tags: Data Center, data center design