Call me irresistible

Allure of lucrative jobs tempts contractors toward design/build gold rush

By Candace Doyle - Associate Editor

The construction industry is awash in design/ build.

The term appears on every truck, every sign, every business card and more than a few hard hats. But are all of those who use the term to market their businesses bona fide design/builders? Or are they merely jumping on the design/build bandwagon?

"Anyone with a pickup truck and a hammer can call himself a design/builder," said William Babcock, executive director of the Wisconsin Society of the American Institute of Architects. From company trucks to letterhead to business cards, design/builder it is.

"It's a buzzword, and people are trying to get on board with it," said Les Blum, president of Opus North Corporation.

"It's all in the definition of what design/build is," Blum said. "We call ourselves a design/builder because we have an in-house design staff."

Babcock also said the problem lies in design/build's definition, which is nebulous at best. "What do you mean when you say design/build?" Babcock asked. "It encompasses a number of things." Steve Chamberlin, president of C.G. Schmidt Inc., agreed: "The problem now, in our industry, is everyone has a different definition of design/build."

Chamberlin said his company made a decision four years ago to go the design/build route - and not in name only.

"Do we do design/build work? Do we market ourselves as design/builders? The answer is yes." But C.G. Schmidt, he said, transformed itself to become a design/builder, a shift that meant the firm's civil engineer became a project manager, overseeing jobs from start to finish.

"It was an internal culture change for us," he said. "It doesn't happen by accident." At the same time, Chamberlin said not all the jobs his company takes on are strictly design/build.

"I like to say most of our projects are design/build or design/ build in disguise," he said. "We as a builder do more than just build buildings. Most of what we do has elements of design/ build."

Jim Lange, past president of the American Subcontractors Association and president of both Mega Construction Inc. and C & C Erecting, also said that differing definitions of design/build could be cause for confusion.

"Design/build - there are so many variations," he said. "Some contractors have an architect and engineer on staff. Other people will say they're design/build and then hire an architect. (But) I would say most people who are saying they are working in design/build are not falsely advertising."

So said John Mielke, director of government relations for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin.

"Certainly, there's a segment of the industry that'll use the moniker for marketing," he said. "But I think that segment of the industry is shrinking."

In Mielke's mind, those who call themselves design/builders are at least working toward that end.

"I think like any other change, a significant change, it really takes time," he said. "But they're really going that route."

Making a name

Scott Brown, director of communications for Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, said it's hard to gauge which of its members are involved in design/build and to what extent.

"We do know that a portion of our membership is involved in design/build and a portion has decided not to go that route," Brown said. "We don't follow up to see how much design/build work they do."

But he said it's not surprising that companies want to be called design/builders. In fact, he encourages it. "I think we have seen the term design/build and use of design/build more frequently in companies' promotional materials," he said. "And I think that's simply a symptom of design/build being a more prevalent part of the process.

"Design/build also does have a positive reputation in the client community as well," he added. "It's seen as a way of streamlining processes on the job site. Members are wise to incorporate design/build into their marketing strategies."

Lange, who calls himself a design/build subcontractor, said the appeal to promote and market your company as a design/builder partly comes from the high stakes - hefty government contracts - involved. While widely used in the private sector, design/build's foray into the public sector is still new.

"Right now, design/build is a hot buzzword because it's hit the public sector," he said.