Massachusetts Highway Department Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky Chief Engineer Frank Tramontozzi , P.E.

1. Massachusetts Highway DepartmentCommissioner Luisa PaiewonskyChief Engineer Frank Tramontozzi, P.E. Design Quality Preparing High Quality Designs for MassHighway Administered Projects

2. American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) Summary of 1999 – 2003 MHD/TEC Design Quality Research Project By Bill Rizzo

3. Review of MHD/TEC Design Quality Research • The research process • Why is design quality important? • What is design quality? • What are the quantitative indicators of design quality? • What are the qualitativeinfluences on design quality? • Can you measure and test design quality? • What can ACEC do to improve design quality? • What can MassHighway do to improve design quality? • What can ACEC and MassHighway do together?

4. MHD/TEC Design Quality Research Process • Advisory Committee • Purpose : What is design quality and how can it be predicted and managed? • Opinion research • Literature search and review of approximately 100 documents • Developed a formula for measuring design quality • Project quality testing (range of quality per MHD) • 21 MHD projects; 29 projects in other states • Reports • Phase I – Design Quality Research, December 1999 • Final Report, Design Quality Research, September 2003 • Conclusions: design quality can be defined, measured, predicted and managed • Recommendations for specific actions by both MHD and ACEC to improve design quality

5. Why is Design Quality Important? • More economical and easier to construct by 7.7 % • More useful to motoring public • More economical to maintain

6. What is Design Quality? Design quality for highway construction is the totality of characteristics and features of all preconstruction engineering processes, tasks, and deliverables that bear on satisfying stakeholders’ needs. • Highway users • Highway agencies • Designers • Contractors

7. Quantitative Measures of Design Quality • Bid variations (spread of bid prices) • Absence of design and construction extra work orders • Bid quantity variations (estimated vs. actual) • Extent of cost overruns • Extent of schedule overruns

8. QualitativePositive Influences on Design Quality • Use of project management tools, including • Work breakdown structures for scoping and estimating level of effort • Schedule management and monitoring • Highway agency, designer and contractor working as partners • Availability and consistency of designer and highway agency staff throughout project • Timely: • Submittals by designer, • Reviews by highway agency and • Scope of work changes by both • Periodic design and schedule reviews • Constructability reviews by construction specialists during design

9. Negative Influences on Design Quality • Value Engineering • Cost Recovery Policy • Salary and Overhead Caps • Untimely submittals • Untimely reviews (design and constructability) • Untimely scope changes and/or changing staffing from designer and owner • Extended project durations leads to changing staffing from designer and owner

10. Measuring and Testing Design Quality • Formula DQR = (BV + QE + EW + DREW)/4 Where, DQR = Design Quality Rating BV = Bid Variation QE = Quantity Estimates variation EW = # of construction Extra Work Orders DREW = # of Design-related Extra Work Orders • Tested on • 21 MassHighway projects (footprint bridge, major bridge, highway and resurfacing) • 29 projects in other states • Finding: Design Quality can be measured & thereby predicted and managed

11. What ACEC designers can do to improve design quality • Develop and adhere to reasonable schedule • Assign adequate and appropriate staff to project and keep the design team intact • Adhere to MHD design standards, directions, and check lists. • Ongoing mentoring and staff training on MHD requirements • Promptly attend to MHD inquiries • Proper scoping and use of internal and independent quality reviews

12. What MHD can do to improve design quality • Provide consistent and timely design reviews • Allow for designer preference (consistent with MHD standards) • Provide internally-coordinated review comments • Provide regular feedback on frequently occurring issues • Continue to improve consultant evaluation process • Perform regular, detailed consultant assessments at time of prequalification • Impose penalties to firms that continually under-perform • Strengthen internal staff by filling key positions • Provide market compensation to help retain competent designers • Involve designers during construction.

13. What ACEC and MassHighway can do together • Continue an aggressive partnering process to improve design quality • Analyze causes of quantitative factors influencing design quality (bid variance, quantity variations and change orders) and influence change • Analyze causes of qualitative factors influencing design quality and influence change • Build upon the MassHighway Consultant Performance Evaluation process and form to optimize meaningful designer feedback

14. For more information: Download the reports on Design Quality at: http://www.engineers.org/resources/news.htm Massachusetts Design Quality Research Phase 2 (PDF) Massachusetts Design Quality Research Phase 1 (PDF)

15. MassHighway Design Quality Expectations Presented by David R. Anderson, P.E. Deputy Chief Engineer for Design MassHighway

16. MassHighway Expects In-House and Consultant Designed projects to meet the same level of Quality

17. Quality must be our #1 Priority • MassHighway experiences many of the same quality issues on in-house designs • MassHighway is constantly investigating ways to improve quality

18. Why is Design Quality important during the Design Phase? • Poor quality submittals require a significant workhour investment for MassHighway staff responsible for providing engineering reviews. • This additional time required for review, impacts the project schedule. • Re-submittals have a particularly negative impact on schedule.

19. Why is Design Quality important during the Construction Phase? • Quality bid documents generate quality bids • If the actual quantities of work performed are identical to the engineers’ estimate, then the Commonwealth is assured that the contract is performed at the lowest cost • Incorrect quantities and ambiguous special provisions result in unbalanced bidding • Design errors and omissions delay projects

20. Quality Begins with the Scope of Work The Chief Engineer has issued guidance to all MassHighway staff involved in negotiating consultant contracts. Some key points from this memorandum are: • Start with a good project scope of work (consultants play a key role on municipal projects) • Use MassHighway Scope of Services and Work Hour Estimate forms • Have an independent estimate

21. Scope of Work (cont’d) • Conduct a scoping meeting prior to submittal of work hours by consultant • Negotiate based on work hours not dollar amount • Perceived cost savings during initial scoping can often result in significantly greater costs during construction • Work through MassHighway’s chain of command to resolve differences

22. Design Quality in General • Failure to address design comments is the principal reason for MassHighway requiring a resubmittal. • All comments require a response. • If the designer disagrees with a comment they should contact the reviewer and discuss the comment. • If a subsequent submittal includes a change to the design, this change must be discussed in the transmittal letter to MassHighway.

23. Design Quality in General (cont’d) • Use design review checklists. MassHighway requires that a principal of the firm sign these checklists and include them with design submittals. • Design review comments will be transmitted to a principal at the firm.

24. Design Quality in General (cont’d) • Quality control reviews • Project documents should receive an independent review by senior staff prior to submission to MassHighway. • An experienced engineer can uncover any significant deficiencies in the contract documents in a very short period time.

25. Highway Submittals • Preliminary design (25%) • Evaluate project impacts • Environmental • Right of way • Evaluate design criteria • Horizontal and vertical geometry • Roadway Cross-section • Perform a constructability review • Determine if plans are suitable for design public hearing

27. Highway Submittals (cont’d) • Final design (75% and 100%) • Ensure that all comments are addressed • Include all the design criteria information • Plans must depict the disposition of all existing and proposed features • Perform a constructability review for each submission

28. Bridge Submittals • Bridge structural review of plans will require a higher level review. • Use design review checklists for Sketch Plans and Construction Drawing Preparation. MassHighway requires that a principal of the firm sign these checklists and include them with design submittals. • In an effort to streamline, shop drawings will be returned either: "Approved", "Rejected" or "Approved as noted".

29. Bridge Submittals (cont’d) • Bridge Review Section is going to be organized such that a Bridge Structural Reviewer will be assigned to each District. • MassHighway is moving towards Load Resistance Factor Design and Load Factor Design Requirements

30. Special provisions • Guidance is contained in Chapter 18 of the Project Development and Design Guidebook available on the MassHighway website. • Only provide a special provision when absolutely necessary. Do not include standard specifications in the special provisions. • Method of measurement and basis of payment must be clear and unambiguous • Refer to the latest version of the supplemental specifications

31. Estimate • The estimate must include an item for every element of work shown on the plans • Use the Construction Project Estimator and Weighted Average Bid Program applications • Use engineering judgment

32. Detail Sheets • Required for every project • Intended to assist the contractor in understanding how and where specific pay items are to be used • Refer to Chapter 18 of the Project Development and Design Guidebook for guidance

33. Bid phase • Quality of the documents is extremely important during this phase • MassHighway devotes a great deal of work hours to preparing construction proposal booklets • Most of this time is related to making basic quality control corrections.

34. Bid Phase (cont’d) • Common Bid Phase errors include: • The nomenclature is not consistent among the documents (special provisions, estimate, detail sheets). • The unit of measure is not consistent among the documents. • A special provision is missing for an item in the estimate that requires a special provision. • A special provision is provided for an item that is already covered by either Standard Specifications or the Supplemental Special Provisions. • The special provision does not include a clear and unambiguous method of measurement and basis of payment.

35. Bid phase (cont’d) • Contractor inquiries • Do not communicate directly with contractors • Refer all questions to Frank Kucharski, Construction Contracts Engineer at (617) 973-7620. • A prompt response is critical

36. Construction phase • Prompt • Contractor RFIs • Shop Drawing Reviews • District Construction Inquiries • Accurate • Provide guidance during cost recovery phase

37. Summary • Quality is important in all aspects of Design and Construction Phase Services. • Quality Designs begin with Quality Scopes of Work • Quality Designs Reduce: • Review times, Resubmissions, and Design Completion Schedules • Construction Errors, RFIs and Construction Completion Schedules

38. Contact Information: David Anderson, P.E. Deputy Chief Engineer of Design Massachusetts Highway Department 617-973-7981 David.Anderson@mhd.state.ma.us