1 BUILDING PERFORMANCE ENGINEERING DURING CONSTRUCTION

Exploratory research was performed into the hypothesis that a substantial number of building performance engineering tasks on design-bid-build projects are typically provided by entities associated with the construction phase, not with the AE of Record. The project specifications, drawings, and submittals were analyzed and employees from key project participants were interviewed for five $5-45M building construction projects. Twenty four building performance engineering tasks were required by the project specifications to be performed by entities associated with the construction of the buildings. Many of these tasks had to be completed by a licensed engineer retained by subcontractors or material suppliers. This large number of delegated design tasks indicates the increasing fragmentation of the design and construction process, which has implications for design-bid-build, design-build and lean construction processes. The shift in engineering from AEs to construction entities is proposed to result from decreased design time and profit margins, attempts to minimize liability, increased specialization and increased prefabrication. The compelling preliminary findings suggest additional research is warranted