A tentative comparison of the performance of Strategic Alliance and Design/Bid/Build project delivery methods

Project delivery methods that are based on the concept of supply chain integration are believed by many to lead towards a more effective and more efficient way of working than other, more traditional ways of project delivery like the design-bid-build (DBB) method. This tentative study compares the cost performance of strategic alliance (SA) with that of a DBB. based on cost estimates at the Pre-construction stage. The cost estimates of three SA’s have been compared to three DBB cost estimates, which have been made by three external cost consultants, to see if there are indication of one project delivery method is superior. Three large scale housing renovation projects which are delivered by a similar form of SA have been selected for this study. The three alliances exist of different clients, contractors and subcontractors which are working in different regions. The target cost estimates made by the SA’s for the three projects have been compared with external cost estimates. These external cost estimates have been made by three different external cost consultants. The external cost estimates were made based on the assumption that the project would be delivered based on a traditional DBB method. The external cost consultants weren’t informed about the SA that was set up to deliver the project. Project costs per element were compared. Upon completion of the analysis, the hypothesis that SA projects are superior to DBB projects in regards to costs was researched