An Assist with Design-Assist and Lean Construction: Closing Design Gaps Through Collaboration

In Best Practices, Contracts, Documentation, Risk Management
December 18, 2019
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Brian Perlberg, Esq., delves into the background, creation and use of the ConsensusDocs 541 Design-Assist Addendum, which is the construction industry’s first design-assist contract document to help close the gaps between people’s common practice, what they contract to perform, and what is meant by “design-assist.”

The structure of the 541 Design-Assist is NOT intended to be a stand-alone agreement, but used with any project delivery method that involves close collaboration between the owner, design, and build teams. One of the key benefits of this document is getting key trade contractors involved early in the process to provide their expertise and select these contractors based on their qualifications and price, rather than on price alone.

The Addendum Agreement should be prepared when design development begins. It is broad in scope and flexible in its implementation.

The Responsibilities of the Parties – While the design professional retains overall responsibility for the project design, all parties are still responsible for the risks they assume in their underlying agreements.

the Design-Assist Addendum contains a list of optional services to be provided by the Construction Manager if requested by the Owner. These services include Life Cycle Cost Analysis, Sustainable Design Recommendations, Risk Analysis, and Design for Production Planning.

The 305 Lean Construction Addendum is interconnected to the 541 and is rightfully discussed in the context of the design-assist. The goal of the 305 is to empower parties to gain the maximum benefits that lean methods, tools and techniques in design and construction offer.

For an in-depth explanation of the Design-Assist Documentation and Lean Construction, with templates and sample agreements, click here.

Brian Perlberg is a nationally recognized construction law attorney who serves as Executive Director and Senior Counsel for ConsensusDocs, a unique, industry-wide coalition of leading construction associations producing best practice standard construction contracts. As CEO and Chief Advocate from creation of ConsensusDocs to its 11-year milestone, Brian leads efforts to facilitate the A/E/C industry to contractually and legally address emerging issues such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), Lean, Green Building, and federal contracting.