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September 2019 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 51 services are not a tangible commodity and can only be shown value to the owner through a QBS process. • Ill effects of low bid. It is no surprise that building project selection based on the lowest bid often results in more change orders, greater safety issues due to minimization of critical review and detailing, and even oversizing of project needs instead of optimal design selection. The QBS Colorado Coalition whitepaper contends that “… if design makes up 1 percent of the project’s life-cycle cost, the other 99 percent of the life-cycle cost is dependent on the quali- ty of the 1% spent on design.” For example, the following scenario happened (co-au- thor Green was privy to where design services were select- ed based on low-bid). The owner and general contractor made the decision to select the least expensive mechanical system in an attempt to “save money” for the building but chose to not compensate the mechanical engineer to eval- uate the decision. The subpar system was accepted and installed, costing the owner $1 million in energy use over the life cycle of the building – just to save $100,000 on the front end. This example demonstrates that if the owner and A/E team do not optimize the mechanical system ini- tially, the owner will pay for it every year thereafter. • Why Use QBS? Although QBS is mandated by law for federally and state-funded projects, private owners also should use QBS for their building projects’ team selection. First, QBS allows owners to take advantage of greater op- tions for design services, opening the door for more qual- ified candidates. We have found that most design firms are currently so busy that if the project proposal is just requesting fees, most firms are not even responding to the owner’s proposal. QBS also allows for the development of a more detailed and transparent scope that benefits the owner, according to QBS Colorado Coalition’s whitepaper. Bids for A/E ser- vices are rarely compared on an equal basis, and QBS can allow the owner to review a variety of alternates. Addi- tionally, securing a design team based on QBS provides the owner assurance that the most qualified team is endeav- oring to research the latest building and energy codes for compliance relative to health, safety and welfare, as well as building performance. Ultimately, QBS can forge better relationships between the owner and the design team. QBS allows the owner to build greater trust amongst the team, knowing he has hired the most capable team with the expertise to deliver the best value for the owner. For more information and resources related to the QBS process, visit www.qbscolorado.org . \\ my.do@stantec.com bgreen@rmhgroup.com ELEMENTS Contractor Selection Architecture Landscape Architecture Real Estate Advisory Planning & Entitlements Visual Media laidesigngroup.com 303.734.1777