United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-07-11 monographic deposited born digital 36 p. GA 1.13:GGD-00-172R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-172R P0b002ee1803793d7 f:gg00172r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-172R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-172R GGD-00-172R Federal procurement Federal office buildings Solicitation specifications Construction contracts Architect-engineer services procurement Private sector practices Contract oversight Correspondence GGD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Facilities Council's (FFC) study on the role of federal agencies' facility design reviews in the facility acquisition process.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) according to the FFC study, opportunities exist to significantly reduce total project cost (TPC) by conducting an effective design review process; (2) the study found that effective design review practices result in less rework on the part of the construction contractor, fewer change orders to correct design errors and omissions, and lowering the cost of belatedly adding project upgrade features that should have been addressed in the original design; (3) FFC reported that, historically, 30 to 50 percent of all construction change orders result from errors in the design documents directly related to improper interfaces between design disciplines (civil, structural, architectural, electrical, and mechanical); (4) the FFC study notes that attention should be focused on review of designs during the conceptual planning and design phases, where the ability to influence ultimate functionality and cost of the project is the greatest; (5) the study states that the potential savings resulting from conducting effective design reviews range from a minimum of 3 percent to as much as 20 percent of TPC, and even higher indirect savings are taken into account; (6) the FFC study concludes that, in the end, effective review of designs maximizes the probability that a mission or operational requirement will be successfully supported by a facility that was conceived, designed, constructed, and placed into operation efficiently and effectively; (7) the study identifies 18 best practices that federal agencies and other facility owners can use to manage or oversee design reviews throughout the facility acquisition process; and (8) it organized the best practices into 5 categories related to: (a) the role of the owner; (b) teamwork and collaboration; (c) advance planning; (d) process; and (e) benchmarking. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-172R/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-172R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-172R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-172R.pdf GAO/GGD-00-172R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-172R Correspondence GAO/GGD-00-172R; Federal Facilities Council's Report on the Role of; Federal procurement Federal office buildings Solicitation specifications Construction contracts Architect-engineer services procurement Private sector practices Contract oversight