pre-design phase schematic design phase construction documents phase design development phase construction phase occupancy phase
West Bend A Mutual Insurance Company: The Silver Lining

CASE STUDY: WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
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team

team building  -  team members  -  about design-bid-build






West Bend Mutual Insurance Company, located in West Bend, Wisconsin, offers property/casualty insurance for businesses, homes, autos, and personal property. Since 1894, West Bend has come to stand for excellence through the use of innovative products, steady growth, and financial stability.

Plunkett Raysich Architects is one of the largest full-service design firms in Wisconsin. Their areas of design expertise extend to new urbanism planning, mixed-use design, corporate office, retail, restaurant, residential, long-term care, healthcare, education, laboratory/science, civic and religious projects, and interior design.




Ring & Duchateau's staff of professionals is comprised of mechanical and electrical engineers dedicated to the philosophy of design excellence while being sensitive to each client’s special needs. Partner participation guarantees that each client will receive the highest level of service and quality from design through post occupancy. R & D has provided quality engineering design services to Wisconsin and national clients since 1961.

Founded in 1920 in Milwaukee, C.G. Schmidt is a leader in the construction management and design-build services of large, complex facility projects. CG Schmidt is a purpose-driven, value-based organization that specializes in healthcare, corporate, industrial, senior living, educational, mixed-use and cultural markets.




We Energies serves more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and more than one million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. They offer their customers a New Construction Program designed to reduce the electric demand and energy use for commercial new construction projects.

The Energy Center is an independent nonprofit that seeks solutions to energy challenges. They provide objective research, information and education on energy issues to businesses, professionals, policymakers and the public. Their staff includes economists, energy analysts, professional engineers, architects, evaluators and educators.


TEAM BUILDING

West Bend relied on internal committees and an integrated design and construction team to ensure their goals and objectives were realized.

Internal committees

Facilities team: West Bend’s existing facilities team was given a prominent coordination and implementation role based on their knowledge and experience with the existing building’s mechanical systems and their understanding of the company’s corporate culture.

Expansion Advisory Committee: Twenty-five representatives from all of the company’s business units worked with the architects to define space and facility needs and served as a communication conduit between staff and the design team.

Steering Committee: Senior executives provided top-level oversight of the project and reflected the company’s commitment to its goals and objectives

Design and construction team

It was essential to the success of the West Bend addition to have an equal commitment from the company, the architect and the general contractor.

Plunkett Raysich Architects and the general contractor, C. G. Schmidt, were brought in during the pre-design phase of the building. The engineering firm of Ring & DuChateau Inc. was also included during this phase.


TEAM MEMBERS


Building Representatives—West Bend Mutual Insurance Company

Randall D. Stark
Facilities Manager

Michael Hinckley
Facilities Engineer

Architect

Martin P. Choren, AIA, NCARB
Plunkett Raysich Architects
Project Manager, Senior Associate

HVAC Engineer

Jeffrey R. Saunders, PE, LEED AP
Ring & Duchateau

Electrical Engineer

Christopher W. Ulm, PE, LEED AP
Ring & Duchateau

Construction

Mark T. Lillesand, LEED AP
C.G. Schmidt, Inc.
Senior Project Manager

Energy Efficiency

Tate Walker, AIA, LEED AP
Energy Center of Wisconsin
Senior Project Manager


ABOUT DESIGN-BID-BUILD

Definitions of Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build
There are multiple methods by which an owner can procure design and construction services. The two most common these days are design-bid-build and design-build. However, there is often confusion as to what each of these entails.

Design-Bid-Build

  • This is the traditional process for project delivery and includes three separate roles – owner, architect and builder. The owner contracts with an architect to design the building; uses these design documents to obtain bids for construction; then contracts with contractor to construct the building. It is most often used in public projects to secure lowest project cost.

    Key characteristics include:

    • Three roles – owner, designer, builder
    • Two separate contracts – owner-designer and owner-builder
    • Final contractor selected based on lowest reasonable bid or total contract price
    • Linear process for design, bid and construction
    • Linear process and different companies doing design and construction can make communication difficult

Design-Build

  • In this process, the owner contracts with a single entity, a firm that will both design and construct the building. This consolidated entity provides both design and construction services. The design-builder may be led by an architect or a general contractor, but all services are within the same company. As such, you need to consider the experience and capabilities of the firm, especially if your project may have special design or construction issues.

    Key characteristics include:

    • Owner contracts with a single entity – therefore only two roles, owner and design-builder
    • Single point of responsibility for all design and construction issues
    • Overlapping design and construction phases – can allow for quicker delivery of project
    • May not be able to deal with special design issues or construction circumstances
    • Owner may use lowest bid approach to overall project, similar to design-bid-build
    • Because entire team is on project from beginning, communication issues may be easier between design team and construction team

While there is a single contract, the owner should be aware that the design-builder may still work with subcontractors.



See Primer on Project Delivery developed by the American Institute of Architects and the Associated General Contractors of America for further detailed explanations.