Historically, the most common method for constructing a new building or building improvements was what is known as Design-Bid-Build. In this approach, the owner hires a design team to create a detailed set of drawings and specifications which completely describes what is to be constructed. The owner then puts the project out to bid for construction, receiving and evaluating proposals from construction contractors. Finally – once the owner has gone through the proposals, selected a contractor, and negotiated a contract – the construction can begin. In many cases, the overall time from identification of need to completion of construction can be quite lengthy, especially for public and quasi-public agencies which have many contracting regulations that extend the bid and bid review process.
An alternative to this is the Design-Build approach. The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) defines Design-Build as “a method of project delivery in which one entity – the design-build team – works under a single contract with the project owner to provide design and construction services.” There are many varieties of design-build; from an RFP that basically says “I want a wall” to a much more rigorous approach (such as is often used by the US Government) where a set of drawings and performance specifications are developed to between 10% and 35% completion. In between these two extremes is the “this is generally what I want” approach, which provides a rough sketch of what is wanted with a list of the essential design requirements.
Stone Security Engineering is pleased to announce publication of a field reference guide for vertical shoring, lateral shoring, and rapid strengthening and/or repair of damaged building components. This is an exciting project that provides detailed information for first responders and the engineers that support them. The intended audiences of the guide include:
Stone Security Engineering authored a new GSA blast standard that was approved and released in August 2011: GSA Facility Security Requirements for Explosive Devices Applicable to Facility Security Levels III and IV. This document provides detailed criteria for implementing the blast and progressive collapse requirements of the ISC 2010 giving specific design and performance requirements for GSA facilities required to meet an FSL III or IV.
In general terms, the security measures implemented for both FSL III and FSL IV require a certain level of blast and progressive collapse hardening of the facility. In an FSL III facility, these security measures are, for the most part, prescriptive including while an FSL IV facility will need to meet more performance based requirements.
The document also provides updated guidance on balanced design for window systems, details of how to implement the modified standoff distance requirements in the 2010 ISC Physical Security Criteria (major change from the 2004 ISC Security Design Criteria), and detailed technical information to implement blast resistant design for GSA Level III and Level IV buildings.
This document is now being implemented on GSA and GSA related projects and it is important for project teams working and bidding on government work to understand the requirements.
