Performance of Project Delivery Methods for US Airport Projects: A Holistic Quantitative Risk-Based Assessment through Perceptions of Associated Industry Experts

Abstract

The aviation sector received an underperforming D+ score, indicating its deteriorating qualities in comparison with the overall US infrastructure. In response, US governmental bodies issued investment bills that target the improvement of the nation’s airport system. Airport projects are still being implemented through design-bid-build (DBB), which is notorious for its ineffective risk shift, low contractor input, and poor cost and schedule performance. Studies show that design-build (DB) possesses prospective cost and schedule benefits. Despite this, there is still reluctance toward DB’s usage in airport projects. Moreover, current studies lack in offering frameworks that assist airport practitioners in guiding stakeholders toward improved project delivery decision-making. Accordingly, this research’s goal is to establish a holistic risk-based approach to assess the effect of utilizing DB versus DBB in US airport projects based on cost and schedule performance criteria. A four-step methodology is adopted where (1) risk factors were determined and grouped into eight risk categories, where they were quantified against their criticality to cost and schedule performance metrics; (2) the weights of the risk factors and their respective categories were realized to compute their importance; (3) the distribution of the data was statistically fitted; and (4) a benchmarking evaluation framework was developed and analyzed. The findings revealed that DBB is associated with 6% more perceived cost growth in comparison to DB delivery in airport projects. DBB is also linked to 7% more perceived schedule growth relative to DB airport implementation. It was also found that cost-related aspects influenced cost and schedule performance the most. Conversely, external aspects influenced performance the least. Ultimately, this study presents a novel approach for holistically assessing cost and schedule savings and growth in DB implementation in US airport projects, thus offering industry practitioners valuable insights into critical risk factors for enhanced decision-making and risk management practices that have national and global implications.