Design-Build and Self-Perform: the Perfect Pairing

Design-Build and Self-Perform: What They Are and Why They Matter

What is design-build construction? In a design-build model, the project team responsible for design and construction services operates under one contract and one leadership structure. Under a single accountable partner, project decisions move faster and risk is consolidated under the design-builder (and away from the owner). Compared to fragmented project delivery systems, this connected structure enhances communication and keeps the focus fixed on momentum.

Self-perform construction extends that accountability to the individual trades and craft workers on the project. Rather than relying solely on subcontractors, the builder uses its own craft professionals for key scopes such as concrete, steel, rigging, and piping. This approach gives owners greater control over quality, productivity, and schedule—often achieving meaningful cost savings and reduced construction spending.

“Having a builder with an integrated team minimizes risk in a turnkey construction project,” says Drew Romans, Vice President of Manufacturing, Gray. “The fact that we have a thousand craft people internally is a pretty large advantage for our customers; they know they’ve locked in design, construction management, concrete, steel erection, rigging, and piping—and that they’ve mitigated the related risks.”

Ben Carnell, President of NexGen Contracting, a Gray company, says that self-perform work also adds critical visibility during early planning. “In the conceptual project phases, when you’re self-performing your work, you have a direct line of sight into what it will actually take to do the work to meet a customer’s schedule, quality, and cost expectations. With the integration of self-perform into the design-build process, when project conditions change, the builder has a lever at the end of the construction phase that helps absorb schedule and cost impacts.”

Pairing design-build delivery with self-perform increases speed and efficiency by eliminating the handoffs and waiting that often occur between separate teams. “We had a project that had some changes mid-stream that caused a scheduling challenge,” says Chad Usherwood, Director of Operations at NexGen. “If they hadn’t been using a self-perform team, they would have had to demobilize and come back weeks later. However, since our team was there, we were able to readjust our schedule to stay on site, preventing a costly delay and helping maintain project schedules.”

Integrating design, construction management, and craft labor closely reflects one of the construction industry’s earliest and most successful approaches: the master-builder, wherein one expert entity assumes full accountability for design and execution. While the design-build plus self-perform model is often associated with turnkey construction contracts, the same integrated approach also brings measurable efficiencies on smaller projects with narrow scopes or aggressive timelines.

Even with design-build’s advantages, situations still exist where design-bid-build makes sense. Depending on schedule, budget, or specialty needs, using outside labor remains a crucial component of Gray’s business. “We value the relationships that we’ve built over the last 30 years with the core subcontractors that we use, and that will never stop,” says Romans. “There are instances where it does make more sense to go with the general design build firms model.”

How Integrated Teams Leverage Construction Project Expertise from Start to Finish

Carnell notes that developing talent internally is one of the long-term strengths of the self-perform model: “For a self-performing contractor, if you’re bringing people up through the trades, then you know that they have experience. If you can expand upon that so they can build not only in one medium, but across multiple, you can grow a multidisciplinary workforce that knows how to really tackle a big project.”

Integrated teams close the gap between design intent and field execution. Designers, engineers, and craft leaders communicate continuously, identifying constructability issues early and adjusting in real time to keep work flowing.

“Having a design team that knows the person that’s troweling the concrete or turning the wrench, and having a working relationship with the engineer of record is invaluable for one-of-a-kind industrial facility construction,” says Romans. “Most of the manufacturing facilities that we build are custom designs for something that’s never been built before. The tighter and closer our teams are, the easier it is for us to have a super-complex project go very successfully.”

Says Usherwood, “Under this shared design build team structure, we can have collaborative, transparent, early contractor involvement with Gray’s architects and engineers before execution begins. We then have advance alignment in how we’re going to execute the project based on how they draw it.”

How the Combination of Design-Build and Self-Perform Drives Stronger Project Delivery

The combined design-build and self-perform approach directly supports the outcomes industrial owners prioritize: strong safety performance, uninterrupted progress in the field, adaptability when conditions change, and faster project completion. With one team accountable for planning and execution, these outcomes are built into the process rather than managed reactively.

Safety is foundational, and integration strengthens it. “It’s so helpful from a culture perspective to have everyone know what the safety policy is, how orientation and administration work, and in how high a regard we hold safety,” says Carnell.

Romans adds that integration strengthens Gray’s ability to accelerate delivery: “Once customers have approval to move forward, they want that product sold tomorrow.” This approach is well aligned with the design build method, supporting efficiencies like modularization and off-site fabrication that allow construction to progress even before all areas are ready. That capability can significantly impact speed and time to market.

Innovation is another advantage. Says Carnell, “Self-performance gives us a unique, front-row view into how best to innovate in the industry. Our approach creates a feedback loop with the tradespeople to tell us whether they like to see the 3D model and interact with it via a drone, or whether a time-saving initiative helps or is just another checklist item that slows them down. We can see how new tools such as drones and AI impact the work beyond sounding great in a board room.”

A unified approach strengthens leadership and accountability. With one project manager overseeing execution from start to finish, it becomes easier to maintain alignment and ensure that strategic decisions translate to the field without delay.

The value of combining design-build and self-perform comes from unified responsibility and shared insight across every phase of work. With a single accountable design build contractor involved from concept to commissioning, projects gain a more predictable—yet flexible—path from early design decisions to the final installation and into your next project.