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 design and construction management teams operate 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 multi-party contracts, design-build delivery’s 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 while mitigating risks related to using separate subcontractor teams.

“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 more than 500 craft workers is a considerable advantage for customers.  Using in-house resources give our customers more confidence because we have full control over critical scopes in design, construction management, concrete, steel erection, rigging, and piping.”

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 industry’s earliest and most successful approaches: the master-builder, wherein one expert entity assumes full accountability for design and execution. While a 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.

How Integrated Teams Leverage 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.

“To ensure quality, it’s critical for the design team to have a direct line of communication with the boots on the ground,” says Romans. “Most of the manufacturing facilities that we build are custom designs for something that’s never been built before. To execute one-of-a-kind projects, it’s essential for the construction teams to have a strong relationship based on input and feedback with design. The tighter and closer these teams are, the easier it is for us to address complex problems with streamlined, effective solutions.

“Under this shared design-build team structure, we can have collaborative, transparent, early contractor involvement with Gray’s architects and engineers before execution begins,” says Usherwood. “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.

Faster decision-making and a more flexible team allow owners to focus more on what matters for their daily operations. “The input from our customers is often that they need to be the best at manufacturing the products they provide—not be the best at designing and building the facilities that make the products,” says Romans. “Sometimes, these manufacturers may have developed capital project teams years earlier but not kept current with best practices in the design and construction market. That’s where a true partner like Gray comes in. By leveraging the industrial design-build experience we develop every day, we can be the solution to that challenge and allow manufacturers to play to their strengths—not play catch up.”

Safety is foundational for successful industrial projects, and team 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. Integrated design-build and self-perform work are naturally suited to incorporate other efficiencies such as modularization and off-site manufacturing, so we can design something that starts construction in one area before another is 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.”

The practical value of combining design-build and self-perform comes from unified responsibility and shared expertise across every phase of work. With one team accountable for planning and execution, projects gain a more predictable—yet more flexible—path from early design decisions to final commissioning. Stronger project outcomes are only one side of the coin, however; ultimately, this model more effectively sets up customers and design-builders for long-term partnership that leverages each other’s strengths and improves with every new collaboration.