Purpose
In most programs, the Client and/or the Oversight Committee must approve the pre-design report and funding prior to moving the project into the design phase. Most programs have some type of Oversight Committee or other forum to review and approve the pre-design report (see Procedure 1.5 – Program Oversight Committee). All approvals required by the Client, and/or or Oversight Committee policies and procedures must be obtained. The appropriate signature from the Client in the signature blocks of the pre-design report must be obtained. The purpose of this section is to discuss the approval process for a pre-design report.
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Responsibilities
Project Manager (PM): The PM is responsible for all reviews during pre-design phase and must obtain approvals required by the Client, and/or Oversight Committee policies and procedures. If policy or procedure is not available, the exact procedures to be followed shall be established jointly by the Program Manager and the Client at the project initiation.
Project Engineer (PE): On all projects, the PM may delegate and share authority with a PE or other project team members. Delegation and sharing of authority are critical to project success.
Oversight Committee and/or the Client: It is the responsibility of the Oversight Committee and/or Client to review and approve the pre-design report for the project in accordance to its policies and procedures.
Procedure
The PM should obtain Client and Oversight Committee approvals of the predesign report required by the Client, and/or Oversight Committee policies and procedures, or procedure established jointly by the Program Manager and the Client, before proceeding to the design phase. Upon completion of the pre-design report, the PM schedules a presentation before the appropriate Oversight Committee and then prepares a concise summary of the pre-design report that can be presented to the Committee. If no Oversight Committee exists for the project, the PM should schedule and prepare a presentation to a committee composed of Bureau Program and Client management representatives. Whether the presentation is made orally or in written format is at the discretion of the individual committee. The PM should be ready to present in either format.
The presentation should include a brief background of the project, including why the project is necessary. The recommended alternative should be clearly described. This description should explain why the recommended alternative is the best alternative. The cost of the project and the schedule for design and construction should be clearly defined. Pictures, charts, and graphs are very helpful in these presentations. This will give the committee the information they need to approve the project.
The PM and Program Manager should provide their signatures and then obtain the Client’s signature in the title block of the pre-design report. Usually this is done prior to presenting the report to the Oversight Committee. However, some Oversight Committees may request that the report be signed after their approval.
Approval of a project is much easier when the Client has been involved in the development of the pre-design report and has a good understanding of the project. The Client should be involved at an appropriate level during preparation of the pre-design report. Often this involvement takes the form of workshops where the various stakeholders are brought together in an effort to make consensus decisions or to communicate the reasons for a decision if a consensus is not possible.
Related Procedures
LINKS / ATTACHMENTS
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