Washington, D.C. – The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), the only organization that defines, teaches and promotes best practices in design-build, has announced the release of a full set of warranty bonds, proposal bonds and payment and performance bonds specifically for design-build projects. The new bond forms are the best model documents to use on design-build projects, serving as a fair and balanced basis for Design-Build Done RightTM. The documents were developed by DBIA's Documents Task Force, a committee of expert and experienced construction attorneys from across the country.

“DBIA's Documents Task Force has been working for the past year on a set of surety bonds specifically tailored for design-build projects,” said G. William Quatman, Esq., DBIA, who serves as vice chair of DBIA's 2015 National Board of Directors, chair of DBIA's Documents Task Force and general counsel for Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. “We have the endorsement of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers and the Surety & Fidelity Association of America. As the first set of bonds co-authored by designers and builders and endorsed by the surety industry, these model documents will increase consistency in the design and construction industry, making it easier for owners and practitioners to move forward on important projects.”

The new family of bond forms include a proposal bond (610) and a warranty bond (615), with three sets of payment and performance bonds for use by design-builders (620 and 625), general contractors (640 and 645), and subcontractors (630 and 635). Completing the family of bond forms will be the consent of surety to partial release of retainage (500-D6) and consent of surety to release of final payment (500-D7).

“While DBIA is already the leader in publishing design-build contract forms, the release of these new forms establishes DBIA as the primary source for documents in the design-build market,” said Lisa Washington, DBIA's executive director/CEO. “With the addition of these important documents, and the endorsement by NASBP and SFAA, our family of contract documents is now unlike any other offered in the A/E/C industry.”

“We are looking forward to providing our members with the most thoroughly vetted model bond forms,” said Mark H. McCallum, CEO of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP). “NASBP's endorsement was not given lightly; we worked hard to ensure these new bond forms met the standards our members have come to expect for fair and balanced forms.”

“We are proud to endorse DBIA's new set of model bond forms," said Lynn M. Schubert, President of the Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA). “SFAA was instrumental in providing guidance based on surety industry experience, and owners and practitioners can use these forms assured that representatives of designers, builders and the surety industry believe they are an excellent starting point for bonding in design-build projects.”

DBIA Contract Documents are:

Fair - DBIA's design-build model contracts benefit all members of the design and construction community.

Successful – The contract documents are rooted in design-build best practices and are rigorously tested in the real world with proven worth.

Economical - They save time and money for all members of the design-build team.

Easy - Flexible formats adapt to the specifics of a specific project team's characteristics.

Efficient – The contract documents offer one solicitation, one award and one contract to administer.

Lisa Washington continued, “Mirroring the design-build philosophy, DBIA's family of contract documents are reflective of our diverse membership base representing the needs of both public and private owners, general and specialty contractors, architects, consultants and engineers. They are written to guide success for the entire project team – owners and practitioners alike.”

To order a copy of the new bond forms please order through DBIA's bookstore. To receive a complimentary sample, or ask questions, email Todd Rich at trich@dbia.org.