Research at Poly leads to NYC Policy for Better Buildings

Due to the results of a Polytechnic University study, New York City will be selecting professional contractors based on superior qualifications and experience, resulting in higher quality public facilities. Civil Engineering Department’s professors, Fletcher (Bud) Griffis, Symeon Christodoulou, and Lisa Barrett conducted research on Quality Based Selection (QBS), a method for procuring engineering and architectural services. The City’s Procurement Policy Board passed a QBS policy on December 1, 2006 based on the research and testimony provided by the professors.

The 2002 study titled, “Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) for the Procurement of Professional Architectural-Engineering (A/E) Services” was sponsored by the New York Building Foundation. It analyses a report by the City Mayor’s Office of Contracts claiming cost savings achieved with cost-based procurement. Not only did the Poly study show that the Office of Contracts report is flawed, it demonstrated that QBS results in better projects with lower overall costs.

The New York Association of Consulting Engineers and the American Council of Engineering Companies put out a brochure, “Building Quality into New York City’s Future: The Case for Quality-Based Selection,” based in part on the Poly study.