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The Design and Build route was chosen for a substantial 43% of the value of all construction work in 2004. This dominant status was the same in 2001.

However, in terms of the number of jobs it is used on, D&B continues to come in a late third after specification and drawings and Bills of Quantities. D&B accounts for just over 14% of the total number of contracts sampled in the RICS research on 2004.

Again, this is virtually the same percentage recorded in the last survey in 2001.

When it came to the size of jobs, the vast majority (87%) of schemes in the £20-50m value range favoured the D&B route. Around 50% of schemes over £50m also opted for the route. A smaller end of the scale, less than 10% of schemes in the up to £500,000 range used D&B.

But the approach is being used across the board more than it was in the 1980s when it accounted for only 4.1% of total contracts in the three RICS surveys during the decade.

Within the world of D&B, the JCT With Contractor’s Design form of contract dominates (see table). However, the GC/Works D&B form, whilst having been used on only eight of the projects in the survey, was used on some of the larger schemes. The ICE Design and Construct form, by contrast, is not being used on construction jobs, but rather civil engineering schemes, the RICS found.

The survey also found seven uses of Defence Estates’ Defcon 2000 Works Contractor’s Design form in the £500,000 to £5m contract value range. There were instances of use of the JCT Major Project Form (in the £2-£10m range) and three other non-standard employer - or QS-written D&B forms - on projects up to £500,000.