It is probable that a construction project anywhere in the world will encounter some form of delay as a consequence of change. The impact of the delay on a project will vary, but it is likely to have a negative financial outcome. Compensation can be requested by an affected party in the form of a claim; however, issues of liability and quantum can be difficult given the ever increasing complexity of construction work involving numerous differing successive parallel tasks with varying levels of interrelated resources. Experts are often employed to analyse delays based on project records and report their findings to a tribunal. This paper identifies the difficulties associated with the retrieval and representation of information for delay claims and recognises technological opportunities to deal with these challenges. The potential to exploit aspects of BIM to support these possibilities are discussed, concluding that it can assist through the ease of access to coordinated contemporaneous project information and the use of visualisation through multiple dimensions. In order to support this initiative a detailed review of the literature is undertaken which forms part of an Engineering Doctorate.
This paper evaluates the rationale behind the UK Public Services (Social Value) Act to postulate a definition of 'social value' and its application to construction and enable authorities to implement it. A comprehensive literature review has been undertaken and publications on existing methods of measurement have been reviewed and discussed to provide a comprehensive summary. The literature review revealed that communities could benefit from a series of direct and indirect impacts on individual people as well as the social efficacy of the whole community as a result of implementing the Act. The intention of the Act is to provide additional social benefits that provide added value, not in the monetary sense of the word but as a broader impact to the local area. However, these types of contract conditions benefit local contractors, which conflicts with the EU's single market legislation.
The form of contract plays a significant role in the governance of relationships between parties. Recent research in project procurement emphasises relationships and cultural/behavioural issues. Such relationships operate within a formal (contractual) framework as well as an informal (interpersonal/social) framework since no contract is entirely transactional or entirely relational in nature. Sir Michael Latham suggested a cultural/behavioural change is required in the construction industry such that project participants should embrace a ‘modern contract’. This paper examines the 13 Latham requirements of a modern contract in the latest edition of the NEC. The requirements are categorised, under what are labelled here as pillars of a modern contract, namely ‘fairness’, ‘roles and functions of project participants’, and ‘payment operating mechanisms’. Developments in contracting practices in the Chinese construction industry, with a cultural tradition grounded in Confucian values of cooperation and sharing, are then examined and juxtaposed against the UK construction industry’s movement towards a modern contract rooted in relational contracting. The developments show that China has nurtured a change towards the more formal, contractual, system of rights and obligations in their ‘modernisation’ of construction procurement in sharp contrast to the UK movement towards greater collaboration and cooperation.
Building information modelling (BIM) changes the way information is generated, managed and communicated between project team members. It is gaining international attention as a potential way of improving the efficiency of the construction industry; but despite the recognised benefits of BIM, perceived barriers are restricting its adoption. Some of these barriers could be addressed through standard forms of construction contract. The Chartered Institute of Building's Complex Projects Contract 2013 (CPC 2013) is the first standard form of construction contract to include BIM clauses in its provisions and appendices. To investigate how CPC 2013 attempts to address the perceived barriers of BIM adoption and promote working in a BIM environment, a content analysis was undertaken. The research found that although CPC 2013 addresses some of the perceived barriers associated with BIM, the contract may require amendments and special conditions to its standard form in order to support a 'Level 2' environment.
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