Henjewele, C (2010) Modelling client's value for money uncertainties in PFI projects. PhD thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
Abstract
Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has successfully transformed the management of public sector construction projects by minimising construction risks and delivering projects with higher certainty in the time, cost, quality, and customer satisfaction than is with the counterpart traditional approach. The success rests in the principles of better Value for Money (VfM) demonstrated through the focus on whole-life costs and quality as the measure for economic, effective, and efficient procurement of the private sector and the delivery of the project and services thereafter. However, PFI has not addressed in full the expectation to provide better VfM due to uncertainties in the estimated project costs and persistent decrease in the specified client requirements as the project advances in the procurement process; hence, attracting distrust and resistance to the initiative. This highlights the need for a new approach to ensure that VfM is not only demonstrated at a point of procurement, but also monitored and sustained over the whole PFI contract period. This research explored the exposure of PFI projects to VfM uncertainty and developed a VfM Optimisation and Sustainability (VaS) model as it main scientific contribution. The developed model works abreast a Process Map, Taxonomy of uncertainty factors, and VfM Simulation and Monitoring Templates to define and develop VfM processes, create VfM, assess and test for its robustness, and sustain it through the entire project life. The model follows from a systematic analysis of the current practice and the uncertainties it creates. The analysis based on an empirical research that adopted a mixed-methods approach involving healthcare and transport PFI projects. The model was evaluated by experts from PFI projects and academics and by using simulation case studies. Adopting the model has the potential to improve the delivery of VfM through optimization of the benefits and costs during the project appraisal process, monitor and sustain VfM during the operating phase, and utilise lessons learnt for improvements in the future.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | healthcare; private finance initiative; procurement; project appraisal; public sector; simulation; sustainability; transport; trust; uncertainty; value for money |
| Index terms: | monitoring, client requirements, customer satisfaction, taxonomy, modelling, case study, private sector, public sector, construction project, private finance initiative, exposure, value-for-money, procurement process, project appraisal, project cost |
| Subjects: | control systems, data collection methods, data analysis and analytics, contractual arrangements, analytical methods, project delivery, service delivery, production management, evaluation, professional development, economics, public and environmental health, industry analysis, administrative law |
| Topics: | Site Management, Research Practice, Information Management, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Stakeholder Management, Value Management, Legal Issues, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Health and Safety, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here