Boyd, D (2011) An evaluation of a system change in the purchasing of construction materials by local authorities. In: Egbu, C and Lou, E C W (eds.) Proceedings of 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2011, Bristol, UK.
Abstract
Local authorities are major clients of the construction industry for new build, refurbishment and maintenance. Although, the quantity of public sector work is much less than it was 40 years ago, it still directly amounts to ~40% of all construction. The traditional way that Local Authorities (LAs) purchase materials for this work is through their contractors for each project. With such a significant purchase value, it has been suggested that LAs should collaborate and aggregate their purchasing so as to achieve reduced costs and better availability of materials for their projects. The current financial crisis makes such a move more attractive and more important. This paper undertakes an analysis of such a change to understand what is required for it to be viable and what might be the barriers to overcome. The work is based on a small number of interviews with LA officers, construction contractors working for LAs, and specialist procurement staff. The way that material specification and supply fits into the system of construction is complex and this is presented in a business process format. It was found that most participants do not have an understanding of how material procurement interacts with the construction process and indeed, as it is so complex, many do not want to face any changes. There is little actual information of what quantities of each type of material are used. Contingent issues such as LAs desire to support businesses in their political area, make for an unclear set of objectives for the system. Thus to benefit from such proposals, then changes are required throughout the system. Such a comprehensive change could not be instigated without considerable authority demanding the change with proscribed procedures and sanctions. However, other changes in procurement, design and construction that may come from the use of, for example BIM, might determine this strategic move and realisation of cost savings.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | aggregation; collaborative procurement; public sector; supply chain |
| Index terms: | proposal, interview, specification, purchasing, local authority, aggregate, face, new build, public sector, construction process, construction material, design and construction, material procurement, construction industry, cost saving, construction contractor |
| Subjects: | sociology, building construction, procurement strategy, industry analysis, administrative law, economics, construction integration, contractual condition, building materials, psychology, project planning, contractual arrangements, data collection methods, practitioner, materials science |
| Topics: | Site Management, Organizational Design, Contract Administration, Legal Issues, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Procurement, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Project Management, Research Practice, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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