Rahmani, F (2021) Challenges and opportunities in adopting early contractor involvement (ECI): Client's perception. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 17(1-2), pp. 67-76. ISSN 1745-2007
Abstract
The emerging project delivery methods increasingly encourage collaboration between the client, designer and contractor to develop longer-term relationship between project parties. In Australia development of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) was an endeavour to involve the contractor at the early stage of design and planning of a project. While ECI promises benefits to the project outcomes, clients should have a good understanding about this delivery system to make sensible decision as to whether adopt it for a project. Despite the growing use of ECI by public sectors in Australia, there has been limited research that investigated the characteristics of ECI from the client’s views. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges in adoption of ECI in Australian through the public client’s perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 construction professionals who held senior leadership roles for their departments with several decades of experience in the establishment and delivery of collaborative contracts for complex projects and programmes. The study results show cultural barrier, demonstrating value for money, change in relationship protocol, and inadequacy of contractor remuneration for early stage engagement are the challenges that are most experienced in ECI projects. It further shows that there is inconsistency in the use of ECI within the public sector clients as a result of the ambiguity in the definition of ECI. This study also finds a number of opportunities for clients when ECI is adopted, the chief amongst which are enhancement in constructability, improving working relationship, greater certainty in price and scope, and innovation.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Australia; construction clients; early contractor involvement; eci; relationship based procurement |
| Index terms: | construction professional, leadership role, collaboration, project delivery, value-for-money, public client, complex project, constructability, interview, designer, project outcome, Australia, construction client, project party, public sector, programme, public-sector client, early contractor involvement, relationship-based procurement |
| Subjects: | project completion, profession, data collection methods, practitioner, strategic project management, project delivery, contractual arrangements, construction integration, management, evaluation, professional development, Geography, sociology, project controls, administrative law, leadership |
| Topics: | Time Control, Organizational Design, Value Management, Human Resources, Legal Issues, Design Practice, Procurement, Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Information Management, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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