In May of 2004, a U.S. panel traveled to Canada and Europe to learn from their significant experience by conducting a scan of “Construction Management Practices for Effective Project Delivery, Contract Compliance and Quality Assurance” (Construction Management Scan). The purpose of the scan was to review and document international policies, practices and technologies for potential application in the U.S. The team conducted meetings with government agencies, academia, and private sector organizations involved in construction management efforts and visited sites where alternative technologies and practices were being applied. The visit consisted of a combination of meetings with highway agencies and practitioners, and site visits. The scan team visited or conducted meeting with international organizations from:
Toronto, Canada;
Munich, Germany;
Cologne, Germany;
Manchester, England;
Edinburgh, Scotland;
Glasgow, Scotland;
The Hague, The Netherlands; and
Helsinki, Finland.
Traditional construction management processes, such as open bidding, unit price contracting, and agency quality control have served the U.S. public well in the construction of our national and state highway systems. While these processes provide transparent check and balances, they also tend to diminish trust between agencies, contractors and their supply chain, as well as inhibit innovation and efficiency. These methods have also contributed to highly publicized cost and schedule overruns that have created a lack of public confidence in the industry’s ability to perform effectively. To compound these issues, many highway agencies are realizing a reduction in staffing while facing increasing infrastructure demands. U.S. highway agencies and their industry partners are beginning to rethink fundamental design and construction delivery principles.
Evolving industry roles and the adoption of alternative project delivery methods are creating changes in the conventional construction management practices that public agencies use to ensure appropriate project delivery, contract compliance and quality assurance. The federal government and state transportation agencies are in the process of developing policies and procedures to address these evolving delivery methods. Critical components of these new methods include the changing relationships between public agencies, contractors, and private engineering firms including risk allocation processes, quality control/quality assurance, and general contract administration procedures. Some of these evolving delivery methods include the use of non-conventional procedures such as design-build contracts, public/private arrangements, maintenance and warranty requirements, and use of third party consultants to perform contract management.
The international highway community has developed construction management procedures in what the U.S. would consider alternative procurement and contracting environment. Recognizing the similarities and benefits that could result from an examination of international construction management procedures, a diverse team of experts was assembled to research, document, and promote the implementation of international best practices that might benefit U.S. industry.
The authors of this report have gained a fresh perspective as to how the U.S. highway industry can function in a new spirit of partnership and alignment towards customer focused goals. We are offering a challenge to public and private highway construction professionals to change the current construction management practices that create adversarial relationships. We must develop new practices that promote trust, create teamwork, and align all participants towards customer focused objectives of quality, safety, and dependable transportation facilities. We must also learn to analyze risks more effectively and allocate these risks to the party than can manage them most effectively. These changes must occur if we are to meet our customer demands.