Professionalism and Procurement Responsibilities

Introduction

In the medieval times, various structures had various requirements. Building materials went from straw to glass. These materials were joined to breathe life into anything from a humble bungalow to the tall structures aiming high up above. Most structures developed during the medieval times were made of flexible materials, for example, straws, wattle and smear, cob, wood and stones. Stone structures are the main sort that endure these days. A structure which was made of stone depicted the affluence of its proprietor. Estates, houses of worship, churches and manors filled in as spots of worship but also as defence of the surrounding area and as symbols of power and riches.

Technological and communication development.

In recent times, technology is reshaping the construction industry. It has made construction sites safer and construction workers more efficient. There is increased productivity, improved collaboration and more complex projects can be tackled easily. Today there are software and mobile solutions to help manage every aspect of construction. Most programming arrangements are cloud-based, permitting changes and updates to records, plans, and other administration devices to be made continuously, encouraging better communication and collaboration in the construction industry.

Mobile data allows for real time data collection and transmission from the job site to the project managers at the back office. What appeared future tech 10, 20 years back like associated gear and devices, telematics, portable applications, self-sufficient overwhelming hardware, rambles, robots, augmented and virtual reality, and 3D printed structures are here and being conveyed and utilized on job sites all over the world.

Development and dissemination of knowledge.

Construction managers rely on their past experiences to make informed decisions on important tasks. Failure or success in developing good schedules or budgets depends on the ability of the project manager to obtain the correct and reliable information for instance the amount of time a required task is going to take to complete a required task or the quantity of nails needed to complete the entire construction.

The construction industry is seeing an explosive growth in both its ability to generate and collect data. A typical construction project has a large amount of data. This ranges from labour productivity, materials, equipment, cost estimating and scheduling of activities and among others. As the construction is adapting to modern computer technology in terms of hardware and software, computerized construction data is becoming more readily available. Most of this data is only used for communication purposes and stored in files or in a database without being analysed.

Professionalism in construction

Construction is a challenging and a very demanding profession. In order to complete a task efficiently, construction ‘pros’ are needed. These pros include architects, surveyors, interior designers, civil technicians, engineers, electrical engineers and structural technicians. These experts have different specialties. For instance, an architect takes care of the general look and development of the task while a structural engineer ensures that the structure is structurally ready.

Construction professionals generally require prolonged periods of education and training. For example, it takes seven years to qualify as an architect, a period that usually alternates between education and working in practice.

Traditional Contract Procurement

This is a common method used by contractors in procuring building works. It is a traditional method of procurement that separates the design work from the construction. The client appoints an architect to complete the design and produce specifications for the building. A consultation team is also appointed to take care of the design and cost. After the design is completed, the client appoints the main contractor to carry out the works. The contractor is therefore incharge of all the workmanship and materials including the works done by subcontractors.

A Small Building contractor.

Pure Design and Build Contract Procurement

Design and build as a method of procurement in the procurement method of construction is a fundamental concept of procuring buildings compared with the traditional methods. It places the responsibilities of both design and construction on to the constructing side of the industry, that is the main contractor. Design and build can be seen as giving a single point of responsibility for delivering the entire project. Some clients consider it as only appropriate for simple projects where design and quality is not given soo much consideration.

This type of procurement is appropriate where there is a need to make an early start on site, if the client wishes to minimise their risk, where the employer does not want to retain full control over the design development, and for technical complex projects which can benefit from the contractor’s expertise.

A Large Building contractor.

Types of contractual works tendered by contractors

A construction contract provides a legal binding agreement between the client and the contractor that the specific job will receive a specific amount of compensation or how the job will be compensated. Whether your construction model is new or needs improvement, it is important that you choose the right type of contract to meet your needs and that you make sure the contract terms are fair to you. There are many types of contracts used in construction, each type has its advantages and disadvantages with respect to the client and the contractor.

The most common types of contracts used in construction projects are:

Cost plus contracts

The contractor is paid based on the actual costs of construction and purchases or other expenses generated directly from the construction activity. This fee could be fixed or as a percentage of costs. Cost plus contracts can be structured in different ways including, cost plus fixed percentage, cost plus fixed fee, cost plus with guaranteed maximum price contract and cost plus with guaranteed maximum price and bonus contract.

Cost plus contracts are usually difficult to track and require more supervision. This type of contract normally doesn't put a lot of risk on the contractor, but it is possible to specify a guaranteed maximum price, so the buyer can mitigate risk.

Lump sum of fixed price contracts

This type of contract involves a total fixed price for all construction related activities until the completion of the project. With this type of contract, all risks are assigned to the contractor and the client has certainty because he knows what his final costs will be unless changes are made. Lump sum contracts can sometimes include incentives for completing projects under budget or in short periods of time, or liquidated damage clauses so the builder will have to compensate the client for being late to finish.

This contract is used when the risk needs to be transferred to the builder and the employer wants to avoid change orders for unspecified work.

Time and material contracts

The client pays for the time spent by the contractor and his subcontractors and must pay for the actual cost of construction materials in this type of contract. However, uncertainty is also involved. The employer has to pay for extra costs or overtime. This type of contract has maximum price clauses.

Types of construction companies

Construction companies execute the infrastructure work as it is on the drawing sheet. They make it real by constructing for a given amount of time as per agreement with the client. Construction companies are concerned with the building of buildings, bridges and dams etc.

There are generally four types of construction projects to be carried out. They include: residential buildings, commercial/institutional buildings, specialized industrial construction, infrastructure and heavy construction.

Depending on the job they perform, construction companies are classified into the following types:

Real estate companies

A real estate developer is a type of owner-builder who in addition to building for personal ownership may also build to sell before or after the completion of the project.

Civil engineering companies

A civil engineering company designs the structural elements for construction i.e. foundation, structural steel,concrete desks. Typically, it only offers engineering and survey services. Civil engineering companies design the project and manage the construction while the construction company will build the project. A construction firm does the actual building of the project and works with civil engineers to accomplish it.

Civil engineering companies deal with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment including public works such as roads and dams, bridges, airports, structural components of buildings and railways.

Heavy engineering and construction companies

This type of construction company deals with the construction of roads, dams, bridges, utility systems and other heavy civil engineering projects including subdivisions of land.

General contractors or construction contracting company

These companies are often experts in either new buildings or alteration works. A general contractor is the prime contractor for overseeing the day to day operations in a construction site, the management of vendors and trade and the communication of all information to concerned parties during the construction of the project.

Project management consultant companies

Project management consultants manage the project by application of their knowledge, skills and experience at the various stages of the construction project. A well organised approach of the Project management consultants will tackle design issues, constructability issues, safety issues, engineering issues, and inter-contractor coordination issues. Under a project management contract, an engineer overlooks the engineering procurement and construction companies contractors work to ensure compliance with the client scope of work.

Package builders

Such companies take on a contract for both design and construction of a building. These services often include acquisition of land and financing of the project. Package builder companies employ their own staff of architects, engineers and construction personnel. Sometimes, they subcontract the design portion to dependent architects and engineers. It is important for package builders to possess the necessary professional licence for engineering or architecture which is required in most states for those performing that action.

Small Renovation Contractors

These are contractors who provide planned renovation to offices, buildings, houses etc. of various projects. These companies generally work on jobs requiring small amounts of capital and the type of work that does not require a large construction organization. Many of these contractors have offices in their homes and do most of the paperworks at nights or on weekends. Small renovation contractors have the ability to grow to a general contractor depending on the training and business ability by the individual.

Sponsor-builder

A sponsor-builder may be given the responsibility for planning design, construction, rental, management, and maintenance in the field of housing which is government aided. A sponsor guides a project through the government processing and design stages. The support utilizes lawyers to manage the different government organizations, money related establishments, and land advisors, to give the expertise in land securing and evaluation. On signing the contract for construction of the building, the sponsor assumes the builder’s role.

The construction industry development

Many different organisations work together to build a project. An organisational structure in any kind of company comprises the way roles are arranged and the relationships between those types of roles in terms of operating and reporting. Marketing, purchasing, human resources, finance and construction operations make a structure organized according to departments, functions or areas of responsibilities.

Despite the construction industry traditional resistance to new technologies, some are making significant strides in rounds. Notable examples include mobile technology, drones, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and wearables and building information monitoring. Buildings are becoming ever more complicated and these technologies are helping construction teams improve designs and detect errors. For example, the benefits of 3D printing in the construction industry have already been explored and exploited by various construction companies. Today, it is possible to 3D print an entire hour in less than 24 hours! 3D printing reduces waste and since it is automated, it is not constricted by worker shift patterns.

By adding robots to the workforce, demolishing buildings in a construction site is way safer and cheaper. Construction companies are seeing improved construction and improved quality of builds too. Robots are also being developed to help in building maintenance such as window cleaning.

Optimized energy efficiency and a drive for low to zero carbon emissions have driven innovation in the construction industry for quite a number of years. In response, new and better thermal materials are being developed that promise to make the buildings well insulated for a fraction of the cost of current solutions.

There is also an intelligent 3D model-based process that has been widely adopted by architects, engineers, and other construction experts. Building Information Modelling has allowed stakeholders and suppliers to more efficiently plan, design, construct and manage a building and its infrastructure. Other technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality are also being integrated with Building Information Modelling to become more efficient. These current trends in the construction industry are unlikely to slow down in the near future.

Construction company structure and business ethos

Like any other industry, construction companies must have a strategy on how to grow and develop their business, compete effectively in the market and remain viable for a long time.

To assist in achieving their objectives, construction companies generally organise their activities into a number of discrete functional areas:

Design department - This site is responsible for site inspection, product drawing and specifications, design management, design procurement and coordination.

Finance department - Deals with finance policy, investments and insurance, cash requirements, supply of working capital, cash control, accounting and banking.

Office management - Deals with the management of the administration staff, policy on office accommodation, office layout and decoration, form designs, office procedures, safety and security.

Marketing department - Deals with brand development, promotion and publicity, exploring new markets and market research.

Construction department - Deals with construction methods and procedures, output standards, method statements, site layouts and logistics, working conditions and safety, productivity and quality control, site meetings and reporting.

Purchasing department - Deals with policy on stock holding, managing orders, delivery programmes, stock control and reconciliation.

Personnel department - Deals with personnel policy, interviews, recruitment and promotion, staff availability, organisational structure, succession planning and staff appraisal.

Plant department - Deals with managing plant availability, policy on plant ownership and maintenance, establishing and negotiating hire rates and management of all of the company’s plant items.

Legal department - Deals with the contractual agreements, legal representation of the company, drawing up of contractual documents and advice on conflict avoidance.

IT department - Deals with the IT strategy, corporate infrastructure and end-user support.

Quality assurance department - Deals with the quality assurance plans and documentations, training and inspections.

Construction Procurement Route

The Procurement Phase is where the results of the detailed engineering effort are leveraged to acquire bids for equipment, materials, and construction services, technically and commercially evaluate those bids, and issue purchase orders and negotiate construction contracts.

Procurement methods include competitive bidding, competitive proposals, requests for qualifications, and direct purchases. Competitive bidding is typically used for procurement of materials, supplies and equipment, maintenance and non-professional services, and construction.

The right model for a public sector construction procurement is one which:

Customers issue a short that focuses on required execution and result

Architects and constructors cooperate to build up a coordinated arrangement that best meets the necessary result

Temporary workers connect with key individuals from their production network in the plan procedure where their commitment makes esteem

Incentive for cash and serious strain are kept up by viable value benchmarking and cost focusing, by recognizing what undertakings should cost, instead of through singular

amount tenders dependent on deficient documentation

Supply chains are, the place the program is fit, connected on a sequential request premise of adequate scale and span to boost research and development around an institutionalized (or mass altered) item

Industry is given adequate perceivability of the forward program to settle on educated decisions (at its own hazard) about where to put resources into items administrations,p>innovation and abilities

There is an arrangement of enthusiasm between the individuals who plan and develop an office and the individuals who thus involve and oversee it.

Comparison between design and build vs. traditional

Design and Build

When one opts for a Design & Build route, the Contractor will be the main driver of the project. The design and build is the all in one method contract.

Advantages for Design and Build

Single point of obligation for plan and development.

Early value certainty

Benefit of contractual worker's experience tackled during plan

Early commencement on site

Disadvantages for Design and Build

The client may have to commit to contractual and financial arrangements which he or she might prefer to consider only when design was completed.

Change of the client’s requirements are likely to be more expensive once the contract has been signed.

The client may find it hard to prepare a sufficiently comprehensive brief

It harder to compare tenders and determine if they offer value for money

Ease of fabrication may be prioritised over aesthetic value

Traditional Contract Procurement

When one opts for a Traditional Procurement, he will be be directly employing the Quantity Surveyor and Design Team for the duration of the build. This team will create the design, submit it to planning for approval and generate a package of tender information.

Advantages of Traditional Contract Procurement

Relatively low tender preparation costs

Satisfactory public accountability

Procedures are well known

Reasonable changes are easily arranged and valued

There is an element of competitie fairness

Disadvantages of Traditional Contract Procurement

It is open to abuse when the design is incomplete hence less uncertainty

Poor buildability, the contractor is not usually involved in the design or planning

No concurrent working hence slow to start on site

The design risk rests with the client

Potential for adversarial relationships

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References

Chudley, R. (2011). Construction technology. Harlow: Pearson.

Halpin, D. (2006). Construction management. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Hinze, J. (2011). Construction contracts. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Jorgensen, U. and Brodersen, S. (n.d.). Engineering Professionalism.

Smyth, H. (2009). Property companies and the construction industry in Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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