2 minute read
New Opportunities to Tackle Enduring Problems
Governments have committed to a pipeline of infrastructure and built environment projects as part of the COVID-19 economic recovery. A real uplift in productivity is needed to realise the full potential of this investment.
Therefore, Australia’s economic recovery will rely on both the consulting and construction sectors of our industry working more effectivity together. Now is the time to address enduring issues. Now is the time to ask what cultural shifts are needed and how can procurement and contracting act as tools to drive that change.
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There is a risk that reliance on existing procurement practices and contracting behaviours will undermine economic recovery. Unnecessarily complex and lengthy procurement processes coupled with undesirable contracting terms and behaviours have always been problematic. But with the pressure COVID-19 is putting on people and the economy, these matters become the focus of much needed action and redress.
The construction industry has been categorised as inherently adversarial in nature arising from poor risk allocation. The industry cannot sustain itself in the current landscape of disputes. Contractors, consultants, and government clients all acknowledge that there must be a better way. Now is the time to re-prioritise and invest in a healthy supply ecosystem that will lead to benefits post-COVID-19. We are now ‘all in the same boat’ and the need for collaboration and appropriate risk allocation has become clear. Consult Australia members have shared over twenty different projects that demonstrate best practice procurement initiatives or model contracting behaviours. From these examples, common threads emerge highlighting the importance of collaboration and communication. Drawing on these examples, we propose a raft of actions that would help maximise the economic benefits from projects.
Our work highlights that productivity gains can be found in every phase of the project; pre-tendering, tendering, contracting, project delivery and post-completion.
None of the actions pictured above are radical – demonstrating that reform is not an invention test, we can learn from past projects around the country, and implement the best initiatives into future projects.
These actions also deliver equal benefits to both clients and industry:
• Clients can access industry expertise and expertise early
• Clients can gain a greater understanding the capacity and capability of the market
• Industry can have concerns about the project delivery program, procurement methods and commercial matters addressed pre-tender
• Industry can identify early the projects that best suit their capability and capacity to allocate resources and effort on a manageable number of tenders
• Industry can be on an equal footing at bidding stage
• Industry can be valued and therefore willing to invest in the project and the team
• There can be increased collaboration and trust between all parties
• All parties can manage risks properly and promote innovation throughout the project.
Streamlined procurement processes and improved contracting behaviours should not just be a short-term initiative while we recover from COVID-19. Lasting reform can create lasting productivity gains. Now is the opportunity to create a more sustainable ecosystem through actions in response to COVID-19.
This work will soon be released as a Thought Leadership piece exploring the actions in more detail and providing project case studies.
