Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
management. However, in order to highlight PSE's specifi c features,
compared to the more traditionally held procurement and supply chain
management (SCM) approaches, the application of the PSE model is
described to illustrate the overall concept that has now been deployed
on two of the largest construction programmes delivered in the UK in
modern times - namely, the London 2012 infrastructure programme at
over £9 bn and the Crossrail railway programme at some £14 bn.
PSE is a tried and tested approach, used effectively on a number of
construction programmes to deliver a successful built-environment
solution from a global supply marketplace. It is an approach that delivers
the values and goals of the client across multiple projects within a
highly complex programme or portfolio environment. The PSE approach
sets out at the earliest stages to deliver the values and goals of the
client.
While the PSE model was developed in response to the challenges of
delivering the London 2012 Games' infrastructure, since its deployment
on this programme it has been further developed and many elements of
the model deployed on numerous other programmes of varying sizes and
complexity.
Major construction projects and programmes are by their nature
extremely multi-faceted, involving the mobilisation of resources employ-
ing complicated technical solutions. Nevertheless, this complexity can
be managed by breaking the whole, regardless of its size, into appropriate
and manageable parts and solving each of them individually. No over-
arching approach can be applied to meet all the requirements of a
complex client and its many stakeholders' contradictory objectives and
confl icting interests. However, it is possible to propose a consistent
method for analysing each package of work and the capability and capac-
ity of the many fi rms required to deliver these to meet the priorities set
out for their particular part of the project.
Doing so ensures that each fi rm is capable of fulfi lling its obligations
to the project and, taken as a whole, all the fi rms then contribute
towards the successful completion. This applies equally to the whole
construction value chain, made up of main contractors, their subcon-
tractors and their suppliers. PSE is a technique that can be used to
measure and establish the capacity, capability and reliability of each
fi rm in the supply chain even prior to selection. As procurement is not
only about appointing contractors but is also very much a starting point
in the process of delivery, PSE also deals with managing and monitoring
certain aspects of the fi rms throughout their engagement.
