Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of people who are impacted by them. In this sense, procuring projects
on the scale of the London 2012 Games has impacts on their environ-
ment, employment and quality of life. In an important sense, major
projects give decision makers responsibility for far more than simply
acquiring buildings and structures. It is no longer simply a matter of just
buying buildings. Major projects create a way of life and leave a legacy;
London 2012 recognised this and made that aspect a part of their stra-
tegic thinking.
Developing a balanced scorecard
In a simple set of objectives consisting only of cost, time and quality,
an emphasis on any one of the three would detract from the other two.
In other words costs could be reduced at the expense of project duration
or by compromising quality. However, because of the addition of a
number of complex objectives caused by environmental impact studies,
health and safety legislation and global warming, a matrix of competing
objectives needs to be delivered. These objectives have to be budgeted
for during the business case, clearly articulated during supplier engage-
ment, weighted and evaluated during procurement and then measured
or benchmarked during delivery. To manage all of these processes
requires a coherent contracting strategy that clearly sets out the respon-
sibilities, when they arise and where they are located. Without this
direction the supply chain cannot know what represents value to the
client and therefore how best to frame their tenders to deliver best
value.
It is therefore necessary to communicate items beyond the building
specifi cations to meet the client's requirements. Defi ning what is needed
sets the agenda for the programme or project. It is this value defi nition
that is the starting point for developing a coherent and clear procure-
ment and supply chain management strategy and it is this defi nition of
value that PSE uses to engage with the client and key stakeholders.
Clients may have some very clear ideas and defi nitions of what rep-
resents value or what a successful programme may look like from their
own perspective. They may state the need for their projects to be deliv-
ered on time, to budget and to a high-quality specifi cation. Safety issues
have become more prominent as a result of legislation. Other objectives
