ICE - Institution of Civil Engineers - Virtual Library

The fundamental and strategic trends that are underway in supply chains need further facilitation and acceleration in the construction industry. This means that management need to review each of these major supply chain trends ȓ outsourcing, collaborating, differentiating and compressing ȓ to determine whether their company lies ahead of, abreast of or behind their competition. Information communication technology (ICT) is an essential aid in the optimisation and improvement of the supply chain management.

Prevention is better than cure. Using dispute boards on major infrastructure projects has been shown to reduce significantly the number of issues that become full-blown disputes and thereby involve the parties in time-consuming and costly arbitration and/or litigation. In this paper the author, a past-president of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation and a leading exponent of dispute boards, reviews the history, purpose and proven benefits of dispute boards in the avoidance and early evaluation (adjudication) of disputes within the construction industry. The paper emphasises the importance of good job–site communication and how a proactive dispute board, particularly on international contracts, can positively influence on-site relationships and bring major project management benefits to the construction process. The appointment of dispute boards, the terms of engagement and best-practice procedures are discussed. The article reveals the remarkably successful dispute resolution figures of 98‥ when dispute boards are used in addition to the hidden benefits of dispute avoidance.

This paper provides a conceptual background for future research in the area of innovation and continuous improvement (CI) in the facilities management supply chain. In a modern, rapidly changing business environment, it is important for businesses to sustain innovation and continuous improvement through active collaboration with suppliers and service providers. The paper provides a synthesis of the theories of CI and an evaluation of the practical implications of its implementation and management. It also provides further insights into the different levels of CI capabilities of organisations as well as the critical success factors in forming collaborative alliances between clients, suppliers and other service providers.

Traditionally in Ireland the forms of contract used for government-funded projects were those published by either the Institution of Engineers of Ireland or the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. They were based on the Institution of Civil Engineers and Joint Contracts Tribunal standard forms with minor changes to reflect local conditions. In 2007 the Irish government introduced a suite of bespoke contract forms for both employer-designed and contractor-designed projects. Although officially entitled ‘public works contracts’ they are colloquially known as the GCCC contracts after the Government Construction Contracts Committee, the body within the Irish Department of Finance responsible for drafting and introducing them. The new forms are fixed-price lump-sum contracts with considerably more construction risk transferred to contractors than under the previous forms. The forms are now mandatory for all new building and civil engineering infrastructural projects and many contractors have complained that some of the risks transferred are not only inappropriate but are incapable of assessment at tender stage. The paper sets out the history of the development of the new forms and provides an overview of the more contentious provisions.