APPROACH

From the beginning of the project, the team decided to undertake contractor market sounding to establish:

• Optimal form of contract
• Construction methodology and buildability (in response to specific site constraints)
• Opportunities e.g. design validation, prefabrication, early works and detailed site investigations
• Constraints e.g. access arrangements, including opportunities and restrictions
• Risk assessment and allocation
• Safety – informed by specific site constraints, design and construction methodology
• Program – provide more realistic program based on contractor input
• General market appetite (given relatively low construction value)

Adopting a best-fit procurement approach posed a unique set of challenges. Specifically:

• Prominent site equals high risk and program pressure
• Project certainty and confidence required
• Historic funding does not align with optimal outcome
• Delivering value for money (real and perceived)
• Preserving future development opportunity
• Responding to site conditions e.g. heritage and archaeology, contamination, services, infrastructure and access
• Stakeholder engagement
• Mitigating construction impacts

OUTCOMES

Key learnings

• Commence the process early
• Appropriate contractor selection
• Set commercial terms and conditions up front
• Apply a fair and reasonable risk allocation
• Keep stakeholders informed of the process
• Treat the ECI as a genuine partnership

Success is being realised through the design phase, including:

• ECI method has encouraged buildability, innovation and safety
• Project is benefiting from early consultation and agreement with stakeholders
• Prefabrication opportunities have been explored early
• Risk allocation and support main works negotiations underway, well in advance of a traditional tendering process

Benefits to project have included:

• Advanced appreciation of site constraints, early buy-in into safety, access, and buildability considerations
• Expedited program opportunities are supported, enabling early and main works packages
• Early cost certainty has been established based on genuine market conditions
• Robust contractor-led design management has supported innovation, efficiencies, and improvement opportunities
• Allowing appropriate allocation of risk between Principal and Contractor
• Supporting SINSW procurement standardisation
• Reducing the impact of market tendering costs
• Rewarding performance commercially

For more information, visit the School Infrastructure webpage or contact the team at School Infrastructure NSW.

Phone: 1300 482 651

Email: schoolinfrastructure@det.nsw.edu.au