Alliance contracting: friend or foe

The construction industry in Australia has utilised many forms of construction contracts over the years to deliver small and large projects. Lump Sum construct only as well as Design and Construct style of contracts have been the backbone of the construction industry. Recent increase in demands for resources within the rail industry has resulted in a shortage of skilled workers to undertake this work. The construction industry is also reluctant to tender for all projects due to the cost of tendering and scarcity of resources. Alliance contracting is now seen by an increasing number of clients as able to deliver their projects on time with shared input in a non adversarial way. The selection of the contract style however is important as not all projects are best delivered using Alliance contracting. The client must carefully choose the most appropriate method for delivery for that project. In Alliance contracting, a team of experienced people which includes the client, comes together to not only define the project and scope, but deliver the project as one joint team thus expediting the works and reducing duplication of management effort. Risks can be identified and managed and the budget is controlled by the client. The contractors profit and margins are transparent and the performance based KPI's lead to a more efficient project. The adopting a 'no blame' culture will direct project energy into the delivery of projects rather than finding claims and subsequent dispute resolution. It requires team players from both sides to ensure a successful project. For the rail construction industry to be able to efficiently deliver the large number of projects currently being planned, it will be necessary to efficiently and effectively manage resources. Alliance contracting is one method of not wasting these scarce engineering resources and delivering the work on time and within budget. Alliance contracting can be a Friend when used correctly but can also be a Foe when incorrectly implemented.

• Record URL:
  http://railknowledgebank.com/Presto/content/Detail.aspx?q=ImZyaWVuZCBvciBmb2Ui&ctID=MTk4MTRjNDUtNWQ0My00OTBmLTllYWUtZWFjM2U2OTE0ZDY3&rID=NzQ1&qcf=&ph=VHJ1ZQ==&bckToL=VHJ1ZQ==&
• Authors:
  • Milton P
• Conference:
  • AusRAIL PLUS 2005, 22-24 November 2005, Sydney, NSW, Australia
• Publication Date: 2005

Media Info

• Pagination: 8p.
• Monograph Title: AusRAIL PLUS 2005, 22-24 November 2005, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Maintenance management; Project management; Railroad transportation
• ATRI Terms: Maintenance management; Project management; Rail transport
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01516892
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 4 2014 7:57PM