Combining alliance principles and traditional contract delivery, Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) is becoming a favoured approach to relationship contracting.
The aim of ECI is to engage a construction partner early in project planning providing all the benefits of collaborative partnerships and appropriate risk allocation, while meeting client commercial risk profiles and funding constraints.
The ECI approach is best suited to complex and technically challenging projects that require multi-disciplinary input, flexibility in design and construction scheduling and a collaborative team approach to address project features and fast-track delivery.
Fostering relationships between project team members that last throughout a project’s duration, ECI also has the benefits of:
- aligning all project members, from the client to design consultants to the construction partner, to achieve commonality in project objectives and goals;
- expediting construction activities allowing tasks to be undertaken concurrently while retaining flexibility in work scope where delays occur;
- reducing tender costs and the duplication of project roles;
- involving all parties in identifying and mitigating risk factors, reviewing design concepts and constructability, setting productivity milestones, and determining the final cost target; and
- providing certainty to the client with:
- the ECI Phase progressing into a Design and Construct/Construct contract arrangement for the Construction Phase; and
- where agreement cannot be reached on the final target cost, providing the option to go out to competitive tender.
Georgiou is currently working with its partners to deliver ECI projects for Fremantle Ports and the Midland Redevelopment Authority. With a preference for collaborative project delivery, Georgiou also has joint venture and partnering arrangements in place, such as the ten year relationship with LWP Property Group for land development works at Ellenbrook Estate.
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In October 2008, Georgiou was awarded the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contract for the Fremantle Inner Harbour Deepening and Berth Works project in joint venture with Thiess (TGJV). TGJV personnel co-located to a shared office with the client, Fremantle Ports, to jointly develop the project’s final cost target in a collaborative working relationship.
Activities included assessing alternative design options, bringing forward innovative design and construction ideas, liaising with key port stakeholders to gain input into interface and other issues, and determining final construction delivery approaches.
The ECI Phase closed with approval for the Construction Phase for the Berth 10 Reconstruction works in April 2009. The two remaining construction contracts will be awarded when Board approval is given. |
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The client, the Midland Redevelopment Authority, was formed by the WA State Government to remediate and develop the site of the old Midland Railway Workshops. The project involved remediation of much of the 80 hectare site with a 17 hectare area in the centre of the site containing heritage listed industrial buildings.
The ECI approach to this project allowed significant budget savings to be realised. The nature of the works would, under a traditional contract, have resulted in substantial delay and variation costs to the client. These were eliminated through a collaborative approach to the early identification of risks and the flexible planning of construction stages. he end result was the project being delivered eight weeks ahead of schedule. Innovation also played a part in achieving excellent project outcomes. For example, reviewing and amending the design of embankments enabled a larger amount of material to be recycled thereby reducing imported fill, cartage and disposal costs. |