Center for Technology in Government

INTRODUCTION

The report is about the construction of new Center of Technology in Government which is a high tech facility with office space and is to be built in Liverpool, United Kingdom. The total area of the project is 20,000 m2 and is owned by Department for Business Innovation and Skills, United Kingdom. The primary aim of the report is to map the overall processes and sub-processes involved in the execution of the project using Generic Design and Construction Process Protocol (GDCPP) from a contractor’s point of view. Further the process is analyzed and evaluated to study the most appropriate exercise for the construction market. The detailed specifications are given in Appendix -2 which clearly illustrates the primary and secondary aims, the current and future situation of the project. Further towards the progress, the delivery method for the execution of the project is already mentioned which is Design and Build (Appendix - 2).

The first part of the report is about the method used for the execution of whole of the project CTG, i.e., Design and Build. The contractor and client have a partnering arrangement (Appendix 1). The chapter aims to illustrate what are the parties/stakeholders involved in such type of project from the contractor’s point of interest, what are the most probable disputes that may arise during the project life cycle and its solutions.

DESIGN AND BUILD METHOD OF PROCUREMENT

The design and build type of procurement method is the one in which the Construction of the project starts even before the design is completed Walker and Hampson (2003). Thus the contractor takes the risk and initializes the construction before the final drawings and design is finalized. Therefore the complete risk is transferred by the client to the contractor. There is a risk associated with the project as all the authority has been transferred to the contractor and the client may loose his control over the project, but this is not always the case. The sensitivity of the CTG Project forces the client’s involvement trough out the project (Appendix 1).

In Design and Build, according to Morledge et al., (2006), the client has many advantages to assign a single party for the design as well as the construction of the project; following can be regarded as some of the main points:

* The early selection of the Design and Build contractor by the client under the contract system helps the client to ponder upon the important design issues related with the project Kerzner (2003). This helps to get the best value for money from the project by minimizing the extra costs. The most beneficial aspect of this type of procurement activity is that always the major issue during a project is “time” and design and build approach is most appropriate option in this regard. The overall cost goals are best achieved indicating the best value for money.

* The early involvement of client and the interaction with the stakeholders and the design team makes it easier to seek out the things. The advantage of this is that the outline of the project is set upon which the tenders are called. According to Masterman (2002), the pre-tender stage, tender stage and the final implementation stages are most important for the future of the project. Thus the outline set by the client marks the start of the different processes involved in the project.

From the above mentioned properties the second option is quite suitable for the CTG Project because the contractor after passing the three stages of tendering is able to practically implement its experience on the project.

PROCUREMENT PROCESSES INVOLVED IN THE CTG PROJECT

The single stage tendering was selected as most appropriate for the CTG Project. The first step was the inception of the idea by the client in which the client enlisted the need, the objectives and the outcomes of the CTG Project. Then the team of consultants incepted the scheme and worked on it. The team consisted of Engineers, Architects and the QS. The team of consultants converted the idea into series of drawings and specifications in which there was a high involvement of the client (Appendix – 1). The series of processes that took place during this period are stated below;

PROCESS – 1 (PRE-TENDER)

* The client of the Center of Technology in Government (CTG) Project i.e. Department for Business Innovation and Skills, UK, sets up its consultant team that take the project from inception phase to the designing phase.

* The design of the project is set and the cost of the project is estimated upon which the tenders are called upon by the process of Pre-Qualification.

PROCESS – 2 (TENDERING)

* The contractor with the lowest bid i.e., G & C Ltd is selected as the Design and Build Team for the CTG Project and the contract is signed.

PROCESS – 3 (POST TENDERING)

* The third process involves the establishment of relational ship between the two teams which are the consultant of the client and the design team of the contractor. This step is very crucial and common understanding between them is very necessary.

* After all the design and specifications are set, the construction phase starts. It is not necessary for the contractor to wait up till the complete design is finished, as the advantage of Design and Build is that he main design is in hand of the contractor with which the construction phase can be started.

MAIN PROCESSES OF CTG PROJECT

There are four main processes (according to Generic Design and Construction Process Protocol) involved in the CTG Project which is, Pre-Project Stage, Pre-Construction Stage, Construction Stage and Post-Completion Stage (Cooper et al., 2005). The G & C Ltd contractor was selected in the Pre-Project Stage in which the initial design and the concept were established. The Pre-Construction, Construction and Post-Construction Stages constitute series of processes and sub-processes which contribute towards the completion of whole of the project. The Process Protocol map of whole of the processes involved through out the life cycle of the project are given in Appendix – 3, whereas sub- processes of the important stages of the project are shown in Appendix – 4 map. A brief overview is as follows:

ANALYSIS OF MAIN PROCESSES OF CTG PROJECT

The above mentioned four stages need to be elaborated in order to understand the requirements of the project.

1. PRE-PROJECT STAGE

The pre-project stage is almost client oriented and is not a major point of consideration in this report. The pre-project phase starts with the inception of design till the pre-construction stage. Therefore, the processes involved in this stage can be regarded as:

P1 – Inception of Design: During this phase, the client has his idea for the project which it elaborates in the form of design.

P2 – Process of Tendering: During this phase, the pre-qualification of contractors is done by tendering and the contractor with the lowest bid is selected.

P3 – Signing of Contract: The selected contractor is assigned the job after the contract between the client and contractor is signed.

2. PRE-CONSTRUCTION STAGE

The pre-construction stage consists of all the processes (Appendix - 3) that are involved just before the final execution of the work done on the site. These include processes as well as the sub-processes (Appendix - 4) that constitute the important part of the project. Following are the processes involved in the pre-construction stage

P4 – Learning phase: During this phase the interaction of teams is in full persuasion and the idea behind the project is well under stood. The possible solutions for the problems are integrated.

P5 – Team Organization: Team organization is the first step in the pre-construction stage. The design tea of the client and contractor are organized in order to proceed further.

P6 – Functional & Operational Requirements (F&ORs): The F&ORs were taken into consideration during the designing phase.

P7 – Procurement Method Selection: The procurement method is selected upon the interest o the client and the cost of the project.

P8 – Initial Estimation: The initial estimation gives the brief idea of what it cost for the design of the project. This initial cost analysis is done to keep and eye on the overall budget and to check whether further alterations are possible or not.

P9 – Initial Plan Setup: The initial plan is setup from the above considerations keeping in view the current budget, situation and environmental factors. This plan is just a preliminary and is subject to change after alterations that may arise.

P10 – Initial Design: After learning the scope of the project through regular formal and informal meetings, the initial design is setup. From this design the further process are eased up.

P11 – Preliminary Design Proposal: The preliminary design proposal is setup and is given to the client for acceptance. The financial and the budget is kept into deep consideration during this phase of the process.

P12 – Feedback: The feedback from the client and contractor team is achieved which results in the review of the design.

P13 – Initial Review: The initial review of the report is done so that further proceedings with the project may not be hindered by any problem.

P14 – Final Design: After a careful review, the final design of the project is setup. This is an in-depth detailed design of the project which consists of all the design specifications.

P15 – Final Procurement Method: After the review considerations, the procurement method is finalized.

P16 – Final Estimation: The final estimation of the cost is done in the form of Bill of Quantities. The possible alterations in design or rate are done.

P17 – Final Plan Setup: Finally the plan is setup. Different planning and controlling techniques used to establish the plan are fixed in this process.

P18 – Handover of Design Documents: The finalized design documents are processed in order to be reviewed. These design documents consists of the feasibility report, the elevations, the architectural details, the BOQs, the detailed analysis and detailing of the project.

P19 – Final Feedback: The final feedback is taken from all the design teams in order to further proceed the matter.

P20 – Final Review: The in-depth final review is made so that all the maters before the construction phase are dealt.

The successful completion of Pre-Construction Stage marks the start of the Construction phase and means a Green signal to the execution of the project.

3. CONSTRUCTION STAGE

The construction stage consists of the processes that form the total structure of the project. Following are the processes involved in the construction phase:

P21 – Initial Review before execution: This process includes that initial check up of all the documents before starting the job. It is made clear that any type of upgrading is required within the documents to properly implement it on site.

P22 – Site Acquisition: The proposed site of the project will be acquired and the setup will be arranged to facilitate all the necessities of the project including the on site office building, accommodation for staff, machinery on site etc.

P23 – Provision of Infrastructure: The site is in the remote area so the infrastructure setup is established to facilitate the process of construction (Appendix - 1). The roads, water, electricity and gas supplies are quickly supplied in order to cope up with the scheduled tasks.

P24 – Security Setup: The sensitivity issue of the project enables the project team to arrange strict security measures including guarding the whole area of the site by security guards, CCTV (Appendix – 1).

P25 – Health and Safety at work: All the necessary steps required for the safety of staff members are taken right in the start stage so that any injury can be tackled with ease.

P26 – Aesthetics: Aesthetically the building is state of the art modern building with all the latest facilities and New Age design features.

P27 – Dispute and Quality Control: Any possible disputes that may arise are instantly handled and the quality of overall project is taken into great consideration.

P28 – Minimizing the Changes: It would not be a good option to make changes at the execution of the project. Such changes can be very expansive and can alter the duration and budget of the project.

P29 – Mode of Communication: The mode of communication amongst the client, contractor and sub-contractors is very encouraged so that all the members are well updated of the current situation of the site and the project (Fryer, 1997). Any changes are instantly recorded.

P30 – Labor Issues: The issues of labor are given much importance because the overall progress of the project is well based on the labor.

P31 – Documentation: All the design charts, meetings or any amendments in the form of documents are documented so that any issue can be accessed later on. This eases the process and a record is kept as when a task was done. The planning permission, security clearances and similar documents are also kept as a record for later accessibility.

The construction phase thus includes the major constituent of the project and has the most possibility of disputes which are well handled. After the construction process is completed, the post construction phase starts.

4. POST-CONSTRUCTION STAGE

The post-construction phase is the phase in which different processes takes place after the construction works are finished. This phase is the analysis of the work that has been done.

P32 – Building Checkup: After the completion of the project, proper building check-up is done in order to make sure that all the things are working fine and up to the mark.

P33 – Hand over of Building: The building is handed over to the client after complete assessment and analysis. The handover of the building is done by signing a contract which includes the specification on which the building was constructed.

P34 – Operations & Maintenance: The operations and maintenance of the building is done for the proper working of the functions for which the building is made for. Maintenance is very necessary as it keeps the works going on smoothly.

CONTRACTOR’S PROCESSES IN CTG PROJECT

The contractor has the major contribution towards the completion of the project. The possible process and their sub-processes in the contractor’s context are discussed below:

i. The involvement of the contractor into the CTG project begins with the initial process of tending which is P2. P2 process marks the start of the contractor’s interference in the project as the contractor undergoes the tending stage which is a major competition amongst other contractors in the market. A high level mapping demonstrates the P2 process as a very important and further sub-processes involved in this process are detailed in Appendix - 4 of the report.

ii. After the tendering process, contract is signed (P3) and the contractor assigns the tasks to the Architects, Engineers and QSs. Meetings are held in order to understand the needs of the project, client and the future perspectives of the CTG project. The overall part of understanding developed at this stage is from the design briefs already provided (Appendix 1). The contractor takes into consideration the technical as well as the financial aspects of the CTG Project by getting on with the proposals in order to get the maximum value. At this stage the contractor makes sure that necessary information is shared with the stakeholders and the sub-contractors, proper investigation of the site is done and all the important aspects are documented. Proper Risk management is done using different approaches and tools in order to cope up with any uncertainty and the hindrance it may cause during the execution of the CTG Project. Value management taking into consideration the options which make the maximum value out of the CTG Project are taken into account like Leisure and Entertainment (Appendix -1).

iii. Team organization (P4) is the next process after the sign of the contract (P3). Team organization is very critical issue for the contractor’s point of view as the process team management leads to the successful achievement of the goals. As discussed earlier that the design tem of the client and contractor are integrated and merged together so that the proper outcome of the whole situation is handled. Although a greater amount of risk is transferred to the contractor, yet the CTG project’s objectives are more important to be achieved. The only option to remain abstained from risk and disputes is a proper coordination and understanding must be developed between all the stakeholders and the design teams.

iv. The design team further enhances the design of the CTG project as per the client’s requirements and the Initial Design (P6) is established keeping in view the F&ORs (P7). During this process all the pictorial view of the CTG Project establishes which indicates the overall scenario of the Project. All the sub-processes involved in these processes are detailed in Appendix 4.

v. Initial Estimation (P9) is done which enables the construction of the Initial Plan Setup (P10) and hence the Preliminary Plan Documents (P11) is made. It is very much essential that the initial cost estimation is done in accordance with the budgetary requirements set by the client and the constructor has to keep in mind about the sub-contactors involved in different processes and sub-processes. Cost estimation plays a vital role in estimating the material and labor of the project and any mistake can lead to great loss in terms of pricing issues. In order to avoid this, double checking is done.

vi. After consideration of all the processes it is now time to finalize the Procurement method (P15). The initial review (P13) gives different ideas and alternate routes towards solution of problems, thus easing the processes. These processes along with their sub-processes are key steps and stages that ease the overall process of construction.

vii. The final design (P14) is process which evolves the detailed drawing, specifications and all the complete design of the CTG Project. The necessary meetings, feedbacks and previous experience of the contractor and client play a vital role during the execution of this process.

viii. The Final Plan setup (P17) is the process which comes after all the necessary design amendments have been made. Proper planning, scheduling and project controlling techniques are applied keeping in view the clients requirements. It is just an overview of what is to be expected on the site after the construction phase.

ix. The last stage of the contractor’s process is the start of the construction stage. The Final plan (P17) serves as the guide for what is to be implemented on the site. In this process contractor has a clear overview of whether it is doing the process with a profit or loss and what is the percentage of either of them. During the construction stage, the contractor keeps in view the quality standards set by the client. The design team of CTG Project offer high quality skills and regulated meeting with the staff and labor enables them to keep a check and balance of the quality issues. The design team ensures that material of significant standard is used as per the specifications given by the contractor and also quoted in the final plan. Because the side by side routine checkup makes the process accelerate with pace and thus enhance the overall scope of the project. Thus it enables to establish best value and a win-win situation for the contractor as well as the client.

OUTCOME OF PROCESSES

The approach established for the execution of the CTG Project from the inception stage till the construction stage had many advantage as well as some disadvantages. The teams were organized in such a manner that it had a strong influence over the different stakeholders through out the process because the target was to fulfill the client’s objectives (Appendix - 2). Moreover not only the construction processes, in fact the energy issues were also needed to be considered as it had a major contribution to meet the needs of the main purpose of the building. Some of the main issues concerned with CTG Project can be enlisted below:

Time Management

Burke (2003), time management is crucial for the project as it clearly explains the scope of work in depth. Time was regarded as a major issue during the life cycle of the CTG Project. Although the procurement method selected for the project was Design and Build which has a fixed time that is setup in the start of the project yet the Client which is The Department of Business Innovation and Skills, had a little uncertainty in this regard. But it was a good outcome of team effort that enabled to finish the tasks well on time.

Cost Management

The funding body for the CTG Project was the government body which had a fixed budget set for the successful completion of the CTG Project. The design teams had to really work hard to cope up with the market price fluctuations in order to meet the deadlines and goals. This illustrates strict quality assurance and good team management of the CTG Project.

Quality Management

Being a government funded project, it was made possible in all aspects that the aesthetics and overall quality remains excellent. Not only this, the building is being considered Zero Emission Building (Appendix -1). The overall quality of building not only appears attractive but also makes the employees happy and motivated towards their jobs (Appendix – 1). Side by side testing of the materials used for construction had a positive impact on overall production of CTG Project.

Disadvantages of processes

* Although all the processes had advantages throughout the whole project yet some problems with the quality issues were seen. The quality standards stated in the tender were found different while on site. This rose disputes amongst the client and the contractor’s team what had a negative impact on the partnering practice. Moreover some minor obliquities regarding the design of the building were seen which later on were resolved by the interference of the client.

* Overlapping of some processes with other processes had some drawbacks like some of the electricity works were left due to delay in achieving the desired tasks and the painting staff started their work. This lack of communication amongst labor caused a delay in the process.

VALUE AND NON-VALUE ADDING PROCESSES

Dallas (2006) explains that when it is the peak of the process, then all the activities are value adding activates. On the other hand the peak of the process gives high definition profile which conceals the defects of the outcome associated with individual tasks and its duration. As per the clients requirements (Appendix 2) the process and their sub-processes can be distinguished into following categories:

i. Value adding processes (important): Egbu (2010d) illustrates that value can be simply be defined as the ratio of function and cost i.e. value = function / cost. In the CTG Project context value adding processes and sub-processes are the one’s which cost minimum but generate a maximum value.

ii. Non-Value adding processes (important): Some of the processes in the CTG Project appear to be non-valuable and less value is generated by undergoing a process, yet its importance is very much essential for the proper execution of the project.

iii. Non-Value adding processes (un-important): The processes which are non- value generating and can be regarded as wasteful activity fall under this category (Dallas, 2006). Such processes can be like; repeating the same process several time, extra or unwanted movement or transportation, excessive waiting etc. and thus are responsible to increase the expenses of the project.

The above mentioned definitions can be better understood by the production of following table in which all the processes are enlisted which fall into their respective categories;

Value Adding (Important)	* P2 – Process of Tendering * P4 – Team Organization * P9 – Initial Estimation * P7 – Initial Design * P10 – Initial Plan Setup * P11 – Preliminary Design Proposal * P14 – Final Design * P17 – Final Plan Setup * P22 – Site Acquisition * P23 – Provision of Infrastructure * P24 – Security Setup * P28 – Minimizing the Changes
Non-Value Adding (important)	* P3 – Signing of Contract * P12 – Feedback * P15 – Final Procurement Method * P16 – Final Estimation * P18 – Handover of Design Documents * P19 – Final Feedback * P31 – Documentation
Non-Value Adding (Unimportant)	* P5 – Learning phase * P13 – Initial Review * P26 – Aesthetics * P30 – Labor Issues * P32 – Building Checkup

The above list clearly elaborates the value and non-value adding activities. Moreover the Process and Sub-Process map given in Appendix – 3, 4 gives all the detailed picture of above mentioned processes.

GENERIC DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS PROTOCOL

INTRODUCTION TO PROCESS PROTOCOL

Construction industry is believed as very uncertain, different and of unique in nature when compared with other sectors and industries (Paim et al., 2008). This can be due to the reason that construction industry in totally focused on a project, while in the case of a production industry the total focus is on each part of manufacturing. Most commonly the construction industry has teams setup for a particular project and when the project finishes the team are broken up and new set of teams develop on a new project. Whereas in a manufacturing industry, the teams remain the same through the entire time span and the project goals and objectives remain same unlike construction industry.

The United Kingdom government has taken necessary steps in order to improve the construction processes through the country. Considering a practical example that a man always learns from the mistakes it makes and it tries to adopt the good qualities of others. Similarly the practices in the construction industry outdate and the old practices didn’t produce the required results. So Latham in 1994 presented the idea that construction industry really needs a change in order to survive in the future. To consider the change aspect, construction industry can be related with the manufacturing industry and typically a car manufacturing industry (Egbu, 2010a). In the construction sector a project can be a house or a building while in the car manufacturing sector the project is the car manufacture. Closely looking the steps involved in construction are laying of bricks, making columns, slabs, beams, walls, electricity work, wood work, roof etc and the car manufacture includes, assembly of tires, axles, engine, body, windows and other components. The end result in both cases can be physically seen and that is a project but both are of different nature.

Many theories began to appear after the idea came into mind regarding the construction and manufacturing industries. Taking this approach further, Carroll (2002) implemented two different production theories on the construction industry. This he did by explaining that different processes and operations in the construction industry can be prototype which is commonly found in the manufacturing industry. This prototype can bring a lot of new ideas, change and enhancements in the construction industry. The manufacturing industry has brought up many changes in them for the last three decades and is further in the process of improvement and optimization. Thus the concept of lean manufacturing can be easily transferred into lean construction by working on the same principles as that of lean manufacturing.

The construction industry, like manufacturing industry is under the process of confinement since last decade (Kagioglou et al., 2000). The straight forward methods of construction were quite common and the need to implement new known practices was very much necessary. Egan Report in 1998 and the report given by Latham in 1994 gave a boom and a boost to the construction industry. Although these reports were criticized, yet their modern construction industry is much polished after the evolution of these reports. The construction industry has learnt the ways to manage different processes, stakeholders and financial and operational processes like never before. For this to happen, much of the input from the manufacturing side can be seen to participate.

CURRENTLY USED PROCESS MODELS

Construction sector is a very vast sector and consists of a large variety of processes and sub-processes. The processes can be different from place to place and thus the processes change geographically. The main processes in the construction industry can be regarded as very much identical like the method of procurement and the process of tendering, for instance but the processes can vary when taking into consideration the implementation of project planning, controlling and monitoring tools on a project as indicated by Egbu (2010b).

There are many Project Management techniques which are used through out the project life cycle these are, Design & Build, Design & Manage, Build Operate & Transfer (BOT), Construction Management, and Management Contracting. Some of the most commonly used design & construction process models are as follows:

RIBA PLAN OF WORK

The 1964’s Royal Institute of Building Architects (RIBA) plan of work was broadly acknowledged in the construction industry. It was considered as the role model for step-by-step guidance during a project life cycle. The latest updated edition of RIBA plan of work is published in 2007, yet mostly the 1997 edition of plan is used.

Egbu (2010b) explains that the RIBA plan of work is not suitable to be used with modern methods of procurement like management contracting, design and build, construction management etc. although it can be best suited with traditional approaches. Due to critics regarding the Stage G i.e. the Bill Of Quantities (BOQ) was withdrawn from the latest addition of 2007 because of the reason that this process indicated that only the professional like QS can take up this role which is contradicting the definition of process in a project. Therefore RIBA Plan of work cannot be used for CTG Project.

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY BOARD (CIB) CODE OF PRACTICE

The Construction Industry Board (CIB) model established in 1996 and had a similar goal like RIBA i.e. to develop a step-by-step guidance for the construction process (Egbu, 2010b). There are some distinctions in CIB model when compared with RIBA plan which is that this model consists of target milestone and the concept of teams in a construction process is indicated. The teams in a construction process usually consists of designers, architects ,quantity surveyors both from the client team a well as the contractor’s team which work together to get the best value for money out of the project. Therefore, CIB plan of work will be used for CTG Project.

Most of the project process models offer the guidance from the start of the project till the finishing stage and usually lack the “feedback and review” process. Thus an important aspect of the project process i.e. feedback can give a lot of improvements in the project even if it doesn’t then it indicated that the project was successful. CIB model also had the addition of feedback aspect which is also a plus point regarding this method.

BRITISH PROPERTY FEDERATION MANUAL (BPF)

Construction industry can never be regarded as an industry that has perfection all way along because always there are problems and alterations in design, materials, and specifications. Therefore taking this into consideration, British Property Federation (BPF) established the BPF manual. The main task of the exercise was to promote team work amongst the key members of the project in order to avoid unwanted activities and to reduce the overall cost of the project.

The approach is very much client focused so that client can take necessary actions before and after completion of each stage. This gives the client full control thus he is able to control the cost and quality of the project by involvement throughout the project. Due to this reason it is not applicable to Design Build procurement method as in CTG Project.

BRITISH AIRPORT AUTHORITY (BAA) – THE PROCESS PROJECT

The British Airport Authority, one of the largest airport authorities in the world, heads major projects of UK. Many projects of different size and nature are managed by BAA and to make every project a successful one, BAA has established set of guidelines in the form of process protocol. The difference between previous methods of processes is that this method consists of seven major stages and eight process stages.

Although the concept of process protocol is found in BAA system yet there is a disadvantage that this method is very much limited to the work done by BAA only. The steps and stages involved in the BAA process have given new ways of thinking construction as a manufacturing industry.

THE GATEWAY PROCESS

The Gateway Process was developed by the Office of Government Commerce in UK. In this process the professional in the field of procurement of government project have defined gateway as a critical point in the over all life cycle of the project. The difference between this and other methods is that it consists of six gateways as stated by Egbu (2010b).

IMPLEMENTATION OF PROCESS PROTOCOL (GDCPP)

Egan (1998) reported that the construction market is going through different phases like making uncertain policies; the demand of client is not given priority, new concepts in the field of construction are considerably decreasing and lack of research in this field may lead to unwanted results.

Keeping this hazardous situation in view, government took keen notice to overcome such difficulties which may lead to downfall in country’s economy and infrastructure. New methods and techniques like RIBA, BPF and BAA were developed using past experiences of working professionals. These steps were taken on the government level and due to lack of research and development; the institutional level was lagging behind in this field. The University of Salford and Loughborough University, both having excellent Research and Development history in United Kingdom took a step into developing the Generic Design and Construction Process Protocol (GDCPP) (www.processprotocol.com/background.htm).

Basically the Process Protocol (PP) was developed in two stages. Stage 1 consisted of the major understanding and purpose of the development while Stage 2 further enhanced the workability and user friendliness of the PP. The working methodology of the PP was using the production and manufacturing theme in the construction environment by managing the task and enhancing the team work the same way as in manufacturing industry (Egbu, 2010c).

The Process Protocol consists of four stages from the start till the end of the project. These four stages further consist of ten phases. The detailed analysis and description is done in the following paragraphs. Following are the four stages that constitute the overall Process Protocol software:

PRE-PROJECT PHASE

The pre-project stage is the one in which the idea or the plan of the CTG project is discussed. This stage is set by the client, Department of Business Innovation & Skills, UK and the main project and business strategies are set along with the possible outcomes to be expected by the project are defined.

As this stage (Pre-Project) is assumed to be accomplished before the start to of the Pre-Construction phase (Appendix – 1), so this is not discussed in detail.

PRE-CONSTRUCTION PHASE

This phase is of great importance as all the project needs are preliminary met here. The team development, design requirements, the financial approach and the estimates are set up in this phase. It constitutes following phases:

1. Phase Four – Outline Conceptual Design

2. Phase Five – Full Conceptual Design

3. Phase Six – Coordinate Design, Procurement & Full Financial Authority

CONSTRUCTION PHASE

The construction stage is the outcome of the previous phases as this stage constitutes the final look and the physical structure of the CTG Project. The construction phase has following phases:

4. Phase Seven – Production Information

5. Phase Eight – Construction

POST-CONSTRUCTION PHASE

This is the final stage of the project and as the name suggests, is the list of activities done after the construction and execution of all the plans and proposals. It consists of only one phase i.e,

6. Operations and Maintenance

The Generic Design & Construction Process Protocol constitutes all the function of construction process like feasibility, design, construction etc in the form of functional zone (Cooper et al., 2005). These zones are divided according to the activities to be conducted in each zone. These are also different levels up to which an activity can be described like, up to three levels of details. And all the activities can be regarded as interlinked with each other. Moreover to further enhance the use ability of the software, each management team associated with the construction industry is enlisted and the activities are managed accordingly.

MAPPING CTG PROJECT USING PROCESS PROTOCOL

The activities involved in the CTG Project are again mapped using the Generic Design & Construction Process Protocol. The reason is that this enables to give a critical analysis of both the methods. The process protocol enables to have a well organized and managed overview of all the different levels of the project including all the management teams and the integrated design and working team. The first map is mapped using Construction Industry Board (CIB) procurement plan of work. The map generated by Process Protocol gives a new way of visualizing the overall project (Anjard, 1998). Hence the map broadens the way of handling the CTG project. The map itself gives a detailed overview of what can be expected in the last, right in the beginning (Klotz et al., 2008).

INTEGRATION OF CTG PROJECT WITH PROCESS PROTOCOL

The Centre of Technology in Government (CTG) is the Design and Build project which is mapped using Process Protocol (Appendix – 5). Out of the Nine Phases of the Process Protocol, first three are taken care of by the Client itself as these phases constitutes the initial Project strategy, the tender invitation and Contract signing. From the Contractor’s perspective the involvement of the contractor takes place after these phases i.e. in the phase four. The step wise phases can be discussed as follows:

* Phase Zero – Three : Client’s Responsibility

· Phase Four (Outline Concept Design)

Outline concept design can be regarded as the key towards start of innovation in a process (MacMillan et al., 2002). The start of the forth phase is only possible after the Tendering Process (P2) takes place, so tendering is the input to the phase four. From the contractor’s perspective, the important processes of 2nd level are: Risk management, Preparation of Outline of concept Design, Procurement plan execution (Appendix – 5). All the processes are documented and submitted to the Contractor’s Design Team for analysis. If there is a green signal then the project will enter the 5th Phase of the process protocol.

· Phase Five (Full Conceptual Design)

The Design team of the contractor prepares the Updated and Full Concept Design after the Initial Cost Estimate Plan (P8) is established and the procurement plan is updated. This phase ends up the hard gate.

· Phase Six (Production Design, Procurement & Full Financial Authority)

The 6th phase consists of the updated risk management plan, procurement plan, operation & maintenance plan and the Final cost estimates (P16).

· Phase Seven (Production Information)

The 7th phase is the Construction phase and starts with final project brief. The Final Design (P14), Final Procurement Plan (P15) and Final Review (P20) are important phases of this step as these will assist in the start of the next phase which is the construction phase.

· Phase Eight (Construction)

The construction phase consists of all the processes which are useful for the development of paper work into the physical structure. Key activities are (P21) & (P31)

· Phase Nine (Operations & Maintenance)

The 9th Phase is the Post-Construction Phase which consists of Final Building checkup (P32), Building and Documentation Handover (P33) and Rechecking of Facilities & Operations (P34). Finally the feedback and reviews are essential part of the process.

MERITS OF USING PROCESS PROTOCOL FOR CTG PROJECT

The process protocol tool enables the generation of multi-level process maps that are easy to generate and understand. The basic methodology adopted by Process protocol is from the manufacturing and production industry. Thus, the step wise implementation of activities and process make construction process much easier to adopt.

The method of planning and implementation of CTG project is totally based on Design & Build procurement which may seem to cause problems with the team. Where as in process protocol, all the key processes & sub-processes are clearly mentioned and give an in-depth knowledge of the CTG Project. This is due to the fact that each management personal is assigned a typical task which is the user-friendliness of process protocol and hence ease in information sharing takes place.

Soft and Hard gates provided in the process protocol make it distinguished. The gates help to freeze and un-freeze activities accordingly which enables the utilization of the tool at its best. Moreover, the phase review in CTG Project, after each phase give a chance to properly document and get the involvement of the client in order to avoid any activity which may lead to another path.

Another positive aspect of the process protocol is that it enhances the planning and controlling skills of the overall project which cannot be seen when using the CIB plan of work. Once a good grip is over these issues, the value and risk management is very easy to assess right in the beginning of the project.

DE-MERITS OF USING PROCESS PROTOCOL FOR CTG PROJECT

The success criteria in the CTG project is the understanding amongst all stake holders in the project and the partnership arrangements developed. Thus CTG requires extra ordinary security arrangements due to the nature of the project while there is no process of team organization (P5) in the tool. Moreover tool is difficult to use for Design Build.

Due to difference in operation level and the understanding of different levels of the tools, the CTG team may find it difficult to adopt never the less; it has a lot of positive points.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The government of UK has always been in the phase of improvement. This improvement can be seen in the form of construction, manufacturing and production industries due to extensive research and development plans. The report illustrates the pros and cons of such advancement in the construction industry. The process map is first mapped using the CIB plan of work for the Centre of Technology in Government Project and is again mapped using Process Protocol Tool. It has been found that by using Process Protocol in the construction industry, significant alterations in the nature of working principles adopted by the project management can be altered due the flexible nature of process protocol indicates.

What really matters is the response of people and the comfort ability level when using process protocol. Naturally some training is required to operate and understand the process protocol tool. If not possible then the real worth of this tool is to pick the right applicable phases and apply them in the normal planning tool which is already used in the construction projects. In this way, the concept behind making such a tool can be successfully utilized.

REFERENCES

Anjard, R. (1998). Process mapping: a valuable tool for construction management and other professionals.Facilities. 16 (3/4), 79 - 81.

Burke, R. (2003).Project Management : Planning and Control Techniques. 4th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Carroll, J.B. (2002).Lean Performance ERP Project Management: Implementing the Virtual Supply Chain. Florida: CRC.

Cooper, R. et al., (2005).Process Management in Design and Construction. 1st ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Dallas, F.M. (2006).Value & Risk Management: A Guide To Best Practice. 1st ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Egan, J. (1998).Rethinking Construction: The Report of the Construction Task Force to the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott on the Scope for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of UK Construction. London: Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Egbu, C. (2010a). Learning Package 2: Construction as A Manufacturing Process. In:PROCESS AND PROJECT SYSTEMS. Salford: University of Salford.

Egbu, C. (2010b). Learning Package 3: Project and Process Management . In:PROCESS AND PROJECT SYSTEMS. Salford: University of Salford.

Egbu, C. (2010c). Learning Package 4: The Process Protocol . In:PROCESS AND PROJECT SYSTEMS. Salford: University of Salford.

Egbu, C. (2010d). Learning Package 5: The Success Criteria for Project Management. In:PROCESS AND PROJECT SYSTEMS. Salford: University of Salford.

Fryser, B. (1997).The Practice of Construction Management. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd.

Kagioglou, M. et al. (2000). Rethinking construction: the Generic Design and Construction Process Protocol.Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. 7 (2), 141 - 153.

Kerzner, H. (2003).Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling. 8th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Klotz, L. et al,. (2008). The impact of process mapping on transparency.International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. 57 (8), 623 - 636.

Latham (1994).Constructing the Team. London: H.M.S.O.

MacMillan, S. et al. (2002). Mapping the design process during the conceptual phase of building projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. 9 (3), 174 – 180.

Mastermann, J.W.E (2002). An introduction to building procurement systems. 2nd ed. London: Spon Press

Morledge, R., Smith, A. & Kashiwagi, D.T. (2006).Building Procurement. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Paim, R., Caulliraux, M.H. & Cardoso, R. (2008). Process management tasks: a conceptual and practical view. Business Process Management Journal. 14 (5), 694 - 723.

RIBA (2007).Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Outline Plan of Work. London: RIBA.

University of Salford. (1995-2001).Process Protocol.

Available at: https://www.processprotocol.com/background.htm [Last accessed 06 May 2010]

Walker, D. & Hampson, K. (ed.) (2003).Procurement Strategies: A Relationship-based Approach. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd.

 

 

Cite this page