This international study titled "International Overview of Innovative Contracting Practices for Roads" was initiated from "The Netherlands" and derived from a large research program package called - "Next Generation Infrastructure (NGI)". This study is one individual research component within NGI. This study is managed via Delft University of Technology and nationally funded in "The Netherlands" via Senter Novem & Delft University of Technology and co-funded in Finland by the Finnish Road Administration (Finnra) and its partners. These partners in Finland are Ramboll - Finland, The Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries (Rakennusteollisuus RT ry), and the Finnish Road Enterprise. The project manager for this project is Pekka Pakkala from Finnra, and the steering team consisted of Associate Professor and project leader Dr. Martin De Jong and Executive Director of NGI Dr. Paulien Herder, both from Delft University of Technology.
This international benchmarking study involves an international overview of innovative contracting practices, performance measures and indicators for the road sector. The main purpose of this project was to identify innovative contracting practices from various countries, and to ensure that "Public Values - or Quality" is being assured. Also, it was desired to determine the relationship of "Performance Indicators" and Measures" and those used in the actual tendering process. Overall it was desired to determine and summarize some of the good practices, lessons learned, innovations, and quality practices used for road portion of the infrastructure.
The countries/provinces selected in this study are as follows:
• Victoria, Australia
• Western Australia
• Alberta, Canada
• British Columbia, Canada
• Ontario, Canada
• England
• Estonia
• Finland
• The Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Sweden
• In USA:
º Maryland State Highway Administration
º DDOT (Wash DC - Maintenance only)
We are aware that this list is incomplete, mostly because some other progressive countries are missing from this list, but for reasons of time and language, a pragmatic choice had to be made.
There has been visibility of performance gaps between various countries with regard to the performance of road transport infrastructures. In those countries where liberalisation and open tendering of design, construction, maintenance, operation and/or combinations of each of them have taken place, authorities have often assumed the roles of contract managers and quality monitors. One aspect of quality specifications or requirements is to determine which service levels are influenced and what performance requirements are incorporated into the contracts. These can be formulated in different ways and at different levels of aggregation for the various phases used in infrastructure management (design, construction, maintenance and operation), which has an impact on the opportunities for contractors to act flexibly and intelligently with relevant issues during the contract period. The underlying expectation is that these novel arrangements allow for lower costs and higher innovations while keeping up service levels with public expectations. It is here that the possible complementarities and tensions between the aspects of flexibility and those regarding public values become most visible. In those countries where all of these operations have remained in public hands, performance issues have often remained implicit, but are no less relevant.
In this project a systematic comparison or benchmark has been conducted, of which institutional structures exist in different countries, and how they impact on contracting practices and how they are adapted throughout time. The objective is to make an inventory of lessons learned, best practices, and possible recommendations when considering outsourcing of these services.
There are several different project delivery models or contracting arrangements in road transportation projects used throughout the world. Not until the last 10-15 years or so, have these alternative project delivery models been used or tested for the road infrastructure. Some reasons toward the shifting to these newer models can be seen by the results achieved and are attempting to provide innovations, better solutions, more efficiency, and at a lower or equivalent cost than traditional models. Also, due to the lack of skilled resources, finances, and decrease in human resources, road authority organizations are being motivated to use these newer types of contracting arrangements that will hopefully allow fewer resources for management aspects while maintaining the existing road network in satisfactory condition. The lack of substantial funding almost becomes the biggest challenge, but this was not the intent of this project.
Hence, this project was to seek out and evaluate the most innovative project delivery systems in use by the most progressive countries, for new construction projects and also for maintenance contracts. The duration of this project was essentially from January 2005 through December 2006. Considering the budget and time constraints, it is neither practical nor possible to evaluate issues in all countries, but rather to thoughtfully incorporate and analyze the most significant results and newer more innovative means.
The research approach to this project was to gather as many resources as possible through published details via reports, technical papers, conference proceedings, internet searches, and with contacts with other experts throughout the industry and internationally. It is very important to understand that there is a lack of published resources to meet the goals of the project, and this project included interviews/meetings with the appropriate authorities and experts in these countries. It was intended to discover the most recent innovative practices for both capital and maintenance contracts, determine some of the best practices, discuss some of the lessons learned, and attempt to decipher which methods might be recommended for application in the road sector. It is hoped that practitioners in the world of road infrastructures worldwide will benefit from the findings.