(Refer to Chapter 10 of the Partnerships Victoria Contract management guide for more information)
In a Partnerships Victoria project, the overall responsibility and risk associated with construction will typically reside with the private party, who will pass this risk on to the construction contractor via a fixed price lump sum turnkey contract.
In this complex and high risk phase of the project lifecycle the government party should still monitor:
• the private party's construction progress and performance; and
• the government party's performance of its roles and responsibilities during the construction phase.
The contract will require the private party to provide regular reports (usually monthly) to the government party in relation to construction progress and performance. The content of these reports will be set out in the contract and is likely to include (at a minimum) the following information:
• project progress, including status of design and construction activities compared to program -
- significant events achieved;
- significant events that have not been achieved and the action being taken;
- significant events in the near future, particularly where they require specific action;
- progress against the development, design and construction programs;
• planning, building regulations, EPA consents (if required) and fire officer consents;
• public utilities;
• project master program (updated in accordance with the contract);
• design, construction and commissioning programs;
• the status of each design package and its progress through the design development process;
• tendering report including status report on subcontracts;
• inspections, testing, samples, mock-ups and acceptance;
• the status of the private party's (and its subcontractor's) operational readiness and commissioning activities;
• any government party change requests;
• any service company change requests;
• financial report, incorporating status and cash flow for the project and availability of funds statement;
• risk report;
• health and safety report; and
• insurance.
An independent reviewer may also have a role in monitoring construction progress.
In addition to conducting a thorough review of the private party's report and reports from any independent reviewer, the contract director must (using the rights available under the contract) individually evaluate and monitor progress.
The project director and/or contract director should regularly report to senior management and to government party stakeholders on the private party's construction progress and performance and the government party's performance of its roles and responsibilities during the construction stage. In most projects, these reports are submitted to the steering committee, which continues to meet through the construction stage.
While the private party's reports to the government party will necessarily contain a large amount of detail, the contract director's reports to senior management and the government party stakeholders must provide clear and concise information on the status of the project, highlighting key issues so that these can be dealt with in a timely manner. A 'traffic light' system of colour-coding performance against the contractual targets can be a valuable visual tool for conveying performance information.