Decisions by a business are made by its board of directors with delegation of authority to officers for specific functions. By contrast, a construction project is managed almost entirely by delegated authority to the Principal Designer, project manager, Principal Contractor and others, with no clear basis for them agreeing with the Client and each other the new ideas that improve safety and quality or for making joint decisions that deal with other issues affecting value and risk. A collaborative project team need a forum for transparent decision-making that comprises individuals who can undertake collective reviews and approvals, for example so that all dutyholders can agree the content of Gateway two and Gateway three applications.
ISO 44001 describes a system for joint issue resolution that:
■ 'Defines a decision-making hierarchy
■ Identifies and resolves issues at the earliest practicable opportunity
■ Assigns importance, priority and/or timeframe, and responsibility for resolution at the optimum level
■ Tracks the status of the issue: e.g. open, investigating, escalated, resolved
■ Aligns with any agreement and/or contracting approach and integrated with lessons learned'.
Example: The Greenwich Council housing repairs and maintenance alliance 'the Core Group and Partnering Team structures promoted communication which ensured the right people were dealing with issues at appropriate levels.' |
A 'Core Group' is the transparent, collaborative decision-making body that is described in the PPC2000, FAC-1 and TAC-1 contract forms. The need for Core Group decisions to be unanimous has been very successful in enabling team members to seek agreement of collaborative innovations and solutions while protecting their reasonable commercial interests. A similar group is provided for in the NEC4 Alliance Contract 'Alliance Board' but not in the other NEC4 contracts or in the JCT2016 contracts.
Example: Glasgow Housing Association led a £1 billion programme of stock refurbishment and new build for over 40,000 properties which required the coordination of 63 housing associations with 24 constructors and 27 framework consultants. Its alliance contracts provided for (Association of Consultant Architects): ■ Use of a contractual Core Group as 'an essential means for joint problem solving and strategic decision making' ■ A supply chain structure which 'allowed GHA to create supplier framework agreements with key components suppliers, so they had representation on Core Groups and were full members of partnering team.' |
In addition to non-adversarial dispute resolution, as considered in Section 9.5, the PPC2000, FAC-1 and TAC-1 Core Group undertakes:
■ Review of proposals for Supply Chain Collaboration and other joint activities intended to achieve improved value
■ Agreement of the basis for team members to share information
■ Approval of updates to a shared timetable
■ Approval of updates to a shared risk register.
The Construction Playbook emphasises the need to 'apply a proactive risk management approach with suppliers incorporating early warning and joint decision- making'. A collaborative decision-making group should meet regularly, particularly during the ESI pre-construction phase, in order to build effective relationships and create the maximum opportunities to agree proposals for improved quality and safety, for other aspects of improved value and for early risk management.
Successful collaboration is the result of consensus through persuasion, not coercion or unilateral action, and a collaborative contract should state how a decision-making group makes its decisions. For example, a PPC2000 Core Group reaches decisions by consensus of all members in attendance, so that a member cannot block a decision simply by staying away.
Example: The Whitefriars housing framework alliance used: ■ 'Core Group exchange of information and shared best practice, leading to use of the most economical common kitchen supplier' ■ 'Regular Core Group consultation to identify opportunities for improved efficiency leading to more rapid turnaround on site' |