El desarrollo de la actividad en la infancia

One of the architects of the “World Class Procurement” approach piloted on the

Genesis Project was Vassos Chrysostomou. An interview with Mr

Chrysostomou during the course of the case study (June 1997) revealed that the team were influenced in their approach by the work of Prof. Dan Jones (see

Womack and Jones, 1996 and Womack, Jones and Roos, 1990). We can

attribute the involvement (uniquely, for the UK construction industry at the time) of the client (BAA) in the supply chain, to the influence o f these texts. The source of the inspiration for the use of “Delivery Teams” was not clear from the interviews carried out. It is clear, however, that the use of this unconventional application of a form of matrix organisation, was an important innovation by which others were to be influenced (see Figure 4.4). The Genesis Project appears

to have attempted to implement partnering and supply chain management and to

have formulated a management structure resulting in the evolution of work or

technology clusters. The background and conceptual basis for these three main

constituents of what we shall refer top as new procurement, are dealt with in

some detail in Chapter Three. For the purposes of providing some context for the development of the theoretical framework and the choice of case studies, we shall review some of the characteristics of the Genesis project.

4.7 Project management characteristics of the BAA World Class

Procurement Approach piloted on the Genesis Project

The management characteristics that distinguished this project from other construction projects being dealt with during 1997, were as follows:

□ Contractors (which were all specialist subcontractors effectively) were appointed on the basis of flair, commitment, and potential to innovate. The selection process involved a 24-hour assignment, followed by a presentation

to BAA and the other bidders. Price was not an issue at the time of

□ The contractors were appointed on a negotiated fee basis, which was fixed regardless of fluctuations in package value. The details of the agreed fees for each contractor were made available to other team members.

□ Although the packages were let on a “with design” basis, consultant architects and structural engineers were engaged as Lead Designer and Design Manager, respectively'^.

□ The client (BAA) performed an extraordinarily central role within the procurement and management processes; the Project Board, The Development Manager and The Project Manager roles were dominated by BAA staff; The project Executive team was managed by BAA staff (Project Manager and Development Manager). This was reflected in the level of overheads allocated to the project by BAA (in the region of 20%, for what was effectively a design and build project [CPN, 1997]). BAA took a very close interest in the financial management of the contractors that were involved^; BAA also intervened in matters that involved sub-contractors and suppliers in a way that would, under traditional procurement be regarded as inappropriate and unwise^

□ There were unusually high levels of openness between contractors and BAA.

^ This involved the provision o f consultancy advice to package contractors. BAA indicated that on subsequent projects the roles o f these two actors would be even less central than on the Genesis pilot. Consultants were paid an hourly rate for providing advice to contractors, at the behest o f the contractors, and subject to an agreed hourly rate for this advice. Interviews with the relevant consultants indicated that this approach was not proving popular and the structural consultant had submitted a report to BAA complaining about the use o f this approach.

^ For example, during a visit to Bison Structures (July, 1997), it emerged that auditors from BAA had visited the contractor’s offices during the previous week and had looked through company accounts and had recommended that less expenditure be incurred on marketing.

^ BAA had become involved in discussions with British Steel relating to steelwork deliveries to site and had arranged with British Steel and the steel erectors that steel be delivered directly to site, without being delivered to the works o f the steel erector, for example. It was discovered that British Steel was able to deliver steel that had been cut and drilled, avoiding the need for the sub­ contractor to carry this out.

□ Contractors were appointed on the basis that the Genesis project would be the first project in a five-year programme of workload from BAA, which would include Terminal Five Heathrow.

□ The consultants and contractors that comprised the Project Executive Team (the inner core, or circle in Figure 4.3) were based on site for the construction period as well as during the period of detailed design, planning and pre­ contract negotiations. It is worth noting that the client organisation was also effectively based on site at Heathrow airport.

□ There was a significant redistribution of power amongst the project team

when compared to a traditional procurement process. Consultants were

effectively marginalised and were very unhappy about their changing

circumstances (see also above). Subcontractors reported feeling highly

motivated by their newly acquired increase in status, associated with involvement in early design decisions (made possible by early, non price bid appointment) and being free from the hierarchy imposed by JCT contract

conditions. The subcontractors were elevated from a position of receiver o f

instructions to collaborators in design and planning decisions.

□ An attempt was made to map the whole process of design and production, in order to identify the supply chain for the client and to allocate roles accurately. There was some failure in accurately identifying roles here, resulting in the client having to make additional payments to the consultants (Mace, 1997:5). BAA devoted some considerable effort to the investigation of the supply chains, with a view to establishing guidelines with each sub­ contractor or partner for future projects.

□ The Building Research Establishment became involved in the site construction activities, in the monitoring of labour output performance. This was with a view to establishing some benchmarks for future projects. A senior manager at BAA subsequently left BAA and established CALIBRE as a productivity monitoring service to the construction industry. BAA had discovered that, although a lot of data existed in relation to off-site manufacturing and logistics, relatively little data was available relating to site-based activities (Chrysostomou, 1997).

□ An effort was made by BAA in collaboration with each contractor to

identify standard components that could be adopted as a standard for each BAA project during the partnering (five-year) period. An experiment with off-site fabrication was also carried out, to provide the banking facilities for the building.

□ An attempt was made to establish one central project-based database for use by all project actors, on a paperless basis. It was envisaged that individual actors would not keep their own files and that the only information would be kept electronically and centrally. All design activities would relate to a central 3-D model that would provide a design co-ordination function. It was also hoped to generate 3-D construction instruction diagrams for operatives. Software packages adopted were as follows:-

Office Administration Microsoft Office

Group Software Lotus Notes

Planning Open Plan Professional

CAD Intergraph Microstation

In the event, the central database proved to be one of the least successful aspects of the pilot study. It proved very difficult for individual designers to update the 3-D model, resulting in the employment o f a CAD technician purely for this purpose (and therefore reducing the effectiveness of the design co-ordination function).

The 3-D model was not kept sufficiently current to enable it to perform its function. Problems of transferring files between software packages severely limited the operation of the central database and a “vast volume” of paper remained in circulation (Mace, 1997: 70).

□ Efforts were made by BAA to cement the new partnership relationships through the use of a “kick-off’ briefing meeting for all project actors and monthly team building activities’.

□ A culture of fairness to all was engendered by BAA through equality amongst actors regardless of function, the lack of financial penalties imposed upon contractors incorporated within the contractual arrangements and the avoidance of opportunistic behaviour by BAA\

□ A project charter (a forerunner to the partnering agreements that were to follow elsewhere in the industry) dealt with matters such as integrated teams, safety culture, maximising value, effective communications and increasing efficiency in relation to time and costs. The project charter provided the basis for the formalised and extensively documented Framework Pack (BAA,

1997a) which was developed shortly after completion of the Genesis project.

□ Knowledge transfer was identified as an important feature of the World-Class Procurement approach. The aspiration was for an open and integrated project management system that provide concurrent process, seamless interfaces and fluid knowledge transfer through a “virtual company environment” (Mace,

1997:2).

’ These activities involved the managers o f the consultants and contractors employed, in various leisure activities (for example, kart racing) for one day per month. The project actors paid for these activities on a rota basis.

* For example, during early discussion with specialist subcontractors, several similar subcontractors carried out feasibility work and each was paid, even were the subcontractor was not subsequently appointed.