Many public construction projects are being completed under PFI or PPP arrangements. These can be of 5+ years duration from concept to completion, and up to 30 years in operation before being returned to public ownership. Such projects need to involve the expertise and resources of several key organizations, typically including architects, civil engineers, construction engineers and facilities managers. Prominent examples involving both public and private consortiums include major hospitals, schools, rail and road schemes.

In such cases the final responsibility must always reside with the managing authority. They therefore have to show due diligence in building a team of players who will work together with efficiency, effectiveness and harmony. HiPriority helps in choosing the best value combination of contractors for any given budget.

The initial step of "Invitation to tender" will take place once the various sub-projects or roles have been defined. It is normal to receive many responses (50+) to such an invitation and the task is then to build the team.

The subsequent assessment and interview process may last several months. In addition to the obvious criteria of cost and duration, there will be other considerations, which may be imposed by the procuring management or the individual players. Some of those tendering may only do so on the condition that they receive specific roles such as design and construction and may offer financial benefits for this. Others may bid on the condition that certain competitors are excluded.

All these interactions can be easily modelled in HiPriority by the procurement team who are also building a rich picture to be the catalyst to the final decision. The whole process is likely to be subject to audit, and management will need to make transparent the criteria and methods of assessment used in reaching it.

Please contact us to see how we can help with your decision process.