Construction Management Practices in Canada and Europe

FHWA-PL-05-010

Construction management involves the oversight of risks and resources in the construction of a highway project. Construction management is an essential element of the success of any project, large or small. Traditional construction management processes, such as open bidding, unit-price contracting, and agency quality control, have served the U.S. public well in the construction of our national and State highway systems. While these processes provide transparent checks and balances, they do not inherently promote trust among agencies, contractors, and their supply chain, and they inhibit innovation and efficiency. These methods also do little to help manage the highly publicized cost and schedule overruns that have created a lack of public confidence in the industry's ability to perform effectively. To compound these issues, many highway agencies are realizing a reduction in staffing while facing increasing infrastructure demands. U.S. highway agencies and their industry partners are beginning to rethink fundamental design and construction management principles.

Evolving industry roles and the adoption of alternative project delivery methods are creating changes in the conventional construction management practices that public agencies use to ensure appropriate project delivery, contract compliance, and quality assurance. The Federal government and State transportation agencies are developing policies and procedures to address these evolving delivery methods. Critical components of these new methods include the changing relationships among public agencies, contractors, and private engineering firms, including risk allocation processes, quality control/quality assurance, and general contract administration procedures. Some evolving delivery methods include the use of nonconventional procedures such as design-build contracts, public-private arrangements, maintenance and warranty requirements, and use of third-party consultants to perform contract management.

The international highway community has developed construction management procedures in what the United States would consider an alternative procurement and contracting environment. Recognizing the similarities and benefits that could result from an examination of international construction management procedures, a diverse team of experts was assembled to research, document, and promote the implementation of international best practices that might benefit U.S. industry.

The scan team has gained a fresh perspective on how the U.S. highway industry can function in a new spirit of partnership and alignment toward customer-focused goals. We are offering a challenge to public and private highway construction professionals to change current construction management practices that create adversarial relationships. We must develop new practices and contractual measures that promote trust, create teamwork, and align all participants toward customer-focused objectives of quality, safety, and dependable transportation facilities. We must also learn to analyze risks more effectively and allocate these risks to the party that can manage them most effectively. These changes must occur if we are to meet customer demands.

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