Minor building works: commitment by postulation

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Senior, G., 1990. Minor building works: commitment by postulation. MPhil, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

Procurement of small building works by the traditional 'lump sum without quantities' arrangement is often frought with difficulty. This unfavourable condition exists irrespective of the size of the project or the money value placed upon it. The building process constitutes an amalgam in the context of both design and construction and, in this respect, high quality co-ordinative management is an essential ingredient to the success of the enterprise. Established lines of procedure exist to assist management in the achievement of objectives however achievement is rare. The violation of these objectives points to inferior quality management, to faults within the procedural mechanism or to a combinement.

The building industry is aware of the manifestations created by the areas of difficulty and the findings of commissioned research have related these manifestations to faults within the procedural mechanisms. One major piece of research published in 1964 relates known problem areas to deficiencies in information and time. A further major piece published in 1987 refers to similar problem areas but focuses attention upon information and co-ordinative management. These significant pieces of research serve to show that information is fundamental to the problem areas associated with building works contracts. Furthermore they show the problems which existed in the early 1960's to remain and the initiatives generated since that time to be largely ineffective.

This study, in considering the letting and management of minor building work contracts by the lump sum selective tender process, has:
provided the work category with definition and has argued the case against segregation,
examined the particular needs of the contractor for quality information and time and has compared these needs with both endemic practices and with procedures recommended by the industry,
deliberated upon the philosophical issues relating to the small building firm to relate objectives with work characteristics,
gained, by empirical survey, the opinion of contractors towards established recommended procedures,
identified areas of deficiency and has quantified the measure of risk and uncertainty created by those deficiencies,
related deficiency within practice and procedure to behaviour,
established prescriptive measures to wholly eliminate some of the problem areas and to substantially reduce others.

This study differs from earlier research and contributes to the knowledge of the subject treated on three accounts,
1. that credence is given to the significancy and the particular needs of small building works,
2. that, in terms of contractural obligations, subscription favours mutual recognition and dispels the wholly singular manner of approach offered by earlier commissioned research,
3. that the suggested remedial measures are directed towards proactive rather than reactive ideals.