Agricultural Village Hall Compressing renew - Report Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: The Village Hall Course: Executive Summary This is a report explaining the proposed work by Bury Port Community Council on the village hall and the amount of work to be carried out. It explains the procurement route to be taken and the contracting option that will meet the council’s needs. The introduction sets the tone for the research and explains what it entails. Task one explains the procurement route and contracting option to be used. Task two explains how the transmission of sound challenge has to be resolved in order to meet the environmental health requirements. The conclusion echoes the important points that have been discussed in the report. Introduction Bury Port Community Council wants to carry out substantial refurbishment on a village hall that was built in 1960’s. The hall has to be extended in order to provide a youth club, a small library and computer facility. The council has secured an amount of £780,000 that is more than the estimated amount of £50,000 that had been done by a local architect. Price rates may have changed substantially since the estimates word done in 2010. The local environmental health department calls for works to be undertaken to rectify sound transmission at estimated cost of £40,000. This paper provides the means of carrying out the refurbishment works, the lighting project and a way of dealing with sound transmission through choosing the suitable procurement approach as well as suitable contracting option. Task 1 The priorities and objectives of a client have to be aligned to a procurement system. New building or adaptation/renovation of a building is only required when there is no any other building that exists or appears to exist that can meet or seems to meet the needs of a client (Austroads, 2007). There is should exhaustive consultation among the stakeholders before project needs being prioritized. Management contracting involves a contractor who manages a series of works by other contractors or subcontractors. The management contractor has the power to look for trusted subcontractors whom they understand their work hence have a track record. Advantages entail early involvement in the project. The disadvantage is absence of a single place of responsibility for construction and design phases hence opening possibility for disputes (MacDonald, 2011). Design-build contracting option entails executing a single contract for the design as well as the construction of a project. Design-build contracting is important to the owner agency through streamlining coordination between construction and design activities and reducing the overall period of the construction and design process. This contracting option is the most suitable for medium to large projects that have high incentives to fast-track construction. A+B bidding process contracting option involves both the contract bid items as well as the time required for the project completion multiplied by a daily value of the user costs incurred when the project is ongoing. This contracting method encourages the contracting company to reduce the time required on high priority projects (Headley & Griffith, 2014). Driver cost is usually estimated from the anticipated delay caused through route and lane closures, and differs from one project to another. Job order contracting option permits the governing agency to offer the contractor with a contract that comprises a fixed and negotiated price for the project. This contracting option encourages contractors to bid on a project based on the required material, labour, and procurement costs. The contractor is given work orders that comprise a specified completion date in an effort to ensure all tasks are accomplished in a modest amount of time while keeping the project on schedule (Swainston, 2006). The assumption made before contracting is that the various market rates will remain constant and there will be no change in legislation that can affect the procurement process. Design-build contracting will be appropriate for the council’s project since the work has to be expedited to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the hall’s opening in October 2016. Various Procurement strategies exist to deal with the need to provide building projects successfully. A procurement strategy describes the means through which the objectives of a project can be achieved. The procurement strategy has to identify the service delivery ways for catering for the need for stakeholder as well as risk analysis at the preliminary stage (Bye, 2013). The proposed options need to be justified following option evaluation, economic/financial appraisal as well as strategy report. The preferred project has to be defined with brief, risk/benefit analysis, business case as well as strategy report. The project specifications as well as tender documents have to be outlined, and provide tender valuation and estimate plan for every contract. The tenders are then evaluated in order to choose the best project suppliers (Forward & Aldis, 2009). Project implementation follows where the suppliers are engaged with the delivery of asset. Project evaluation is carried out after delivery comparing target outcomes and what has been achieved plus any lessons that can be learnt from the process. Procurement strategy establishment has to prioritize and identify important project objectives and look at the elements of risk as well as outline the way the management process will be done to achieve a project outcome that is successful (NSWG, 2005). The procurement strategy has to balance the objectives of the project against the risks. The composing of a suitable team to accomplish a project within the specified time, at the right cost using the adopted strategy is very important to the client who has to take independent advice. Value has to be considered over price when the project team is being selected. There are factors that have to be considered when choosing a procurement strategy. External factors-there should be consideration for possible impact of commercial, economic, political, technological, legal and social factors that impact the client as well as their business, and the constituted project in the course of the lifecycle of the project. For example possible changed to interest rates, any changes in legislation and any other factor. In this case the estimation on £50,000 was done by a local architect in 2010. Whereas the sum of funds secured of 780,000 has exceeded the targeted amount, a period of five years is adequate for changes in interest rates and other legislation to happen and affect the costs estimated. Client resources-the knowledge of the client, the organization’s experience with the procurement of building projects as well as the environment in which it exists with have an effect on the procurement strategy to be selected. The objectives of the client are shaped by the culture and nature of the organization (MacDonald, 2011). Project characteristics-the complexity, size, uniqueness and location of the project will impact on the influence the time, cost as well as risk. Capacity to make changes-client’s needs have to be determined in the project’s early stages. However, change in technology can occasion changes in the project. Changes within the scope lead to changes in costs and time particularly during construction (Holt, Proverbs & Love, 2000). Cost issues-the evaluation for the essence for certainty in the price by the client has to be carried out with regard to a time lapse from when the initial estimates are done and when the tenders are received. Consequently design has to be completed before construction starts and changes in design avoided. Timing-projects have to be completed within a particular time frame. For instance, the refurbishment of the village hall has to be completed by October 2016 in order to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the hall. Time factor is important in meeting the needs of the client. Where early completion is crucial then construction and design activities can be overlapped in order for construction to start early on-site. Cost and time tradeoffs have to be examined (Eddie & O’Brien, 2007). Procurement systems available can be categorized as: management (packaged), Traditional (separated), collaborative (relational), and design and construct (integrated). In design and construct a contractor usually accepts all of the responsibility for all or some of the design. The level of liability of design has always to be outlined as clearly as possible. Unless the contract specifies otherwise, the design liability is an absolute liability where the contractor assures fitness for the intended purpose (Bye, 2013). In traditional procurement approach the owner has to accept that the designing work will be separate in many ways from construction, the consultants are appointed for cost control and design, and the contractor has the responsibility of accomplishing the works. His responsibility involves all material and workmanship, and comprises of all work performed by suppliers and subcontractors. The contractor has to be appointed through a competitive tendering process on complete information but he can also be appointed basically through negotiation on regard of notional or partial information (Forward & Aldis, 2009). The traditional method is also known as accelerated traditional method. There are 3 kinds of contract under the traditional procurement method namely cost reimbursement, measurement contracts, and lump sum contracts. In lump sum contracts the construct amount is determined prior to construction and the sum entered within an agreement. Measurement contracts are whereby the contract amount is only known on completion as well as re-measurement to some predetermined basis. In Cost reimbursement is whereby the contract sum is determined on the basis of actual costs of plant, labour and materials, which is added to a fee to cover profit and overheads (Headley & Griffith, 2014). Measurement contracts cannot be used in by Bury Port Community Council since the work of the contractor cannot be predetermined and it may lead to inflated costs that the owners are not ready to pay. The cost of refurbishment of the village hall is known and the council known how much money they have raised through heritage lottery grant, public fund raising and Carmarthenshire County Council. Despite the fact that the council wants to extend the contract to include the provision of stage lighting if there is enough money, the amount that has been currently raised is £780,000 and the committee has to work within this budget. Lump sum contract is the best to be used for refurbishment of the village hall. The amount of money that is available is known and the amount of work to be done is known hence little or no fluctuations are expected. For lump sum a contractor commits to perform a predetermined amount of work for a sum that is agreed. There is no chance for the employer to undertake any variations. The amount of money is subject to fluctuations to cover the cost of materials, labour and plant (Clamp, Cox, & Lupton, 2007). There should be fluctuation provision. Task 2 The contracting option has to give allowance for rectification of any challenges that may come. The environmental health department requires works to be carried out to cut the sound transmission from noisy events. The village hall committee has to choose procurement and contracting option that will enable the refurbishment to be carried and any other extension to be completed. The traditional approach and lump sum contract will allow the refurbishment work to be carried out and alteration to allow correction on transmission of sound. Although the lump sum contract involves involved a predetermined price, it is not fixed (Mortledge, Smith & Kashiwagi, 2006). There is certainty on the final cost but there are mechanisms that can allow the contract sum to be adjusted. The £40,000 required for correcting the sound transmission can be part of the initial £780,000 that has been collected by the council. The council committee has to make sure that the estimated budget covers the costs required for rectifying the sound transmission challenge. Whether the costs will be below or above £40,000 it can be taken care in the lump sum contracting since there is a provision for fluctuation. The price is not entirely fixed. The amount that was initially estimated some five years earlier for refurbishment was £780,000. This amount would not be exhausted for refurbishment alone and lighting. The remaining money can be used to pay for adjusting the sound transmission system to suit the requirements of the local environmental health department. The lump sum contracts where quantities are usually priced on basis of drawings as well as a firm bill of quantities. Some of the items that cannot accurately be quantified may be recovered through an estimate quantity or the provisional sum although they cannot be maintained at the minimum (Gordon, 1994). Bury Port Community Council will have to use traditional procurement and lump sum contracting in the refurbishment of the village hall since the work to be done is known and the amount of funds available is specified. The traditional approach will allow the contractors to look at the work required and give the quantification to avoid additional charges to the rectification of the sound transmission. Some of the procurement option and contracting options will not permit determination of the cost of the work before it is completed. The source of funds for the council is only though mobilization hence there should be clear way of determining the cost of work before the contract commits to undertake it. Lump sum contracting will provide an option for the council to use the provision clause to add to the initial costs of refurbishment to include the sound transmission challenge. Moreover, it is upon the contractor to ensure that the work he has done is up to standards and conforms to the local health regulations. Conclusion Lump sum contract will be appropriate since the contract sum is determined before the work begins. Bury Port Community Council has a sum of £780,000 that has to be used for refurbishment as well as lighting system in the village hall. A procurement route chosen has to make sure the risk always falls on whoever is best able to bear it. The lump sum price for the works is agreed upon before commencing the project. Wrong choice of the procurement and contracting option can lead to delays and more money being used to complete the project. References Austroads, 2007, Guide to project delivery: part 2: project delivery planning and control, by R Brown and P Robinson, AGPD02/07, Austroads, Sydney, NSW. Bye, P. 2013, A Pre-event Recovery Planning Guide for Transportation, Transportation Research Board, London. Clamp, H., Cox, S., & Lupton, S., 2007, Which Contract? 4th Edition external link by, RIBA Publishing. Eddie, M. & O’Brien, E. 2007, Early contractor involvement: providing greater certainty for projects, CGI Consulting and Lazuli Enterprises, Brisbane, Qld. Forward, P. & Aldis, R.2009, Toward a new public private partnerships model, Evans and Peck, Chatswood, NSW. Gordon, C.M. 1994, Choosing appropriate construction contracting method. ASCE Journal of Construction, Engineering and Management, 120(1): 196-210. Headley, J. & Griffith A., 2014, The Procurement and Management of Small Works and Minor Maintenance: The Principal Considerations for Client Organizations, Routledge, New York. Holt, G.D., Proverbs, D., & Love, P.E.D. 2000, Survey findings on UK construction procurement: Is it achieving lowest cost, or value? Asia Pacific Building and Construction Management Journal, 5: 13-20. MacDonald, J.M., 2011, Agricultural Contracting Update: Contracts In 2008, DIANE Publishing, London. Mortledge, R., Smith, A., & Kashiwagi, D.T. 2006, Building Procurement, Blackwell, Oxford, UK. New South Wales Government (NSWG), 2005, Procurement Methodology Guidelines for Construction. Version 1, February, NSW Government, Sydney, Australia. Swainston, M. 2006, Early contractor involvement, Queensland Roads, edition no. 2, pp. 42-7. Read More

Job order contracting option permits the governing agency to offer the contractor with a contract that comprises a fixed and negotiated price for the project. This contracting option encourages contractors to bid on a project based on the required material, labour, and procurement costs. The contractor is given work orders that comprise a specified completion date in an effort to ensure all tasks are accomplished in a modest amount of time while keeping the project on schedule (Swainston, 2006).

The assumption made before contracting is that the various market rates will remain constant and there will be no change in legislation that can affect the procurement process. Design-build contracting will be appropriate for the council’s project since the work has to be expedited to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the hall’s opening in October 2016. Various Procurement strategies exist to deal with the need to provide building projects successfully. A procurement strategy describes the means through which the objectives of a project can be achieved.

The procurement strategy has to identify the service delivery ways for catering for the need for stakeholder as well as risk analysis at the preliminary stage (Bye, 2013). The proposed options need to be justified following option evaluation, economic/financial appraisal as well as strategy report. The preferred project has to be defined with brief, risk/benefit analysis, business case as well as strategy report. The project specifications as well as tender documents have to be outlined, and provide tender valuation and estimate plan for every contract.

The tenders are then evaluated in order to choose the best project suppliers (Forward & Aldis, 2009). Project implementation follows where the suppliers are engaged with the delivery of asset. Project evaluation is carried out after delivery comparing target outcomes and what has been achieved plus any lessons that can be learnt from the process. Procurement strategy establishment has to prioritize and identify important project objectives and look at the elements of risk as well as outline the way the management process will be done to achieve a project outcome that is successful (NSWG, 2005).

The procurement strategy has to balance the objectives of the project against the risks. The composing of a suitable team to accomplish a project within the specified time, at the right cost using the adopted strategy is very important to the client who has to take independent advice. Value has to be considered over price when the project team is being selected. There are factors that have to be considered when choosing a procurement strategy. External factors-there should be consideration for possible impact of commercial, economic, political, technological, legal and social factors that impact the client as well as their business, and the constituted project in the course of the lifecycle of the project.

For example possible changed to interest rates, any changes in legislation and any other factor. In this case the estimation on £50,000 was done by a local architect in 2010. Whereas the sum of funds secured of 780,000 has exceeded the targeted amount, a period of five years is adequate for changes in interest rates and other legislation to happen and affect the costs estimated. Client resources-the knowledge of the client, the organization’s experience with the procurement of building projects as well as the environment in which it exists with have an effect on the procurement strategy to be selected.

The objectives of the client are shaped by the culture and nature of the organization (MacDonald, 2011). Project characteristics-the complexity, size, uniqueness and location of the project will impact on the influence the time, cost as well as risk. Capacity to make changes-client’s needs have to be determined in the project’s early stages. However, change in technology can occasion changes in the project. Changes within the scope lead to changes in costs and time particularly during construction (Holt, Proverbs & Love, 2000).

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