Transparent and sustainable procurement through two-stage early contractor involvement (2S-ECI) - Industry perceptions

Two stage early contractor involvement (2S-ECI) is a procurement process where a main contractor is engaged before or during design development. They work collaboratively with the client's consultant team and subsequently agree a constructiononly or novated design and build construction contract. Qualitative research was done through interviews to gather views on 2SECI from 23 respondents. They comprised construction clients, project managers, quantity surveyors, and main contractors from across New Zealand. They were then given the constructs from the interviews and asked to rate and rank for relevance - effectively a single Delphi round. This combined with a document analysis of a pre-construction services agreement provided triangulation of results. 2S-ECI was not always the cheapest. But it was more transparent than traditional tendering, complemented negotiated contracts where there was ongoing client and contractor relationships, and provided sustainable profit margins for contractors. This makes the transparent open-book pricing of 2S-ECI a suitable procurement pathway to complement supply chain integration. 2S-ECI was also found preferable for alteration work where the client's building operations are ongoing throughout construction like hospitals or airports-particularly where the cost of disruption outweighed any premium paid for 2S-ECI. Regardless of the quality of the contractor's buildability input, planning onsite construction was generally improved, helping to mitigate wasteful pricing assumptions. The findings from this research support the growing body of knowledge on 2S-ECI supporting both academia and industry policy.