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Housing associations are the main providers of social housing within the UK and a major force in area regeneration initiatives. They also have a pivotal role to play in promoting equality of opportunity since a large proportion of their clients are from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. However, few housing associations have recognized the potential of their purchasing power in terms of investment in construction and maintenance work in promoting equality or the business benefits of doing so. This paper presents the research findings of a study of housing associations' contracting practices in London. The study aimed to highlight and document current practices in the employment of BME contractors and consultants and identify the equal opportunity issues associated with their engagement. The findings suggest that there is a general lack of appreciation among housing associations of the importance of employing BME contractors and consultants from both an equal opportunity and a business perspective. In view of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and government guidance on equal opportunities, the housing association sector has still to fully recognize its influential role in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK's NJCC Code of Procedure for Single Stage Selective Tendering (now withdrawn) and its successor, the CIB's Code of Practice for the Selection of Main Contractors are criticized in the light of decisions of the common law courts with regard to regulation of the tendering process. It is argued that a new 'Tendering Code' should be produced in the style and format of a contract document which reflects not only the statutory regulation imposed on public bodies, but common law decisions of the courts. The nature of this tendering contract is explained as a means of regulating the tendering process. Issues discussed are: dealing with errors and irregularities found in tenders; dealing with non-compliant tenders; dealing with tender withdrawal prior to its acceptance or rejection; making provisions as to time for submission of tenders and dealing with late tenders; making provision for submission of tender by fax or other electronic means; making provision for evaluation of tenders received; and imposing or negotiating reductions in price with tenderers prior to acceptance. The paper concludes that the common law obligations placed on the owner to treat all tenderers equally and fairly arid to apply the tender conditions when evaluating tenders and awarding contracts seems to be good common sense and of commercial advantage, not only to the immediate parties concerned but also to the wider community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of future trends in construction prices is likely to influence the construction investment strategy of a variety of interested parties, ranging from private and public clients to construction contractors, property speculators, financial institutions, and construction professionals. This paper derives leading indicators for construction prices in the United Kingdom. These indicators are based on two experimental methods: turning points of the basic indicators in relation to construction price turning points; and predictive power of lags of the basic indicators. It is concluded, based on the analyses, that unemployment level, construction output, industrial production) and ratio of price to cost indices in manufacturing are consistent leading indicators of construction prices. Building cost index and gross national product constitute coincident indicators. `Popular' macro-economic time series such as nominal interest rate, inflation rate, real interest rate, all share index and money supply produced inconclusive results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much has been written about the rapid rate of construction in the USA compared with the UK, very little investigation has been undertaken to determine exactly how the rates of construction are achieved. This paper briefly describes the differences between the UK and US construction industries, and then uses a case study of a US construction project to examine the relationship between the design of an element and the construction on site. The US designer pays attention to the way the components will be assembled on site, being concerned with the overlap of work packages undertaken by specialty subcontractors. Because each of the work packages is clearly defined and isolated from other work packages, the contractor has better control over the rate of production on site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bidding decisions, including the estimation of optimal mark-up on price, represent major decision problems for companies formulating a successful business strategy. The objective of this research was to develop an integrated bidding management expert system to assess the suitability of incoming enquiries for a particular company and suggest a 'bid/no bid' decision. If a decision to bid is taken then the expert system should provide advice on the optimal mark-up to maximize the chance of winning potential contracts. The system developed in this paper is composed of an information system that integrates design, estimation and production planning, and a knowledge base to provide abstracted information and advice to managers in charge of bidding. The information system analyses the records of previous contracts, and present managers with vital information that minimizes the risk of poor decisions associated with bidding. The knowledge base is composed of intelligent rules which were elicited from previous contract records and experienced managers in charge of bidding. They are designed to advise managers on two major issues: bid/no bid and estimation of optimal tender price. A number of factors that affect bidding strategies were identified by reviewing previous bidding methodologies and surveying eight major companies in the UK by means of semi-structured interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the principal Lane Rental systems operated in the UK and describes the merits and disadvantages of each. Issues relating to contractual arrangements, management style, contract finish times, working conditions and arrangements are covered. Comparisons are drawn with conventional contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a study of the newly emerging role of specialist contractors in the UK building industry. It identifies a common strategy employed by specialists in dealing with the complexity and diversity of modern building. This is to maintain a consistent operating core insulated from the firm's environment. It also highlights particular problems which arise in current practice in respect of contracts, design responsibilities, coordination of work on site and the incidence of variations. It also shows that opportunities and problems arise from the power of modern information and the demands for quality assurance. All these individual issues give rise to a need to review the training of operatives and specialists' investment in research and development. For the rest of the industry, the study suggests a need to develop better ways of evaluating competitive design proposals from specialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a derailed study of projects using the JCT With Contractor's Design (WCD) form of contract. Initially 49 projects were investigated to discover how the WCD contract is being used:for what kind of projects, by whom, in what circumstances, and what management approaches are being used. Fourteen projects were then selected to be investigated in more detail on their performance in tents of time, cost, quality and management. The variables were assessed in absolute terms and were then compared to what might have been expected if the contract had been managed in the conventional manner, i.e. using the ICT 80 Standard form of building contract. The conclusion of the study was that out of all the WCD projects investigated none had experienced serious problems and only a small proportion had encountered any difficulties at all in using the WCD approach [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formula most commonly used in the United Kingdom for predict ton of cash flows during construction of a building is that published by the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS). The one empirical formula for the S-curve requires a series of parameters to be used for different contract costs. From a reliability theory approach, an alternative mathematical form, which includes the Weibull function, has been proposed as the basis for the S-curves. This paper demonstrates that nor only can the Weibull function be used as an excellent altnerative to the DHSS formula but also that the Weibull function overcomes some of the limitations of the original formula, Relationships between the Weibull parameter values for each of the fits to the set of DHSS curves are derived empirically so that one single formula with a total of seven parameters replaces the DHSS formula and its associated tables for different project costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to identify the factors that influence the adoption of smart contracts in the UK construction sector. A deductive questionnaire-based approach informed by the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) model is adopted. The framework is comprised of twelve independent variables and one dependent variable of smart contracts use intention. Ten hypotheses are developed to statistically test the causal relationships between the eleven variables of the research model. The study adopts a convenience sampling approach, with the population of interest being primarily drawn from among UK construction practitioners. The results generated from linear regression analysis suggest that the following four factors have a significant influence on the adoption of smart contracts: supply chain pressure, competitive pressure, top management support, and observability. The descriptive statistics obtained also offer a greater understanding of the perceptions and attitudes towards smart contracts across the UK construction sector. The results demonstrate the usefulness of a perception-based model that utilises the TOE framework to assess facets that influence the adoption of smart contracts. The study contributes to innovation diffusion studies in construction project management and supports "early adopters" at the footfall of the technology's diffusion curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responsibilities in construction projects are not entirely predetermined by construction contracts. Many emerge arbitrarily from the resolution of power struggles between opposing interest groups who are trying to minimize their exposure to an unexpected resourcing demand. These struggles contain the seeds of conflict because those with relatively little power tend to emerge with relatively high levels of responsibility. For the weak, this inequality causes financial strain, anxiety, resentment, frustration and malevolence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]