Overcoming challenges of early

contractor involvement in local

government projects

Associate Professor Riza Yosia Sunindijo

School of Built Environment
Associate Professor Riza Yosia Sunindijo MAIB ICIOB
School of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney

Education:
• B. Eng. in Civil (Petra Christian University)
• M. Eng. in Construction Management (Petra Christian University)
• M. Eng. in Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management (Asian Institute of Technology)
• PhD in Construction Management (UNSW)

Experience:
• Construction:
• Benjamin Gideon and Associates: Structural Engineer
• Bovis Lend Lease: Contract Administrator, Site Engineer, Project Engineer and Sustainability
Champion
• Jones Lang LaSalle: Senior Project Manager
• Academic: lecturer, researcher (safety, HRM, construction management), and administrator
• Others: squash, travelling, internet marketing
 Project delivery systems

Traditional Joint venture

Design – bid – build. Alliance of 2 companies to
Linear in nature. deliver a complex project.

Design and build Turnkey

Single organisation Usually used by
managing the design and developers.
construction.

Construction management PPP

Agency or at-risk. Public private partnership.
Managing a project on Involving the private sector in
behalf of the client. developing public infrastructure.
Early contractor involvement (ECI)
Construction
• Selected contractor continues with the
Tendering construction stage

• Contractor submits a price for

design and construction
• Client chooses to remain with
the existing contractor or tender
the project
Appointing contractor
• Expression of interest
• Select a contractor based on
non-cost criteria
Preliminary design • Develop design collaboratively

• Client and designers identify

project needs and objectives
• Develop preliminary design
Rationale of ECI

Collaborative
relationships Constructability
Motives of ECI

• Early Contractor Involvement was able to leverage the knowledge

and manage the delivery risk … by having early conversations with
the contractors.

• It reduces the risk of tendering in the open market, against anyone

who can pull together a conforming bid but may not have the
experience, expertise or financial capacity to execute the complex
project.

• … a mutually beneficial result and save money …

• … only two parties would be shortlisted to enter the ECI which is a

key driver as tendering is time and cost.
 Challenges of ECI
Time consuming upfront Principal Project
The project loses time on the delivery, Requirements

03
however, gains certainty in the You can’t spend forever
product you are delivering and the building the perfect PPR.
cost and the time once it starts.
02
Changing attitudes
04 Organising workshops
It is about trust and working towards a The workshop gets too
collaborative shared end goal, which congested which inhibits the

01
contractors aren’t used to. collaborative discussion.

05
When to involve
Probity 06 contractor
From a probity perspective you don’t The contractor could add more
want to lead and transfer competitive value if the documentation is
knowledge between the parties. slightly less progressed.
 Outcomes of ECI
Innovation
The contractor is able to bring forward
new technology, construction methods
and innovations to the project..
02
Constructability
Just fundamentally makes sense to
involve the contractor early, as early
01
as you can.
Collaboration
The collaborative and open
communication and working
relationship that was developed.
Cost certainty
03
Workshops were held on risks and
contract terms and conditions to
ensure cost certainty
04 Better risk management
… pulling out the true risks
perceived by the people who
will wear the risk out of the
collective knowledge.
05
06 Value for money
Value for money is the
fundamental outcome of ECI
 Conclusions

• Positive relationships • Probity • Collaboration

Challenges

Outcomes
Motives

between the client • Changing attitudes • Constructability

and contractor • Time consuming • Innovation
• Capturing upfront • Cost certainty
contractor’s • Principal project • Better risk
expertise requirements management
• Organising • Value for money
workshops
• When to involve
contractor
• The findings of this research is available from:

Amelia Farrell and Riza Yosia Sunindijo (2020). Overcoming challenges

of early contractor involvement in local government projects.
International Journal of Construction Management,
https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2020.1744216