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Procedia Computer Science 219 (2023) 1901–1908

CENTERIS – International Conference on ENTERprise Information Systems / ProjMAN –

International Conference on Project MANagement / HCist – International Conference on
Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies 2022

Which contractor competencies are valuable for the client in the pre-
construction phase?
Nadina Memićaa**, Allen Tadayonbb, Paulos A. Wondimua,c
a,c, Ola Lædreaa, Ole Jonny Klakeggaa

aNorwegian
Norwegian University of Science
Science and
and Technology
Technology (NTNU),
(NTNU), 7491
7491 Trondheim,
Trondheim, Norway
Norway
a
University of
bOslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), 0130 Oslo, Norway
b
Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), 0130 Oslo, Norway
cc
Norwegian
Norwegian Public
Public Roads
Roads Administration
Administration (NPRA), 0667 Oslo,
(NPRA), 0667 Oslo, Norway
Norway

Abstract
Abstract

Large
Large and
and complex
complex construction
construction projects
projects have
have aa new,
new, increasing
increasing need
need to
to engage
engage contractors
contractors inin the
the pre-construction
pre-construction phase.
phase. New
New
technology, cost-
technology, cost- and
and time
time saving
saving execution
execution methods
methods along
along with
with sustainability
sustainability goals
goals require
require solutions
solutions that
that the
the traditional
traditional project
project
delivery models
delivery models where
where contractor
contractor is
is involved
involved at at aa later
later stage,
stage, are
are insufficient
insufficient solutions
solutions as
as their
their ability
ability to
to influence
influence the
the outcome
outcome
decreases. The
decreases. The purpose
purpose of of this
this study
study is
is to
to examine
examine thethe main
main competencies
competencies the
the client
client needs
needs from
from the
the contractor
contractor in
in the
the preconstruction
preconstruction
phase. Semi-structured
phase. Semi-structured interviews
interviews were
were conducted,
conducted, along
along with
with 44 workshops
workshops and
and literature
literature studies.
studies. Top
Top ten
ten technical
technical competencies
competencies
were
were identified,
identified, namely
namely design,
design, cost,
cost, planning,
planning, risk,
risk, regulations,
regulations, materials,
materials, constructability,
constructability, geotechnical
geotechnical knowledge,
knowledge, sitesite planning
planning
&
& preparation,
preparation, and
and HSE.
HSE. According
According to to the
the respondents,
respondents, the the ten
ten competencies
competencies could
could bebe grouped
grouped in in three
three categories;
categories; innovative
innovative
approach,
approach, previous
previous experience
experience andand aa neutral
neutral group.
group.
As
As these groups are somewhat contradictory, it
these groups are somewhat contradictory, it can
can indicate
indicate the
the cautious
cautious approach
approach toto ECI.
ECI.
©
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.B.V.
© 2022
2022
This
The
The
is an
an
Authors.
Authors.
open access
Published
Published by
by ELSEVIER
article under
under ELSEVIER
the CC B.V. license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
CC BY-NC-ND
BY-NC-ND
This is open access article the license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committeelicense
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
of the CENTERIS – International Conference on ENTERprise Information
Peer-review
Peer-review under
under responsibility
responsibility of
of the
the scientific
scientific committee
committee of
of the
the CENTERIS
CENTERIS – International Conference on ENTERprise
Systems / ProjMAN - International Conference on Project MANagement / HCist - –International
International Conference
Conference on on ENTERprise
Health and Social Care
Information
Information Systems
Systems /
/ ProjMAN
ProjMAN -
- International
International Conference
Conference on
on Project
Project MANagement
MANagement // HCist
HCist -- International
International Conference
Conference on
on
Information Systems and Technologies 2022
Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies
Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies 2022 2022
Keywords: ECI,
Keywords: ECI, contractor,
contractor, technical
technical competence,
competence, pre-construction
pre-construction phase
phase

*
* Corresponding
Corresponding author.
author. Tel.: +47-98688053
Tel.: +47-98688053
E-mail address:
E-mail nadina.memic@ntnu.no
address: nadina.memic@ntnu.no

1877-0509
1877-0509 ©© 2022
2022 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published byby ELSEVIER
ELSEVIER B.V.
B.V.
This
This is
is an
an open
open access
access article
article under
under the
the CC
CC BY-NC-ND
BY-NC-ND license
license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Peer-review
Peer-review under
under responsibility
responsibility of
of the
the scientific
scientific committee
committee of
of the
the CENTERIS
CENTERIS –– International
International Conference
Conference on
on ENTERprise
ENTERprise Information
Information Systems
Systems //
ProjMAN
ProjMAN -- International
International Conference
Conference on on Project
Project MANagement
MANagement // HCist
HCist -- International
International Conference
Conference on
on Health
Health and
and Social
Social Care
Care Information
Information Systems
Systems
and
and Technologies
Technologies 2022
2022
1877-0509 © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the CENTERIS – International Conference on ENTERprise
Information Systems / ProjMAN - International Conference on Project MANagement / HCist - International Conference
on Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies 2022
10.1016/j.procs.2023.01.489
1902 Nadina Memić et al. / Procedia Computer Science 219 (2023) 1901–1908
2 Author name / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000

1. Introduction

Public infrastructure projects are subjected to limitations through the public procurement act, environmental
regulations and social demands. Several of the 17 UNs sustainable development goals are directly dependent on the
construction industry where new technology, efficient and environmentally friendly materials, emission-free
execution and cost and time -saving execution methods are needed [1].
The premise of one of the evolving project delivery models, Early contractor involvement (ECI), is that
traditional methods create working teams too late in the project development [2]. The main purpose of ECI is that
the design process benefits from the expertise and knowledge of the contractors in terms of buildability, construction
methods, materials and local practice [3]. In order to achieve that, it is beneficial to involve contractor competence
early, as they have the unique combination of the right technical and practical knowledge and experience, while also
benefitting from established sub-contractor relations [4, 5, 6].
The use of ECI identified several advantages overall. Compared to designers and owners, contractors have a
higher level of construction knowledge, including materials, methods and local practice. In addition to the
constructability-knowledge, contractors are also in the best position to provide contract specific information on the
availability and limitations of access and site conditions to support design. Moreover, they are responsible for the
actual construction operations, so their inputs to design have a direct impact on their own performance in the
execution phase [7].
The most challenging stage in the project lifecycle, is the pre-construction phase that covers several major
activities that are highly related to risk distribution between the client, contractor and in most cases consultants.
Findings from New Zealand show that there is a difference between the optimal time for contractor involvement for
different parties [8]. Here, the contractor believes that engagement of the contractor should occur in the concept
design phase, whereas the client’s opinion varies. For some projects, the client preferred contractor involvement in
the project definition phase, yet some also thought that it could be as `late` as in the detailed design phase. The
consultants on the other hand, would like the contractor involvement to start latest [8].
Despite the understanding that involvement of the contractor competence is beneficial and that there are
advantages, there is still an uncertainty as when to engage the contractor and what services they could/should
provide [21].
There are limited studies reflecting the desired competencies that potentially a contractor organization can engage
early in the project and when the contractor’s contribution is most valuable, in terms of knowledge and skills.
For so, the following research question is formulated for this study:

• Which contractor competencies are valuable for the client in the preconstruction phase?

This study is limited to Norwegian public infrastructure projects, preconstruction phase and technical competencies.
It is also limited to the client aspect.

2. Method

The research question in this article was addressed by conducting a literature study in addition to a series of semi-
structured interviews with practitioners. The results from the literature study were compared and contrasted with
findings obtained from interviews conducted with construction industry practitioners in Norway along with several
workshops performed to conclude this study. The following section elaborate on the method of data collection,
synthesis and analysis of the collected data.
A literature study, following the prescription of Blumberg et al. [9], was undertaken to develop the theoretical
background for this study. Search terms included but were not limited to keywords ‘competencies’ OR ‘skills’ OR
‘technical competency’ OR ‘knowledge’ OR ‘design competency’ AND ‘construction’), Articles and conference
papers were used to gain a theoretical perspective of the current views on the topic. A study of documents from both
government and industry covering different guidelines to manage the relationship in a project was undertaken to
broaden this perspective. To build upon the findings from the literature study, Teams- interviews were conducted
with practitioners in the Norwegian construction industry. The interviews were carried out as part of a bigger project
 Nadina Memić et al. / Procedia Computer Science 219 (2023) 1901–1908 1903
Author name / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000 3

namely Optimaltid (OT). Table 1 presents the partner organizations of the OT project.

Table 1. Optimaltid-project partner organizations.

Partner Organization
NPRA
Bane NOR
Bodø Municipality
Nye Veier
WSP
Veidekke
NTNU

Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were undertaken on Teams (due to Covid 19 restrictions) with industry
professionals in Norway. A key reason to conduct semi-structured interviews was that that it made it possible to clarify
questions, expand on answers and to delve much deeper into this particular topic of interest. The interviews were
carried out between January and April 2021. Each interview took approximately two hours while it was recorded, and
the main point are extracted and transcribed. The interviewees were contacted based on their experience in construction
industry and specifically management discipline. Respondents were chosen among project managers and contract
specialists, from client side, consultant and contractors to gain a full industry perspective on the current state of art.
All interviews were carried out by two of the authors of this study.
Majority of the participant have more than 10 years of experiences in project environment while three worked
between 5 to 10 years as project managers. Participation in the interview series was voluntary and the responses
anonymous.
As mentioned, the interviews lasted for approximately two hours each. For this paper, only a small portion of the
data collected was used.

Table 2. Participant organization and role.

Participant Organization Position

P1 Bodø Municipality Project director
P2 Bodø Municipality Project manager
P3 Bodø Municipality Project manager
P4 Bodø Municipality Project manager
P5 Bodø Municipality Procurement manager
P6 Bodø Municipality Project manager
P7 Bane NOR Project manager (30 years)
P8 Bane NOR Lawyer and contract manager (11 years)
P9 Bane NOR Project manager (32 years)
P10 Bane NOR Project director (30 years)
P11 Bane NOR Project Planning and control manager (20 years)
P12 Nye Veier Project Planning and control manager (25 years)
P13 Nye Veier Project manager (15 years)
P14 Nye Veier Portfolio controller (25 years)
P15 Nye Veier Project director (30 years)
P16 Nye Veier Project manager (12 years)
P17 WSP Project manager (12 years)
P19 WSP Head of planning (20 years)
P20 NPRA Project manager (22 years)
P21 NPRA Project manager (26 years)
P22 NPRA Engineer manager (12 years)

Optimaltid is financed by Norwegian Public Road Administration and the Norwegian Research Council to
investigate the right time for adding the contractor competence in order to maximizing the creation of value.
1904 Nadina Memić et al. / Procedia Computer Science 219 (2023) 1901–1908
4 Author name / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000

3.Theoretical Background

The contractors in ECI are selected based on their track records, not on the lowest bid, since there is not yet a design
to bid for [3, 20]. Industrial construction projects are large, technically complicated and logistically challenging
which require a high level of coordination to ensure success [7]. The success of a construction project depends also
on an open environment, where trust, respect, information flow and communication form the basis, which is also the
reason why it is considered somewhat contradictory to involve the contractors at later stages [13, 14]. Rahmani
(2021) [6] identified several benefits of using ECI, among them higher certainty in the price and scope, better
constructability, improved working relationships and innovation, where it was suggested that innovation was created
by a collaborative link between the designers and the constructors.
Ekström et al. (2019) [18] identified areas with the largest potential for improvement for all professions in the early
design stages, concluding that project team culture and project team competence have the largest potential.
Construction projects that are complex and dynamic, require team members to have the skills and expertise that
managers need, while they also must have a high level of communication, management skill, integration capabilities
and the ability to utilize and understand knowledge, tools, and techniques.
Thi and Swierczek (2010) [11] measured infrastructure project performance on four criteria: cost; time; technical
performance; and customer satisfaction using four factors: external stability, manager competencies, team member
competencies and organization support. Studies showed that members of project teams primarily need an appropriate
and sufficient technical background, but they need to be able to apply this expertise flexibly through problem solving
and troubleshooting, meaning that the main additional competencies for team member in infrastructure projects are
identified to be capability and flexibility.
Still, problems faced by construction managers in their daily work demand a high level of technical knowledge,
which leads to that the construction managers usually tend to base problem solving on mobilizing technical
competencies [17]. According to Lee et.al (2011) [12], competency consists of qualities such as skill, knowledge,
attitude, and hidden qualities, such as beliefs, personality, motives, value system and characteristics. Knowledge,
skills, and abilities (including attitudes) are the primary elements of competency, whereas knowledge and skills are
also the “visible” elements of competency.
Hassan et. al (2010) [15] divide competency in a technical and non-technical term because of the nature of the
construction industry.

Figure 1. The overall concept of competency, Hassan et al. (2011) & Abdullah et. al. (2018) [15] [16]

Technical competency consists of hard skills and knowledge, whereas non-technical competency covers soft skills
and abilities. Technical competency is the ability to apply techniques and procedures, i.e the knowledge of estimating,
scheduling and construction materials [16].
Studies performed on prevention through design by Ibrahim et. al (2021) [19], showed that the most important
technical skills cited in the literature is the hazard recognition skills. The rapid development of digital technologies
offers opportunities for designers to provide better visualisation that could facilitate interactive design and dynamic
construction environments.
 Nadina Memić et al. / Procedia Computer Science 219 (2023) 1901–1908 1905
Author name / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000 5

4. Findings and Discussion

This section presents the different technical contractor competencies that were identified during the data collection.

Findings
During the interviews and workshops, it was identified that the contractors previous experience with similar projects
and contractor’s ability for an innovative approach were key motives for involvement in the pre- construction phase.
Previous experience and innovative approach could directly be projected onto the contractor’s technical
competencies. Previous experience shows that they are familiar with similar projects and how to deal with different
challenges, whereas innovative approach shows that the contractor has the ability to explore other solutions that may
be more sustainable and cost- and time efficient.
The respondents identified ten major technical contractor competencies and grouped them into three groups:
previous experience and innovative approach. Competencies that could not be placed in either one those two, are
denoted as neutral.
The ten technical competencies identified as valuable for the preconstruction phase are; design, cost, planning,
risk, regulations, materials, constructability, geotechnical knowledge, site planning & preparation, HSE.
Table 3 gives an overview of the top ten competencies identified, ranked after importance identified during the
interviews. Table 4 presents how these ten competencies were again grouped into the three groups.

Table 3. Top ten competencies identified in order of importance.

Top ten pre-construction technical competencies identified during interviews and workshops
Previous experience / Previous experience was mainly mentioned in relation to design. Here, it was of importance
Innovative approach to have the contractor`s input on whether the existing design is possible and what is the
wrt. Design cheapest solution. It was highly related to the execution phase, especially previous experience
with different installation methods and materials. Well-established contractors are believed to
have the best market- knowledge and are used to interact with different stakeholders,
including sub-contractors. On the other hand, when talking about Innovative approach and
Design, the respondents wished that contractors could challenge both the client and the
consultant and optimize the design by thinking out of the box. For the execution phase, they
believed that new installations methods and materials could be applied and that the
contractors had the best prerequisites to evaluate the alternatives.
Previous experience / Respondents believed that contractors that have previous experience with similar projects, to
Innovative approach some extent are familiar with the different pitfalls and can perform more accurate cost
wrt. Cost estimations, especially concerning the execution phase. When it comes to Innovative
approach and Cost, the respondents believed that an early involvement of the contractor
could give a more realistic picture of the execution phase much earlier than it is common now
and be able to evaluate different designs and possibilities that lie in regulations and contracts.
On the other hand, innovation was highly related to RISK, so although it is overall believed
that involving contractors in the preconstruction phase will result in lower costs, there was
some uncertainty about whether the cost estimations could be performed properly.
Previous experience / For planning, respondents answered somewhat similar as for cost. Planning depended on
Innovative approach previous experience, but it was also room for improvement as it depended on design. The
wrt. Planning WBS could be done in a way so that the dependencies are more visible and more paralleled
work could be done in the execution phase.
Previous experience / RISK mitigation and elimination are related to everything from contracts, design, plan and
Innovative approach cost. It was assumed to be a result <of everything else> and depended highly on the other
wrt. RISK
competencies. Innovative approach in context was evaluated to give a less trustworthy RISK
assessment.

Previous experience / Innovative approach within the legal framework was regarded by respondents as one of the
Innovative approach major advantages of involving the contractors early. Both the governmental laws and public
wrt. Regulations procurement act give opportunities that still have not been fully examined. For this
competency, previous experience is not considered to have a great advantage over innovation
1906 Nadina Memić et al. / Procedia Computer Science 219 (2023) 1901–1908
6 Author name / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000

as experience shows that the construction industry cannot always differ between must have
vs. nice to have, especially when it comes to environmental requirements. Since it has a large
impact on cost and RISK, it is still common to make conservative assumptions.
Previous experience / Knowledge of different materials is among other things, related to cost, design and
Innovative approach environmental requirements, particularly when it comes to local materials. This competency
wrt. Materials is also regarded as something that the client and the consultant have limited knowledge about.
In this case, innovative approach is mostly related to knowledge of local materials and new
installation methods, whereas previous experience is mostly related to market-knowledge and
good sub-contractor relations.
Previous experience / Constructability / buildability is seen in relation to design. Traditionally, the contractor is
Innovative approach involved at late design review-stage, in some cases at a 90%-design review, so the possibility
wrt. Constructability to influence and change is minimal. For the executions phase, a poor constructability method
causes high costs, schedule delays and in some cases safety issues. ECI is considered as one
of the solutions for checking constructability in parallel with design so it is still possible to
make design -changes before detail-engineering and hopefully limit the costs. Both previous
experience and innovative approach are relevant for this competence. Innovative approach
had a slight advantage when considered together with design, whereas previous experience
had an advantage over innovative approach when considered together with cost, safety and
risk.
Previous experience / Geotechnical conditions including identifying different soil types and their properties
Innovative approach represent a challenge, especially in the north because of the quick clay. Knowledge of
wrt. Geotechnical
different methods in the execution phase, along with solutions for operation and maintenance
knowledge
gives previous experience a clear advantage over innovation. Innovation in this context was
mentioned in relation to engineering, BIM and design, not for construction. The geotechnical-
conditions were identified as one of the largest risks in most infrastructure-projects which
also could have a notable impact on cost and schedule.
Previous experience / As for materials, it is considered to be one of the competencies that the client and the
Innovative approach consultant have limited knowledge about, and one that is crucial for the execution phase.
wrt. Site planning Different installation methods, geotechnical knowledge, equipment knowledge and site
and preparation preparation are all aspects that are mentioned. Here, previous experience has an advantage
over innovation, as established relations with sub-contractors and a predictable execution
phase is more desirable.
Previous experience / HSE is governed by strict rules and requirements which in many cases can limit the creativity.
Innovative approach It is mainly related to the execution phase, therefore ECI is considered to be a positive
wrt. HSE
contribution as some situations may be evaluated and avoided already from early on. Previous
experience is considered to be more valuable than innovative approach within this frame, as
there is no motivation to <deviate> from the HSE-regulations, but rather make sure there are
no unpredictable outcomes as it is also highly related to RISK.

Discussion
Previous experience is considered a stable and predictable choice, while an innovative approach is referred to as
`examining the best solution` or `looking for the best possibilities`.
When categorizing the technical competencies in the two categories previous experience and innovative
approach, it can be seen that some technical competencies are mostly dominated by a wish for predictability, such as
geotechnical knowledge, risk and HSE, whereas there is a wish for a more innovative way of thinking when it comes
to design, regulations and materials. Although planning, cost, constructability and site planning & preparation could
not be categorized in either one of the two, all are competencies that are identified to be dependent on foremost
design, constructability and risk assessment.
Cost-certainty, cost-reduction and the overall project- costs are mainly driven by the design phase. Maximizing
the profit/ executing the project within the given budget is a main priority for public projects as they are regulated by
political decisions, meaning they are both economically and legally constrained.
So, on one hand there is a wish for predictable contractor-services, like what the industry has today and identified
in [3] and [7]. This is mainly so there can be a transparent risk assessment and no cost-surprises (although overruns
 Nadina Memić et al. / Procedia Computer Science 219 (2023) 1901–1908 1907
Author name / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000 7

happen often), whereas on the other hand, there is a wish for a new, innovative contractor that will join the project
earlier and challenge the well-established procedures and subsequently optimize the design, choice of materials and
hopefully reduce the project execution time and overall costs.

Table 4. Grouping of technical competencies.

Previous experience Innovative approach Neutral

Risk Design Cost
Geotechnical knowledge Regulations Planning
HSE Materials Constructability
Site planning & preparation

Figure 2. Distribution of the top ten competencies.

5. Conclusions

The aim of this paper was to identify top ten technical contractor competencies that could be valuable during the
preconstruction phase. The interviews were carried out as part of a bigger project, Optimaltid. The findings
identified design, cost, planning, risk, regulations, materials, constructability, geotechnical knowledge, site planning
& preparation and HSE as the top ten contractor competencies, ranked in order of importance. Results showed an
overall agreement and belief that it would be beneficial to involve contractor competence during the preconstruction
phase.
Theoretical Contribution
During data collection, it was identified that the contractors previous experience with similar projects and
contractor’s ability for innovative thinking were key motives for involvement in the pre- construction phase. The ten
major technical competencies that were identified, were grouped into previous experience, innovative approach and
a neutral- group. The neutral - group being competencies where neither previous experience nor innovative
approach prevailed. The obvious challenge is that it is not possible to evaluate the value contribution as there is
limited experience with the contractor competence involvement in the preconstruction phase. Although there is a
common understanding by the respondents that the contractor competence should be involved earlier than today and
that the time of involvement that is common today is too late, there is scepticism for involving the contractor early.
This paper shows that there are possibilities to answer the competency-question on an activity- level, even though
there is limited with studies reflecting the desired competencies that the client needs from the contractor in the pre-
construction phase.
Practical Contribution
The major possibilities are mainly seen within the detail design phase and concept design phase, whereas some
respondents also suggested project definition phase as the right timing in order to evaluate whether the client`s goals
1908 Nadina Memić et al. / Procedia Computer Science 219 (2023) 1901–1908
8 Author name / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000

are realistic at all.

As these three groups, previous experience, innovative approach and neutral- group, are somewhat contradictory,
it can indicate the cautious approach to ECI. Findings indicate that ECI may give more possibilities within design
optimization, materials selection and cost-reduction, but it could also cause high risks, cost-overrun and loss of
ownership for the client. The major possibilities are mainly seen within the detail design phase and concept design
phase, whereas some respondents also suggested project definition phase as the right timing in order to evaluate
whether the client`s goals are realistic at all.
This paper show that mapping competencies on an activity-level will yield a more organized and quantitative
approach in organizations and projects where ECI is considered.
Considering the above, further work is to analyse all of the collected data and systemize the different parameters
needed for consideration of ECI.
For further studies it is relevant to map competencies needed for specific tasks as there is a need for a more
systematic and knowledge-based approach than available today.

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