Inquiry of the Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood - Research Paper Example

INQUIRY OF THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT BUILDING AT HOLYROOD INTRODUCTION After the United Kingdom’s Parliament devolved powers to the Scottish Parliament in 1998, the new Scottish Parliament building was planned at Holyrood in central Edinburgh, Scotland. Construction of the building began in June 1999, and was to be completed by 2001. However, with numerous problems besetting the project from its inception, the building was completed and was ready for use by the Members of the Scottish Parliament three years late in 2004. The cost initially estimated at up to 40 million pounds escalated to more than ten times the amount, at over 400 million pounds. Enric Miralles, the Catalan architect and designer of the building died while the project was in progress. The former Lord Advocate Peter Fraser in his Holyrood Inquiry in 2003 has identified the Construction Management method of procurement as one of the major factors affecting the final cost of the project (White and Sidhu 2005). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to outline the alternative methods of construction procurement that may have been considered for the Scottish Parliament building. One of the methods will be selected as the most suitable, and the reasons for the choice will be explained. DISCUSSION The Scottish Parliament building has won numerous awards including the 2005 Stirling Prize for its architecture. The design of the construction was conceived as a poetic fusion of the “Scottish landscape, its people, its culture and the city of Edinburgh” (Satellite Sites 2008). However, the unrealistic cost estimates at the conception stage, the lack of true comprehension of the architects’ evolving design, requirement for changes and increases approved by the client: the Secretary of State and later the Parliament, and the consequent rise in costs resulted in financial difficulties during the construction. Most significantly, there was inadequate understanding of the Construction Management route of procurement, with no information given to the ministers regarding the risks involved in this method. Moreover, due to the complexity of the project, high maintenance costs are being incurred in an ongoing manner (White and Sidhu 2005). An Outline of the Alternative Methods of Construction Procurement The procurement system is the project organisational structure adopted by the client. It is defined as the “collective action required to acquire the design, management and installation of inputs” (Ngowi 2000, p.362). According to Morledge (2006), over the last twenty-five years, there have not been any significant changes in the United Kingdom strategies for the procurement of new construction projects. The main types of contract strategy are: 1) The Traditional or fully pre-planned, 2) Construction Management or sequential tendering, and 3) Design and Build. The Traditional Project Management Strategy ensures that before the construction contract is awarded, the building design and specification is fully developed and the costs identified. In straightforward projects, this approach is found to be useful, since it theoretically ensures that all major uncertainties are resolved before commencing work on the project. However, one of the limitations of this strategy is the initial time required to produce detailed designs before awarding a fixed contract. Another drawback is a lack or flexibility during the process, which causes difficulties since “technology, legal requirements and even the priorities of the client can change during the pre-planning period” (McCallum and Wakefield 2003, p.13). The Design and Build (D & B) system is an improvement of the traditional method of procurement. The D & B approach aims to increase optimal results in the construction industry. Its main goal is to complete and deliver the entire project without the adversarial approach of traditional construction. Using a cooperative instead of adversarial relationship between the design professional and the contractor, results in “faster project delivery, greater cost certainties, superior quality and increased efficiency” (Cushman & Loulakis 2001, p.154). The Construction Management method is the third type of procurement strategy (ASCE 2000). CM involves the “planning, scheduling, evaluation and controlling of construction tasks to accomplish specific objectives by effectively allocating and utilizing appropriate labor, material and time resources in a manner that minimises costs and maximises the customer/ owner’s satisfaction” (Jackson 2004, p.36). Construction management comprises several tasks undertaken by a construction management team. Minimising cost while maximising overall value to the owner, optimises the cost incurred. Quality, safety, scope, and function of the construction, and the risks involved are important criteria. In the Holyrood Building Project a Construction Management approach was used. In this connection, Fraser (2004) has recommended in his Holyrood Inquiry report that in compliance with the Treasury guidance, Construction Management as a public procurement route should be used only as a last option. All the risks should be fully evaluated through a complete analysis of the procurement method before adopting it. Selection of the Appropriate Procurement Strategy for the Project The following priorities should be taken into consideration: the project should have an acceptable layout in terms of functions and use. An aesthetically pleasing design, and a cost estimate that is practical are essential features. The cost of a project is a combination of land, construction, fees and finance, and the client will need to balance these against the various procurement systems that are available. The quality of the project should be in line with current expectations, which depends on the client’s requirements and the contractor’s reputation regarding the aesthetics and design, which form part of the procurement process. Further, the future performance of the building, the whole life performance and the related cost of maintenance. One way of measuring the success or a project is its punctuality in completion, and is available by the date suggested in the contract documents. The Procurement Strategy considered most suitable for The Scottish Parliament building is the Design and Build (D & B) method. The main advantage of using the D & B system is its speed of use, and also that construction involving significant architectural input is undertaken “with the client contracting the architect as the principal design consultant” (Ngowi 2000, p.362). The client and structural or civil engineer enter a contract. This is followed by a separate contract between the client and the contractor or builder. The architect coordinates the designer’s and the builder’s work. The tender is a single comprehensive set of documents that is put forth; a coordination of all of the design input from the various technological design specialists (Ngowi 2000). Moreover, in the Design and Build (D & B) procurement system, the different construction disciplines are efficiently combined together (NEDO 1985). In this “the organisation takes full responsibility and carries sole liability for both design and construction” (Ngowi 2000, p.362). The organisation may be a multi-disciplinary firm with in-house design staff, or may be an association including a contractor, an architect, a structural engineer and civil engineer. The functional relationship between the participants determines the extent to which benefits of the D & B method of procurement are realised. Project performance aspects of cost, schedule and quality under Design and Build can be clearly defined and appropriately balanced (individual risks are managed by the party best able and positioned to manage that risk). Changed orders due to defects in construction are eliminated because the correction of such is the responsibility of the design-builder, not the client. This aspect of assigning risks to those best capitalised and experienced to assume and manage them is the rationale behind design-build project delivery method. In this procurement method, clients will receive different design solutions and best cost proposals to meet the client’s requirements. These different proposals will represent the best thinking of several design-builders and will enable the client to better weigh the risks and the benefits of several competing proposals before committing to any single design solution (Franks 1990). In the D & B single-source strategy, the main allocation of risk is to the contractor. The client’s risks can be minimised in the event of a comprehensive brief being prepared. If the project fails for any reason, the client’s interests will be safe-guarded, and the contractor will be held responsible. That means, there can be no passing of the buck between the architect and the builder (Franks 1990). The disadvantages include uncertainty of the specific final details until the construction is completed, limited design liability, difficulty in controlling standards, cost impacts of changes and provision of basic minimum to satisfy the client’s requirements. Further, the Design and Build method faces difficulties in the “phasing and sequencing of functions” (Ngowi 2000, p.362), has little coordination between participants and is adversely affected by adversarial contract conditions and unsatisfactory competitive tendering. Hence, wastage occurs at the different stages of design and construction. CONCLUSION This paper has highlighted the construction of the Scottish Parliament building, for the numerous problems that beset the project, including severe financial constraints. The alternative procurement strategies have been outlined. The Design and Build has been selected as the most beneficial procurement method for the construction of the Scottish Parliament, despite the small number of drawbacks to the strategy. Risk to client is reduced, financial savings can be ensured, adversarial conflict among construction team members from different work disciplines can be minimised and cooperation between the parties can be maximised. To achieve this, the team should be structured, and each participant must work actively to promote each other’s interests. Moreover, when speed of time and related schedule are important factors, and client involvement is only moderate. Design and Build is preferred since it is the fastest project delivery method. The client can save time by starting on-site construction early before the design is completed; also the client can save financially because reduced time duration of construction would mean savings in payments to contractors and consultants; and there is greater cost certainty of the project. Additionally, the D & B procurement route is considered to be suitable for any project. REFERENCES ASCE (The American Society of Civil Engineers). (2000). Quality in the constructed project: a guide for owners, designers, and constructors. Edition 2. The United States of America: ASCE Publications. Cushman, F. & Loulakis, M.C. (2001). Design-build contracting handbook. 2nd Edition. New York: Aspen Publishers. Franks, J. (1990). Building procurement systems. A guide to building project management. Ascot: Chartered Institute of Building. Fraser, P. (Rt Hon Lord Fraser). (2004). The Holyrood Inquiry. Scottish Parliament Paper 205. Retrieved on 14th February, 2010 from: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/holyrood/inquiry/sp205-07.htm#3 Jackson, B.J. (2004). Construction management jumpstart. The United States of America: John Wiley and Sons. McCallum, Frazer and Wakefield, S. (2003). The Holyrood Building Project. The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). Retrieved on 13th February, 2010 from: http://www.parlamaid-alba.org/business/research/briefings-03/sb03-52.pdf Morledge, R., Smith, A. & Kashiwagi, D.T. (2006). Building procurement. Oxford: Blackwell. NEDO (1985). Thinking about building. National Economic Development Office. London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office. Ngowi, A.B. (2000). Construction procurement based on concurrent engineering principles. Logistics Information Management, 13 (6): 361-368. Satellite Sites. (2008). Scottish Parliament Building. Retrieved on 14th February, 2010 from: http://www.satellitesights.com/satelliteimage/Scottish_Parliament_Building_Edinburgh_City_of_United_Kingdom White, I. and Sidhu, I. (2005). Building the Scottish Parliament: The Holyrood project. House of Commons Library. Retrieved on 13th February, 2010 from: http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-03357.pdf Read More