ADCO Construction Preliminary Qualification - Assignment Example

ADCO Construction: Prequalification for the Building of Monash Green Library. ADCO Construction Preliminary Qualification ADCO Construction Limited is a national construction company that was established in 1972. During its existence, this company has completed over 8,000 projects valued at over $8 billion dollars. In addition, ADCO has a solid revenue base valued at $700 million and it has a client base ranging from government (both federal and local) to the private sector. This company has an impressive record of complete projects evidenced by their 80% repeat clientele. ADCO has built a reputation over the years in project completion through their diverse delivery modes, such as early contractor involvement, design and construction, management contractor services, construction only, cost planning and design management. The company has also demonstrated its capacity to deliver in diverse projects, such as commercial buildings, industrial and educational institutions, leisure, interiors, community and green projects. This is a preliminary qualification assessment of ADCO Construction for the construction of the Monash University proposed Green Amphitheatre based on their website. It will also explain the benefits of a careful prequalification process in determining successful project outcomes. 2.0 How the ADCO website helps in assessing Prequalification. The ADCO website helps me to establish the quality that this company is likely to bring on board should they be awarded the tender. To begin with, the company is able to deliver in a project, such as the proposed library because of their green architecture credentials (Hatush and Skitmore 1997, 129). From the website, one can decipher their experience in delivering highly rated sustainable projects. Subsequently, the ADCO website will help to determine their ability to meet the unique utility needs that form the basis of this project, which is to put up a building that complies with sustainable development architecture requirements (Saha and Hardie 2010, 671). The website also facilitates one to establish the capability of the management, as well as the qualification of the staff who are green star accredited professionals. The construction credentials of the board of directors, the national management team, and the regional management teams can also be accessed through the website, a factor which increases one’s confidence in their ability to deliver on the project (Lam et al.. 2000, 252). The diverse technical ability of the company allows it to experiment on new technologies and apply them. This is because the company employs best practices in the construction industry, such as safety management, environment management and quality management systems, which allow one to assess their competences to manage the green technology which is environmentally oriented (Lam et al. 2000, 253). The company has a wide variety of services to offer in building and construction as is shown in their website. The complete range of services offered by ADCO will assist clients to sample the diverse product range and to fit it to their immediate needs (Hatush and Skitmore 1997, 19). The website indicates that they have the necessary expertise to offer diverse services. This aids the prequalification process by assessing their ability to deliver on the project should it finally be awarded to them (Hatush and Skitmore 1997, 23). ADCO clientele can also be seen in this website. They include the government (both state and federal), which acts as an indicator of whether this university fits within their client base due to their technical endowment (Hatush and Skitmore 1997, 30). The website helps to establish the history of the company’s timely delivery in previous projects. From this, one can gauge their potential to deliver on the present project based on their acquired experience (Grimschen and Brockmann 2005, 212). It is important because it determines the company’s competitive edge or even their weaknesses. Through the website, one can establish that their core business is driven by 80% customer repeat business, which is evidence of the relationship of trust between them and their clients (Fellows and Paton 2005, 18). The website also provides a platform to assess the financial base of the company including their total assets, cash and financial assets, the net assets and annual revenues. This acts as a guarantee of their ability to deliver on projects of substantial magnitude, such as the proposed Monash University Green Library (Tucker 2006, 175). This also limits the risks that are associated with project failures where the potential company to deliver on the requirements of the project within set deadlines or even project success (Hatush and Skitmore 1997, 33). A company’s financial profile is therefore important in establishing its ability to gauge the range of projects that the company has been able to deliver on. The financial security of the company is vital in determining its profitability, security, shareholding structure and its market competitiveness (Flanagan 2005, 3). ADCO has built a sound client base over the years since it began its operations. Through the website, one is able to determine the customer satisfaction in their services, which acts as a source of the company reviews of their services (Flanagan 2005, 6). It is important to establish the value that a potential contractor brings to the market by how contented the past and present clients are with their services. ADCO website therefore provides an opportunity for one to determine whether they are able to meet the diverse customer demands and an overall rating on their ability to meet these demands (Huovinen 2005, 110). From the customer reviews, one is able to determine the company’s ability to meet both present and future needs of the clients (Lahm et al. 2006, 182). The website also indicates the current projects being undertaken and the ones that have been completed successfully by the company to further demonstrate the quality of work that they do. This includes quality of their educational projects and green construction projects that this project is premised (Hatush and Skitmore 1997, 131). This website offers a potential client like Monash University an opportunity to assess the company’s commitment to deliver quality projects as a business tradition. This institution would like to benefit from the quality of works of this company offers and therefore a have a chance to compare its value addition to the other construction companies in the industry, which shall be selected in the pre-qualification process (Saha and Hardie 2010, 671). The tender prequalification process is not entirely dependent on the cost factor of the project, but the desire for quality work. This is because the prequalification is value-based in that the University is looking for a contractor who will meet the needs and desire of the University management. More so, they seek for a contractor who is able to implement green building technology in the construction of the proposed library (Saha and Hardie 2010, 672). This University is looking for a contractor who is able to deliver on the demands of the project, not necessarily one who will offer the lowest cost for the project. Cost is one of the important aspects of any project management that compares whether their budget fits that of the proposed project (Saha and Hardie 2010, 672). The project needs to be carried out within a set budget without necessarily compromising on the value. Consequently, the project costs can be managed through relationship contracting where the company can work with the team on a cost planning early in the project offered by ADCO (Zuo et al., 2006, 43). 3.0 How Project prequalification will facilitate successful project Outcomes The successful outcomes of this project will be gauged against the theoretical framework for project success that was proposed by David Baccarini. In his article, The Logical Framework Method for Defining Project Success, David distinguishes between project success criteria and success factors (Adams and Baccarini 2004, 2). Project success factors facilitate the achievement of success, while criteria measure the success of a project. Therefore, the project prequalification process selected will be gauged against the two variables (Adams and Baccarini 2004, 3). 3.1 Project Success Criteria. The product success criterion is further divided into product success and project management success. In this regard, we shall therefore measure the success of the product if ADCO among other contractors that shall bid will be able to meet Monash University’s goal for coming up with the project, unique needs and the ability to satisfy the University’s needs (Adam and Baccaria 2004, 4). 3.1.1 Product Success. The Monash University Modern Green Library is an idea that has been conceived to complement the old library, which has a small capacity. Therefore, the desire of the institution is to put up with a building that meets the increasing student capacity (Huioven 2005, 111). Modern technologies also inform the desire to build the new library. Therefore, the university’s needs to put up a structure that encompasses sustainable development principles, such as increased energy efficiency and the reduction of carbon foot print by maximising the use of locally available materials (Hatush and Skitmore 1997, 33). ADCO is one of the companies in Australia that has a solid reputation for construction of green projects. This means that they have the skill and capacity to deliver on the university’s needs (Hatush and Skitmore 1998, 132). 3.1.2 Project Management Success. The project management success will be gauged against ADCO’s ability to deliver on the project within the expected timelines, set budget and meet the envisaged quality objectives. ADCO’s project management process must be above board in that they should be able to employ the requisite expertise for all the relevant areas of the project whether technical or professional (Adams and Baccaria 2004, 4). ADCO, among other possible bidders for the contract; is able to satisfy the project’s stakeholders needs (Adams and Baccaria 2004, 4). 3.2 Project Success Factors The project prequalification process cannot determine the project success because this can only be judge either upon the use of the library and how ADCO manages the project should they win the tender (Adams and Baccaria 2004, 3). However, their reputation of project management and product delivery will come in handy to judge their project success credentials (Flanagan 2005, 8). It is apparent from the reviews that they have received from present and former clients that they are able to deliver on the project’s expectations and are effective on timely deliveries at every stage of the project. 4.0 Conclusion The very interest of any prequalification process is to ensure that the consumer selects the best candidate to carry out a task should the construction tender be awarded to them. Therefore, ADCO website provides an opportunity for a potential client to gauge their ability, expertise and professional reputation in the construction industry before admitting them into the bidding process (Lam et al., 2000). The major goal of this project is to construct a modern library that maximizes on the use of naturally available resources, such as lighting to reduce energy consumption. ADCO construction is one of the companies that have the technical capacity, financial ability and an excellent experience in the construction of green buildings (Huovinen 2005, 112). Monash University therefore seeks satisfaction in the project outcomes and to achieve that; it is necessary to assess the ability of various contractors against their set expectation of quality, utility and meeting the stakeholders’ expectations (Adams and Baccaria 2004, 4). ADCO is not only highly rated in the market, but has consistently demonstrated the capability to deliver on the various expectations to its past and present clients, evidenced by its valuable projects. However, this is a prequalification process that enables them to be considered for bidding of the contract (Hatush and Skitmore 1998, 133). Bibliography Collins, A. and Baccarini, D. 2004. Project Success - A Survey. Journal of Construction Research 5(2): 211-231. Flanagan, R. 2005. The Synergy between Business and Global Drivers in Futures Girmscheid, G. and Christian B 2005. Trust as a success factor in international joint ventures." K. Kähkönen und J. 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