NCCTP supplement to Building magazine - September 2007

'Triangle' development, Cambridge

The challenge

In 2004, the project management team based in the Milton Keynes office of Davis Langdon, led by Tim Knee-Robinson, was appointed to provide services, including contract administration and project management, on a major city centre development for St John’s College, Cambridge. The £9.75m 'Triangle Site' project involved the refurbishment of 14 listed buildings in a conservation area in the historic heart of Cambridge to provide a medical centre and refurbished ground-floor commercial space with extensive student accommodation in the floors above.

The client was happy to use the NEC Engineering and Construction Contract 2nd Edition (NEC2), and the Milton Keynes team has a strong body of knowledge and expertise in its management and administration, particularly on building projects. However, Davis Langdon project manager Chris Akers outlined the challenges of using a paper-based system: "Typically, we had to draft proforma notices, convert them into PDFs, issue them to recipients, and then carefully supervise and manage the subsequent decision-making procedures within the time constraints established by the contract."

Knee-Robinson was keen to find an alternative to the paper-based system that was flexible enough to meet the project requirements. He decided that Davis Langdon would collaborate with BIW Technologies to develop a comprehensive suite of standard forms and documented procedures that met all the NEC process requirements.

The BIW difference

Working with BIW consultants, Akers set about replicating the Davis Langdon forms and workflows as online processes on the BIW platform. As these mirrored Davis Langdon’s detailed project execution plan, the supporting technology quickly gained acceptance as users realised how it helped them comply with their contractual obligations. For example, early warning notices could not be issued unless the issuer had correctly referenced the relevant contract clauses and supplied all the data requested on the form. Similarly, when contractors issued quotations for compensation events, they were prompted to provide both costs and programme impacts.

For those tasked with issuing notices, the benefits were quickly apparent. "Drafting and disseminating a communication is at least 50% quicker," says Akers. "Moreover, once you've issued a notice, the BIW system lets you see if it's been read, by whom and when. Responses are also more complete, saving a lot of time chasing and policing.

"The BIW system also allows you to search any type of communication quickly to identify, say, all the compensation events for which a quotation has not yet been received, or identify all of the early warnings that are still open. I can also explore the history of an issue quickly and easily via the in-built audit trail and links to associated documents."

An initial trial period prior to the adoption of the BIW contract administration module meant that the users became familiar with the processes required by the contract. The impact of transferring from the initial paper-based system was therefore minor. "BIW does nothing new so far as the contract is concerned," says Knee-Robinson. "It simply ensures that the project team conforms to the prescribed processes."

Looking forward

For future use, Davis Langdon wanted to ensure that the system could be adapted to suit other projects, for other clients and their project teams. "A big bonus for us is that the BIW system is inherently flexible," says Knee-Robinson. "We can amend processes, fine-tuning how the system delivers particular information to particular individuals. Ensuring communications have a familiar branding or format helps in getting users to accept the system." BIW has already worked with Davis Langdon to develop an NEC3 contract administration module for use on forthcoming projects.

"Online document management is fast becoming the norm for many UK projects," says BIW chief executive Colin Smith. "However, more sophisticated customers, such as Davis Langdon, increasingly want to manage complex business processes online. BIW is meeting such needs across a growing range of requirements, from contracts and health and safety to project cost control."

(View supplement online here; PDF of original article also available - see right)