The construction industry faces numerous challenges today. Some of these challenges are:
Projects being advertised and, after the bid, cancelled because the Owner has inadequate funding to cover the cost. Is this an issue of the quality of the engineer’s/owner’s estimate? What can be done (owners+engineers+contractors) to reduce this time wasting practice?
Risk sharing (between owner and contractor)—there have been some innovative ideas used (e.g. the Portland, OR CSO projects), but these ideas are not catching on. Is cost plus fixed fee more appropriate in some circumstances than fixed price? What can be done to educate owners/engineers?
Risk allocation on multi-discipline projects where the contractor (JV) is asked to take on the risk of civil plus ME&I work, e.g. rolling stock on a light rail project. Would it be better to make separate contracts for civil and rolling stock? Why do some owners make separate contracts and some do not?
We would like to hear from you regarding these and other challenges/issues that you may be facing. Please contact Marvin Oey at moey@asce.org or 703-295-6397 with your comments.
Construction Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers