Early Contractor Involvement (ECI)

 

In the 20 months prior to construction starting on the Inner Relief Road, we have worked in partnership with the main contractor, Birse Civils Limited, on scheme development. The benefits of this have been an input to design, more time for planning and programming the construction works, better quality and value for money and better risk management.

 

The idea of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) came about following Sir John Egan’s report in 1998, which sought to improve the performance of the construction industry. The ultimate goal was increased efficiency for both clients and contractors.

 

Conventional projects in the past have required a contractor to bid, or tender, for major projects within a limited timescale, based on plans and huge amounts of information supplied by the client.  Not surprisingly, assimilating all this information during the tender period could be extremely difficult and with so little planning time, the risks were high. 

 

ECI seeks to reduce the risks involved within a project and to pre-plan from an early stage to such an extent that, in theory, there are no surprises.  The scheme requirements and their associated costs are known from the outset and the costs are less likely to increase due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

As far as we are aware the Inner Relief Road is the first local authority major project in the country that has involved the contractor at such an early stage. 

 

£1.5m of net savings were identified as a direct result of engaging the contractor early and the construction phase started with the contractor, Birse CL, far more prepared in terms of knowledge, planning and programming of the scheme, than they could possibly have been in a traditional procurement situation.