Practice and Procurement
Building Information Modeling (BIM)
Building Information Modeling (BIM) has become a significant part of the Australian building and engineering industries. Globally, BIM has been an important part of the transformation of the industry, large projects and changes to the way business is done.
BIM in Australia 2010 provides an overview of the discussions held at the BIM forums held in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney this year and forms the basis for facilitating and accelerating the development of BIM in Australia.
The forums were hosted by Consult Australia in pertnership with the Australian Institute of Architects and Autodesk and the report has been prepared by Geraldine Star of Star Monde Communications.
Alliance Contracting
Consult Australia supports alliancing as a valuable tool to deliver projects with benefits for all participants. We respect the principles on which alliancing has been built, and which have evolved as this has become an increasing component of our member firms' business over the last fifteen years.
The Victorian Government Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) have, in consultation with the Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australian Treasuries, developed exposure draft guidelines and policy to provide consistancy in alliance contracting enagaged by departments and agencies that develop and own infrastructure projects.
The drafts set out the minimum requirements for alliance contracting and provide benchmark practices that will ensure that owners satisfy the principles set out. Consult Australia responded to the draft guidelines and policy with a submission dated 15 September 2010. We believe that accounting for our concerns, these guidelines—building cross-jurisdictional consensus on an approach to alliancing—present a valuable opportunity to preserve and reinforce the principles that have made alliancing as successful as it has proven itself to be.
Successful Procurement and Project Delivery
Looking at the historical performances of projects in Australia and around the world demonstrates that a more empirical approach based on experience and a proven method is needed to improve on-cost, on-time delivery and ensure a satisfied and rewarded project team. Consult Australia developed the paper, "Successful Procurement and Project Delivery" to analyse and recommend a number of solutions to improve procurement practices and deliver successful projects.
The paper considers the historical performances of projects in Australia and around the world. It reviews recent Australian research and publications focussing on key issues influencing successful project delivery. It discusses the current range of project delivery, contract and management systems in general use in Australia. It identifies a quantitative method adopted by the NSW government for ranking alternatives which is designed to assist in selecting the best delivery and contract systems for a particular project.
This paper has been sent to all Australian governments. A copy of the paper is available here.
Guide to Project Initiation
This guide aims to facilitate better service delivery from capital works assets by encouraging all stakeholders to consider how, by doing some things differently, we can all take even greater pride in the contribution we make to the built form of our communities. A copy of the guide is available here.
Selection of Consultants
Consult Australia's preferred method of selection is Qualification Based Selection (QBS). QBS documentation has been developed to promote the benefits of this process to clients.
QBS allows innovation and good design. Good design can cut 10-15% of construction costs - and more in life cycle costs.
Consult Australia member firms design and provide management services for large expenditure items such as buildings, roads, environmental services and land use planning. Procurement is specialised because outcomes are unique and only defined in their design. Consult Australia encourages clients to adopt QBS has their prefered method of consultant selection and seeks to engage with the Australian Procurement and Construction Council (APCC) to develop a package of solutions including a Procurement Guide, together with education and training packages to improve procurement understanding of the nature of engineering consulting services.
The Trade Practices Act
Whilst most parties that enter into a contract must adhere to the Trade Practices Act 1974, state, territory and local governments are not subject to the Act. The Federal Government is only bound by the Act to the extent that it is "carrying on a business". Consult Australia believes that all levels of government when procuring the services of the private sector should be subject to the Act in the same way that private corportations are.