Documents and Processes

Project Objectives and Scope

One of three property construction projects resulting from the analysis done in Phase 1.

The main objective of this project is to develop best practice processes and documentation for the delivery of professional services, capital and maintenance projects in the SW region.

For capital projects the processes/documentation to be related to the following key stages identified in RIBA’s Plan of Work Stages and / or OGC Gateway Processes as appropriate.

For maintenance projects the processes/documentation will be related to a Quality Management approach covering identification of priorities, procurement, resource management and evaluation.

Initial topics include a collaborative approach to the accreditation of contractors and consultants, and identification of best practice in framework management

Anticipated gains from the project

As all LA’s in the region procure construction projects it is expected that there will be a degree of overlap in the processes and documentation that they use during this process. If the whole/parts of the process are standardised across the region there will be a saving as the same process will be used for every project and it will be easier for our suppliers to work with us.

The process savings from the Accreditation Project are estimated at £90,000 pa from 2007/08, although there are likely to be additional savings from reduction in risk of capital projects.

The Frameworks item has not been substantially progressed in this phase of the programme. We are projecting savings in the region of £125,000 per annum subject to further funding (already earmarked) for this work in 2007/08.

Wider implications and anticipated gains if it were successfully rolled out

This is already structured as a regional programme with the benefits of consistency and reduced duplication of approach for first-tier authorities in the SW. We will be publicising the outcomes of this work to district councils, who could find value in the Accreditation work, in particular. This programme also informs the work of the national Construction Workstream and we believe that the Accreditation work could provide the foundation for national roll-out.