Page 36 - Civil Engineering Project Management, Fourth Edition

Procedures for design and construction
utilities in the UK continued to use direct labour for such as re-surfacing roads,
constructing minor roads, laying water mains or sewers, etc. until the 1980s
when the government required such jobs be opened to competition from con-
tractors (see ‘Compulsory Competitive Tendering’ in Section 1.15). 21
Direct labour construction can be undertaken by consulting engineers on
behalf of the promoter. The consultants hire the necessary labour and plant, and
order the necessary materials, using money provided by the promoter. This pro-
cedure was widely adopted up to the 1950s for projects in the UK and overseas,
and can still be used now. It was used on some works for raising the Essex side
of the Thames tidal defences 1974–1984. Given a small team of engineers and
some skilled foremen to guide local labour under a resident engineer with strong
managerial capacities, direct labour under the control of a consulting engineer
has often been notably successful in keeping a project to time and budget.

(b) Construction divided into trades

A practice often followed in developing countries is to split construction work
into packages by trade, for example, brickwork, carpentry, etc. because local
contractors often provide only one type of trade work. ‘Self-build’ houses
in the UK often use this approach. The same approach on a larger scale is some-
times adopted for complex building projects, with a management contractor
appointed to co-ordinate the work (see Section 2.5(b)).

(c) Main civil contractor supplies all ancillary services

Most civil engineering works incorporate services of an electrical or mechan-
ical kind, such as for heating, lighting, ventilation and plumbing. It is usual
to permit the contractor to choose the sub-contractors who provide such ser-
vices, subject to the approval of the promoter. The promoter, however, must
make provision in the design to accommodate such services.
An advantage to the promoter is that co-ordination of the sub-contractors
then rests with the contractor, and if they delay him, that is his responsibility.
A disadvantage is that if the promoter specifies (i.e. ‘nominates’) some par-
ticular supplier of services or goods, the promoter then becomes responsible
for any delay caused to the civil contractor by the nominated firm.

(d) Civil contractor constructs; promoter orders plant separately

When major plant such as generating plant, pumps, motors, or process plant
has to be incorporated in civil engineering works, there is an advantage in the
promoter letting separate contracts for such plant. This may be essential in cases
where plant is on such long delivery time that it must be ordered before the