Chapter 4: The economics of materials supply

Almost all finished structures can be achieved by more than one approach and most approaches will have the potential to feature different components and mixes of those components. Every location throws up its own idiosyncrasies with respect to surety of quality, timely availability and cost, and almost every project's macro- and micro-economic environments, from government imposed trade barriers to local problems such as suppliers going out of business, will demand changes to theorised procurement function. Decision tree analysis may reveal to the civil engineer an unsettling degree of complexity and risk. It is likely, however, that even the most well-researched analysis of this type will not reveal the full extent of the complexity and risk, nor necessarily provide any meaningful insights into how to manage them