Quality relationships: partnering in the construction supply chain

Subcontractors and suppliers are playing an increasingly important role in project construction – it is not uncommon for as much as 90 per cent of a project to be undertaken by subcontractors. The result of this increased involvement is that main contractors are now concentrating their efforts on managing subcontractors rather than employing direct labour. Outlines an approach to partnering developed by a European conglomerate which is being employed throughout the UK. Commences with an overview of recent studies into the UK construction industry concentrating on partnering, quality and lean production. The second part discusses the context of these points from a quality, general and construction project management perspective. A form of benchmarking is described and the actual partnering approach is detailed. Finally, the paper identifies the main points relating to quality as perceived by the project participants, as well as some of the overall advantages of adopting this approach to partnering.