After what appeared to be a slow start following the launch of the first edition of Management, Procurement and Law in February 2007 the process has now gained its own momentum and this August 2009 edition seems to follow on very quickly after the May 2009 edition and the next edition is already well in hand.
This edition contains two briefing articles, four papers and six book reviews.
The first briefing, by Peter Higgins, is the third in a series by members of the NEC panel written to assist clients, contractors and consultants in their understanding of how the NEC3 contracts work in various situations.1 This briefing deals with what happens when significant and unexpected events occur which prevent the work being completed on time or even completed at all. NEC3 adopts a different approach to other standard forms of contract and it is important that those involved understand the differences.
The second briefing is by David Loosemore, the chairman of the editorial advisory panel, and gives a personal view of the challenges facing dispute resolution in the current economic downturn, and whether or not the parties always choose the most appropriate form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for their particular dispute and sets out a number of challenges.2 This briefing is by way of a forerunner to the next edition of the journal which will be a themed edition dealing with dispute resolution and avoidance. Hopefully this briefing, together with the themed edition, will generate some debate and discussion on appropriate ADR techniques. For those wishing to refresh their memories on the range of alternatives available, the briefing in the August 2008 edition3 provides a non-exhaustive list.
The first paper, by Trevor Butcher and Vess Gentchev, looks at another aspect of private finance initiatives (PFI)/public–private partnerships (PPP), which was the topic of the November 2008 themed edition, this time considering its use in the 2004 EU accession countries and other central and eastern European counties.4 While identifying the huge infrastructure deficits that exist in such countries and the benefits that PFI/PPP would bring, the authors address the difficulties facing the use of PFI/PPP which include differing legislative and taxation regimes and the lack of experience of funding and operating such projects.
The second paper, by Muhammad Sohail and Olena Maslyukivska, also looks at PPP, this time in connection with the water sector in eastern Europe and central Asia, a region inhabited by some 480 million people, of which only 30 million, predominantly living in large cities, are served by private operators.5 The authors note that the majority of the sewerage and water infrastructure in these areas is on the verge of collapse.
The third paper, by Eddie Kwok, Sam Ng and Johnny Tam, deals with the interesting and important topic of how to deal with risk when evaluating tenders and highlights how the selection of the ‘wrong’ contractor can easily lead to late completion and over expenditure.6 The authors, who were all with Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation in Hong Kong when the paper was written, conclude that while the consideration of risk when evaluation tenders is nothing new, it is not explicit and they propose the introduction of an explicit approach by the introduction of an additional dimension.
The fourth and final paper in this edition, by Adekunle Oyegoke, Peter McDermott, Ghassan Aouad and Martin Cleary, all from the University of Salford, considers the skills gaps and skill shortages prevalent in the construction sector and how they might be coped with.7 Most of the second half of the paper is devoted to a case study of how a traditional construction company has dealt with the problem through a combination of strategic capacity planning which enables continuous training and high workforce retention; updating and upgrading the knowledge base of the supply chain through conferences and training schemes; investment in the workforce through training, vocational and higher degrees; and acquaintance with alternative sources of finance.
Finally there are six book reviews, three dealing with legal matters and three with project management/planning.
There should be something of interest for everybody in this edition and I hope you enjoy reading it. Perhaps you disagree strongly with something in one of the papers, or perhaps you have some valuable insights or additional information to add. If so, why not e-mail up to 500 words to the editor setting out your comments. Or perhaps there is nothing that interests you; if so let the editor know what subject you would like to see dealt with and the editorial advisory panel will endeavour to commission a paper covering the topic; or, even better still, why not boot up your computer and address the topic yourself!
