Management of the Holyrood building project (PDF ... - Audit Scotland

4.36 After construction started the
construction manager held regular
design meetings, cost meetings and
progress meetings for each package.
However, the effectiveness of
management and control has almost
certainly been compromised by the
strict requirement to adhere to
programme targets that could be said
to have been unachievable. Driving
trade contractors to comply with
unachievable programmes increases
costs, in terms of prolongation costs
and also in disruption costs.
4.37 Eight of the 20 packages
reviewed were awarded on the basis
either that the outstanding design
would be completed within an
agreed period after award or simply
as quickly as possible. In these
cases, for coordination, the
construction manger ensured that a
schedule was agreed that showed
the latest dates that the trade
contractor needed design information
from the design team. Achievement
of the design programme slipped
from the agreed dates and this
design slippage within individual
packages contributed to the overall
delay, as a delay on one package can
affect other packages, and so on.
4.38 Even where the performance of
trade contractors may not have been
satisfactory, there was in some
cases little opportunity to attribute
delays to them, because of larger
movements in the overall
programme. For example, on the
assembly windows package the
satisfactory performance of the trade
contractor was questioned
throughout. The construction
manager regularly wrote to the trade
contractor to record dissatisfaction
with progress of the works.
However, the construction manager
had to recommend a 42 week
extension of time for the trade
contractor when a new strategic
programme was issued which
extended the time period for
completion by 42 weeks.
Part 4. The reasons for increased costs 61