PhD Final Thesis April 2013.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

Appendices to Thesis Keith Gale 2013Q6 In your view, what are the drivers that encourage suppliers to start on time?Yeah, I think, my observations would be that definitely…. I definitely get moresticks and carrots when you get contractors to start on time. Especially, I do think thechallenges arise in the logistics of getting contractors finishing one job and themobilisation to get onto another job and err often that is a conflict for them. So Ithink the only way to get them to start as when we want is to provide some sort ofsanctions that would impact upon their performance of future work. So I think we’dhave to be… more sanctions… more sort of drivers and encouragements. I think,keep the encouragements, and keep the sort of bonuses.. but I think it sort of comesdown to them doing what they said they would do so its more of a compliance matterwith the terms of the contract. Yeah, that would probably be about it.Q7 In your view, what are the drivers that encourage suppliers to finish on time?I guess if you set aside the contract obligations element for the time being… I guessother than that the drivers are: reputation, I guess customer impressions of thecompany of it are important. So I guess they’ve got a reputation factor which reallyis probably something for them to bear in mind. Especially if they’re in the publiceye with performance data being published, lets say that they will stick to something.And as a social benefit its good. It’s a marketing thing to be able to say “look, wefinished this ahead of said schedule” etc. But when it comes down to actuallyfinishing on time then prolongation comes into play, equity use of damages, orobviously agreed extension of time. I think that if your contracts are not wellmanaged, to the letter of that, then most definitely contractors will see that as havinga weakness and things will drift away - and that has an effect on completion. Andthat’s nothing to do with the contractor, that’s just simple human nature I suppose totry and make their life as simple as possible. Especially if contracts seem to be end toend for them with continuation, so its kind of a link to the start question its kind ofthe same… what encourages them to start you know also encourages them to end.Those start and end dates I think link because they are already doing jobs. One willlead on to the other one and potentially in a framework they’re doing both for us. So378