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

Thesis Keith Gale 20132.8 SummaryAt the start of this chapter, historical development of framework arrangements andprogression into framework agreements was examined in the context of private andpublic sector procurement. A detailed examination of components to a frameworkagreement is followed by recognising critical considerations, with conditions underan umbrella agreement and call off projects as operational elements.Reference to government reports identifies that regular clients of the constructionindustry are more likely to be successful in managing projects than those who do notoften engage with the industry – and that there are no significant differences inperformance between public and private sector clients with this respect.Perceived benefits and criticisms of framework agreements are identified using areasof commonality – that is, changes with performance of price, time and quality.Exponents of framework agreements refer to improvements in all three areas ofperformance whilst detractors question the effectiveness of this method ofprocurement. Irrespective of outcomes, an investigation of the impact frameworkagreements demand of clients and suppliers highlight additional resources withmanagement of the method.This research seeks to investigate the framework effect with performance outcomesbetween discrete and framework projects and in addition compares production andtransaction costs for comparison to be analysed later. The results will be used forpublication of professional practice to assist with evaluation of claims ofperformance in light of contra views.With a focus upon ‘what performance means to the public sector’, improvementobjectives are collected through a central government infrastructure report. Thesewill be expanded further in this research for use within a local authority situation. Anappropriate period within which to measure performance specifically for frameworkprojects reaffirms the tender engagement and construction phase of a project as themost suitable period to gather metric data, and this will align with traditionallyprocured discrete projects. The latter discovery is significant as it allows comparisonbetween framework and non-framework projects to be undertaken using the samebasis and rules of measurement. An alignment of rules allows contextual positioningto be established with reference to published studies that reaffirm the ‘iron triangle’of price, quality and time. These are added by other measures to represent client’s47