New ACIF resource 'Project initiation' - download it here for free
The Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF) and the Australasian Procurement and Construction Council (APCC) have released a "Guideto Project Initiation for Project Sponsors, Clients and Owners". The guide was prepared by a joint working group of both organisations. APCC is the peak council of departments responsible for procurement, construction and asset management policy for the Australian, State and Territory governments and the New Zealand government. Papua New Guinea is an associate member.
Both APCC and ACIF are acutely aware of the need for the most efficient and effective delivery of services from capital works assets, whether in the public or private sector. To meet this objective when resources are limited and demand for services and assets is growing, requires all parts of the construction industry to continually review and improve how community expectations are best met.
The use of rigorous information analysis at the beginning of a project has the greatest potential to significantly improve the whole project. This guide sets out a framework of leading practice methods for achieving those improvements.
Ideally, all project initiation should include:
- recognition of the idea or opportunity;
- effective client sponsorship of the methods and outcomes to achieve efficient project implementation;
- use of good team processes to ensure clear and shared objectives are achieved
- maintaining continuity in the key elements of the team;
- formulation of service and functional needs and objectives;
- project option evaluation to identify a robust concept;
- proper definition of the concept;
- effective construction planning during design, and
- identifying a clear project implementation and procurement plan including clear project stages with defined outcomes.
End users of capital works assets, and the clients who commission the design and construction of those assets (whether they are also end users or not) have most to gain. They live with the consequences of project initiation decisions for many years, and sometimes decades. They stand to benefit from
- better value for money,
- better functional design and environmental outcomes, and
- improved time and whole-of-life cost performance.
Designers and constructors of assets and other "front end" advisers, know that consistent application of project initiation processes yields
- the establishment and maintenance of good working relationships,
- optimized design and "buildability", and
- project success for all parties involved in the project.
The guide aims to facilitate better service delivery from capital works assets by encouraging all stakeholders to consider how, by doing some things differently, we can all take even greater pride in the contribution we make to the built form of our communities.
Download the Project Initiation Guide by visiting the ACIF website and checking out 'productivity tools'.
