Getting involved

摘要

Early contractor involvement on construction projects is becoming a key process, particularly in the roads sector, where the Highways Agency is leading the way with it's ECI projects. But how many of these contracts, which typically involve contractors working for a fee until construction gets underway, can any one firm handle? "Contractors traditionally make their money through turnover and if we had all our staff working on ECI schemes we wouldn't show much profit," explains Rob Adams, managing director of Birse Civils. "I'd say about 10 to 15 per cent of our annual turnover is ECI work and we could perhaps cope with up to 25 per cent before it would show on the bottom line. Birse works regularly for the Highways Agency but the firm's experience on ECI jobs with local authorities demonstrates just how these new types of contracts can differ.