One-off clients must seek help

Use of an independent client advisor will result in projects finishing on time and to budget, according to research carried out in a joint project by the Construction Best Practice Programme and the Confederation of Construction Clients.

The Building Success study, carried out across 11 projects country-wide, is designed to help clients who only occasionally employ construction firms get what they want from the industry.

All projects involved in the study finished on time and to budget - a quantum leap forward from the industry average of 75% of projects finishing late and over budget.

According to the researchers, clients should choose partners they can relate to, ask advice from friends and business associates who have some experience in construction, and they should not be afraid to contact contractors' other clients to ask how they have performed.

In its summary, the report also suggests that one-off clients:

n Choose a "committed architect" interested in working as part of a team and who has a clear understanding of the brief.

n Don't let the supply team assume that they understand drawings.

n Keep open book accounting.

n Should realise that bureaucracy will always take longer than they think.

n Should seek help from advisors about construction terminology.

n Avoid non-essential architectural features.

n Use smaller contractors as they offer a balance of power.

n Ensure there is a critical path analysis for the project that plots its stages.

The report highlights project-based evidence. Skelmersdale Cricket Club in Lancashire was advised about a new pavilion by a sports club consultant Peter Lever.

Lever produced a relocation plan and was appointed project manager. He introduced the club's committee to a designer and a contractor. Savings were made on the patio and drainage system of the new pavilion.

Similarly, Nottingham's George Spencer School took on the services of one of its governors, Ron Chester, who also works with Interserve, to provide advice for the new five-phase technology college before the contract went to tender.

Savings were made by designing in powder-coated aluminium windows instead of wood and the use of efficient heating and insulation.