PIANC, in cooperation with IADC, is organizing an international conference on Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) in Brussels on 6 October 2022.

Questions asked and to be addressed are (i) how can early involvement of the main contractor and its supply chain create value for the developer of an infrastructure project?

And (ii) how should such an early collaboration be structured from a procurement, contractual and organizational perspective?

These are the overarching questions that will be explored during the conference.

For this topic, PIANC has formed Working Group 94: A framework for Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) in infrastructure projects with a number of ECI experts and practitioners to develop a report containing practical guidance as to how to perform ECI projects.

Following the publication of this report, this full-day conference will address the topics of the report, with speakers from the working group and other leading experts in ECI and collaborative contracting.

Who should attend

It is suggested by PIANC that the event will be of interest to those needing to learn more about ECI and collaborative contracting. Delegates are expected to be other professionals who have experience and expertise with ECI.

Delegates will hear presentations on new methods and the role in bringing the approach to mainstream application.

Topics to be address will suit:

• Contractors.
• Engineers.
• Consultants.
• Decision makers and their advisors of infrastructure projects, both in the public and private sector.
• Institutions and associations that have a particular focus on the procurement, management and organization of large construction projects.

All presentations and panel discussions will be by speakers and panellists who are experts and practitioners in the field of Early Contractor Involvement.

As more presenters are confirmed, PIANC will update details on its website:

www.pianc.org

Background

Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (WTI) projects are becoming ever more complex and subject to critical time and budgetary constraints. It is increasingly acknowledged that the potential for project cost blowouts, coupled with the progressively complex nature of planning for WTI projects, can negatively affect both the procurement and execution processes for many projects.

Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) is a strategy initiated by infrastructure owners (clients) towards main contractors and optionally expanded to consultants, stake holders and sub-contractors. The purpose being to optimize values in project delivery and objectives, through their participation and knowledge sharing in stages of project planning and design prior to project execution.

The publication

This PIANC publication, A Framework for Early Contractor Involvement in Infrastructure Projects is a detailed introduction into the understanding and the application of Early Contractor Involvement in Waterborne Transport Infrastructure projects.  It is priced at € 215,00 comprises 183 pages and is available here:

https://www.pianc.org/publications/marcom/wg194

It provides a practical guidance to industry practitioners to assist in the application of ECI in the WTI sector. The document also identifies that the hallmarks of a successful ECI process have been established, such as addressing good faith, transparency, equal treatment of all parties, fairness, clarity through clear rules of engagement and protection of intellectual property. The aim of the report is to further promote and support the use of ECI in the WTI sector and provide guidance to industry practitioners in how to successfully implement ECI for the betterment of the industry.