WHAT IS EARLY CONTRACTOR INVOLVEMENT?

Anyone involved in large infrastructure projects has come up against delays, postponements and risks. And the first question that arises is: How could this have been done differently? Why didn’t anyone see these problems
coming?

Early Contractor Involvement is a method to get everyone onboard with a project before the first shovel, literally and figuratively, has hit the ground. The theory is straightforward. The more experts and stakeholders can agree
beforehand what the process should be and who takes responsibilities and risks for a project, the more efficient, cost-effective the project can be implemented and the more satisfied the client and contractor will be.

This two-day forum with the theme
Partnering Creates Possibilities will bring
together top-level experts and advisors
responsible for construction projects for an
in-depth exchange of knowledge. With
well-known keynote speakers setting the tone for the forum the participants will explore the benefits of “contractual partnering” – that is, a
co-operation amongst all the contractual players from the very early stages of project development.

“The Port of Melbourne Corporation’s Channel
Deepening Project provided some key learning
experiences regarding the need to establish open and transparent communications protocols …. the importance of engaging with stakeholders much earlier in the process has become a major takeaway…”

Stephen Bradford, 2009

HOW DOES ECI WORK?

“We are not minimising costs by cutting cost, but minimising costs by having the most
efficient contractor who knows exactly what to do and sees it from beginning to end, who can manage the project”.

Dean Kashiwagi

WHY IS ECI IMPORTANT?

Early Contractor Involvement can help identify risks and responsibilities and obstacles to co-operation, as well as possible methods to deal with, eliminate or minimize them. The aim of conference is to explore the practical and legal possibilities of utilising better and more intelligently the resources associated with “the early involvement of contractors” in order to bring benefits to society in the form of faster and more cost-effective solutions.