Procurement Report for Parent-Led Educational Group on UTC School Construction

Client Project Brief

Module Learning Outcomes (MLOs) Assessed by Coursework

1. MLO 1 - Establish a conceptual understanding of procurement and supply chain strategies within the built environment projects.
2. MLO 2 - Implement and critically evaluate appropriate procurement processes by which construction projects and services are acquired from internal and/or external sources.
3. MLO 3 - Identify and critically evaluate appropriate client requirements to develop respective procurement and supply chain strategies that enable project success, business benefits and overall sustainable operations.
4. MLO 4 - Embrace professionalism, demonstrate multi-disciplinary skills and apply expert and specialised knowledge in the field of construction project management.
5. MLO 5 - Embrace intercultural cooperation through consciousness, responsible and professional ethical conduct in a reflexive way.

Context Statement:

The construction sector continues to face many project delivery challenges such as time and cost predictability. The need to identify and critically evaluate client requirements to develop appropriate procurement processes has never been more important for project managers, clients and the industry at large.

This assessment requires the submission of an individual piece of coursework. It requires the production of a procurement report that engages with the knowledge base as well as the project and client-specific characteristics.

It is to be written from the perspective of a consultancy firm appointed as a procurement specialist who is making a theoretically-, and evidence-, informed project-delivery strategy report.

This task is worth 100% of the module and addresses all Module Learning Outcomes.

Coursework Tasks to be Completed by Students

CLIENT PROJECT BRIEF

As part of the drive for free state-funded schools, a York-based parent-led educational group has secured funding (£55m – a non-negotiable budget) from the Capital Spending Programme of the Department for Education (DfE) to develop an autonomous but state-funded school that sits outside the local authority control. The Parent-led promoters anticipate a larger than usual technical high school modelled after the University Technical Colleges, offering Years 10-12 a unique education, skills and employment prospects in two key economic sectors, namely Digital technologies and Health Sciences. To achieve this, the school has secured York St John University and British Telecoms as partners for its ambitious institution.

Previously, all such schools were all procured under a standing framework arrangement. However, the DfE recently confirmed that the next wave of free schools, including the proposed UTC, will be tendered outside the framework, although it hasn’t yet announced details.

The design theme is a natural-looking building with the outside environment connecting with the interior, incorporating several external access points as well as several distinct outdoor learning and play areas. The school plans to incorporate a significant use of PV and other sustainable technologies.

The client and end-user groups anticipate closer contractor-client involvement, timely completion, completion within budget and first-class facilities that reflect the school's ambition as a modern provider of digital and health technology education.

The new two storey building which will include 14 classrooms and activity area as well as an all-weather 3G synthetic sports pitch, is expected to take 70 weeks to complete when it starts in January 2021. This is to allow for a May 2022 completion, allowing for a comfortable September start of school, which cannot be compromised. The school will offer an increased capacity of 430 pupils compared to similar school with a capacity of 270. It will be equipped to accommodate the predicted increase in school rolls as well as offering after-school club capacity.

Procurement Strategy for UTC School Construction

Although planning approval for the scheme was granted in principle, in January 2020, the design is still far from being complete. Ryder Architecture, a North East-based architectural practice, developed some outline design/drawings up to stage 2 only (Concept Design) of the 2013 RIBA Plan of Work for the following key facilities:

• Learning and teaching facilities, including 14 classrooms;
• Staff office accommodation;
• Laboratory facilities;
• VR, 3D printing and digital spaces;
• Canteen and dining facilities;
• Indoor play areas and multi-purpose hall;
• Outdoor learning and play areas, including an all-weather 3G synthetic sports pitch.

At present, the school’s employees are limited to a Principal Designate, admissions Manager and PA to Principal, and Business Liaison Manager. The promoters have also appointed a caretaker Board of Trustees with a Chair and five members including the Principal Designate, who together make all operational decisions. No one in the team has any technical construction expertise, and are therefore now seeking to procure the necessary expertise to move the project forward:

• Necessary consultants to assist in getting the project off the ground.
• Construction contractor(s) and such other specialists as are necessary to carry out the various elements of construction work.
• The scheme design, while sufficiently complete to obtain the necessary approvals, is not fully complete and some detailed design work remains outstanding. The client is undecided as to whether it should retain the original architects to complete the outstanding design or whether this work would be better carried out under a different arrangement. The initial designers were only contracted for the completed level of work and there’s no obligation to keep them.
• The client is undecided as to what other key consultant it needs to assist in the securing the completed project as well as the predicted student numbers when the school opens in September 2022.

Following a competitive tender process, your practice has been appointed as procurement specialists to assist with the procurement of the various works and services required on this flagship project. The client is eager to maximise value for money at all stages in the project, and it would like to open the facilities on time to avoid a tarnished reputation experienced by other similar schools around the country where delays forced them to operate in temporary accommodation or postpone opening by one academic year.

TASKS TO BE COMPLETED BY STUDENTS

Based on the client project brief above, prepare a detailed procurement report for the client, which:

1.Provides a ‘road map’ for the client, demonstrating how you propose the client should procure each of the works and services, how the client can ensure that the scheme is completed within budget and on time, how the client will be involved at each stage of the process, and other specific consultants and project participants you propose they should procure and their primary roles in the process. In the submitted report, due consideration should be given to:

a)Identifying the client’s organisational characteristics, the project characteristics and the client’s stated needs based on this brief,

b)the most suitable procurement arrangement, bearing in mind the variety of options,

c)the most suitable main standard form of contract to support the strategy in (1),

d)The most suitable tendering strategy for obtaining the most economically advantageous tender,

e)the mechanism for pricing and agreeing the price for the project,

2.The report should also give due consideration of how the current situation, if it persists, could affect the delivery of the project, focusing specifically on:

a)how Covid-19 and the associated impacts is likely to affect the client’s procurement strategy and the rest of the supply chain. You are to flag up any issues and key areas of potential difficulty, which you foresee during the contract stage, which could affect the delivery of the scheme,

b)how the issues identified in part 2(a) above may be mitigated to enable project success, business benefits and overall ethical operations.

Additional instructions to students:

Your report should be well presented, with a one-page executive summary (no more than 250 words) at the beginning of the report, followed by contents page, an introduction, main body and overall conclusion/recommendation(s) at the end of your report. All the above should be submitted under a suitable front cover, stating ONLY your student registration number, assignment title, this module’s code and tutor name. Your report must be well structured and formatted including a contents page, page numbers, suitable headings and sub-headings within the main body, and a declaration of your word count.

Please note there is a maximum file size limit (20MB) on submissions to Turnitin and students must be aware of this when preparing their report. Reports submitted by the due date and time due to their file size will be treated as late submissions.