Early contractor involvement in Australia: Learnings from Transfield Services projects

Early contractor involvement (ECI) commonly refers to the engagement between parties (project owner, designer and solution proponent) during the early stages of a project and involves scoping work, outcomes and stages. Originating in the areas of engineering, construction and project management, the application of ECI has recently been adopted by governments and public companies around the globe in an attempt to achieve better relationships and successful delivery. This article reviews the key themes evident in the literature examining ECI and then adds an insider's view to provide key insights about the successful application of ECI as experienced by a large Australian operations and maintenance contractor, Transfield Services. This matching of theory with application reveals the potential benefits and challenges that local industry has in applying ECI as a formal, structured approach and suggests ECI has much potential as a viable and interesting concept in the Australian market.