Early contractor involvement in the Valdres Project Delivery Model

Abstract

For years the need for road maintenance has been rising in Norway, and the Norwegian Public Road Administration (NPRA) has tried to find a solution. The Valdres model is a project delivery model developed by the NPRA for use in road refurbishment projects to utilize resources more effectively. By using early contractor involvement (ECI), the NPRA combines their own expertise with the contractors’ buildability knowledge in the design phase to reduce risk and uncertainty with smarter and cost-reducing solutions. The studied pilot project E16 Fagernes-Øylo is chosen as case for testing the Valdres model. Ten semi-structured interviews with key informants have been carried out together with a document study to fill the knowledge gap regarding the Valdres model. The contractor was procured by a competitive dialogue (CD) before the final zoning plan was settled and has positively impacted on buildability and trust in the design phase. ECI was combined with Target Value Design (TVD) and Integrated Concurrent Engineering (ICE) to integrate lean thinking and enhance value creation in the design phase. This seemed to give fewer conflicts and cost reductions through a streamlined planning process. The studied case has experienced less changes and higher levels of cooperation with working towards the same goal in the construction phase compared to traditional project delivery models. Overall, the Valdres model has so far been a success.