Selecting the best contractor to get performance: On time, on budget, meeting quality expectations

Abstract

The most important element in construction procurement is contractor selection. Particularly, hiring contractors who are performers. Why then do facility owners continue to select non‐performing contractors? This paper presents a system for contractor selection that has resulted in a 99 per cent success rate for completing facility construction on time, on budget and meeting or even exceeding quality expectations. The Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS), a full information system that discourages non‐performers, identifies the best‐performing contractor for the project and motivates the contractor to improve their performance on the current project. Based on $3.5m research and over 300 tests, PIPS has the ability to minimise the owners’ risk (not being on time, on budget, and meeting quality expectations). PIPS allows facility and project managers the ability to control the contractor selection process through the use of performance information, assuring that the right contractor is selected for each project.