Investigating the Management of the Early Stages of the Building Project Life Cycle

Information exchange and communication throughout the building project life cycle is essential, specifically through early involvement of the actors such as contractors, subcontractors and engineers. It is therefore not a coincidence that there has been a rise in popularity of procurement routes that permit early contractor involvement (ECI) such as design-build within which contractors are involved early to improve supply chain integration. The empirical evidence of project performance has consistently demonstrated that ultimate project success and failure can often be traced back to what happens at the early part of the project life cycle but that our knowledge of how to manage this stage of a project’s development cycle is often poor. This research is therefore intended to understand a deeper appreciation of the management of the early stages of building projects and identify the barriers to the successful integration of the construction supply chain. The conclusions are expected to be drawn from ongoing case study building projects and an industry wide questionnaire survey.