Clients' Requirements

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European Construction Technology Platform - Advisory Group on Users and Clients

Guidance Note

Aims of the Guidance Note

This note has been prepared by the Advisory Group in order to assist the development, assessment andimplementation of research proposals under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research of theEuropean Commission. It explains the role of users and clients in relation to construction projects, suggestsarrangements that will ensure that their views are taken into account in research proposals, and sets out

research topics of particular relevance to them. In this note construction means new-building, refurbishment,restoration and maintenance of buildings or facilities.

The significance of users

Construction projects have many stakeholders. These include the large range of design, contracting andproduct supply interests who contribute to the realisation of construction projects, the financiers who fundthem, the local community whose built environment is enhanced by them and - most importantly for this note- the users of the final constructed output. These users are many and various; they may be employees ofthe firms or public bodies that occupy buildings, shoppers and retailers in a commercial centre, members ofhouseholds who live in private or public sector housing, passengers who pass through transport systems, orpeople moving through urban spaces. They are the ultimate beneficiaries of construction. The builtenvironment is created and maintained in order to satisfy the requirements and aspirations of both today and

future users.

Each individual is a user of some parts of the built environment and has needs and expectations that theconstruction sector should seek to meet. Many user needs for comfort, safety and security, for example,are well understood, even if they are not always met. Within the user community, however, are many specialneeds. Some are rarely recognised, such as the ability of children to access and use buildings, transportsystems etc. Others have received more attention, particularly in recent years. As the population of Europeages, meeting the needs of the elderly and those whose mobility, sensory or cognitive abilities are impairedwill become of increasing importance. It is therefore essential that construction projects, and the researchthat supports them, should recognise the importance of 'design for all' so that no section of the population isexcluded from the benefits of the built environment.

In some projects (as in the case of a firm deciding to construct a new headquarters building or a health

authority deciding to construct a new hospital) the eventual users may be known and can be involved in thedesign of the new facility. Often, however, the users are not known a building may be designed andconstructed before any agreement is made with occupants; a shop or transport system has to serve thegeneral public. And since buildings and other constructed networks have long operational lives, there is aneed to look forward, anticipating as far as possible the needs of future users.

A silent, but not to be overlooked stakeholder is society as a whole. The built environment is a concretemanifestation of intangible values of the structure and relations of society be they of money, power, politicsand/or history in short the cultural heritage of that society. The public domains is not just left over spacebetween construction projects, it is an accumulation of all the decisions a society has taken over the years,and it is the forum in which all our lives take place. Recognition of the overarching interests of society as astakeholder can be made through research into the socio-economic effects of interventions and constructionprojects, subjecting them to an environmental / cultural heritage impact study.

ECTP Advisory Group on Users and Clients Guidance note 10th

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The role of clients

The role of the client is to be the interface between the user and other stakeholder interests and theorganisations on the supply side of construction (designers, contractors etc) that will actually produce thebuilding or other network. All the stakeholders have an interest in securing optimum value from the finalbuilding or network, and the client has the responsibility for identifying their various requirements (andparticularly those of the user) and communicating these to potential suppliers. The client is also responsiblefor selecting the most appropriate procurement framework, within which interactions with the supply chaintake place. During the project, when the requirements are translated into design proposals and then into finalconstructed works, the client interacts as required with both the supply chain and the stakeholders to ensurethat they are met in an optimal manner. Finally, the client takes delivery of the completed project, overseesits commissioning and its acceptance by users, and ideally arranges for evaluations of performance in orderto inform future projects. The client role therefore extends from the initial specification of what is required, upto commissioning and evaluation of the performance of the final delivered output.

Experience shows that the competence and approach of the client has a large influence on the eventualsuccess of the project. Client leadership, exercised through establishing and working to clear values andthen maintaining good communications throughout a project, leads to superior outputs. Clients that embraceclient leadership are also open to innovation and willing to take a rational approach to its inherent risks.

The client organisation may be part of the owner organisation, or an advisor to the owner. The users may bepart of the owner organisation, but often are not, and the client has then to decide the most appropriate wayof determining the users requirements.

Clients may have their own professional advisors, or may have all the necessary expertise in-house. Clientsfor civil engineering projects are typically experts in the types of works being constructed; by contrast, clientsfor buildings vary from the highly professional to the small organisation that only rarely has need ofconstruction. It is particularly important that the latter should have good tools and guidance to assist them in

the client role.

While the client role is most obvious in relation to new construction, it exists in all construction activities andnotably also in relation to maintenance and refurbishment projects, which form an increasing proportion ofconstruction activity in Europe. Within these, the preservation and adaptation for current use of the historicbuildings and networks which form such an important part of Europes cultural heritage poses specialchallenges.

In summary, therefore, the client is the interface between the supply chain and the stakeholders, and the roleencompasses:

identifying the users (and other stakeholders) requirements

communicating these to potential suppliers

arranging for the requirements to be met through appropriate procurement actions maintaining communication channels throughout the project

taking delivery of the final project output

over-seeing initial use and arranging for performance monitoring.

Client relationships

Clients need to create and maintain effective relationships with each stakeholder:

Clients and ownersClients represent owners interests through being concerned to achieve a final output that willsupport the owners business or other corporate objectives, and will add value to the owner

organisation. However, at the pre-project phase, the owner will need to consider whether their


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business objectives are best met through construction, or could be achieved through another form ofmanagement initiative such as an organisational change. The client organisation will be well placedto contribute to that decision.

Clients and usersClients are responsible for identifying and communicating users requirements to supply interests,through the preparation of a brief or equivalent statement of needs. This statement should as faras possible - anticipate future needs since to be sustainable the building or other network will needto function effectively for future generations of users. With use patterns in both homes and workplaces changing rapidly, concepts such as adaptability and flexibility become of increasingimportance in design.

Clients may be able to interact directly with current users, or may need to draw on experience toproject the needs of unknown users. Some tools for facilitating user and other stakeholder input tothe design process have been developed, but these are in their infancy. IT-based communicationconcepts such as virtual reality offer the promise of much more effective communication routes butagain require development before they can be commonly employed.

Clients and SocietyThe built environment is a common good everyone is influenced by it although in general it iscreated through decisions on individual buildings and facilities. Hence society, acting through publicbodies and interest groups, is a key stakeholder in any project. Societys influence is exercisedthrough regulatory procedures such as planning controls and it is the role of the client to be sensitiveto these requirements and to work with relevant bodies, and with designers, in order to assure thequality of the built environment while achieving an optimum solution for all stakeholders.

Clients and suppliersClients have great influence on relationships and project delivery structures in construction. They

exert this through their selection of procurement systems and associated financing and contractualarrangements, and through the criteria that they employ in selecting designers and contractors.

Trends in industry practices and structures

In recent years, changes in client and user requirements have had significant impact on the supply side ofconstruction, particularly for larger projects.

The supply industry: Construction or Built environment services?

There has been a trend in many countries towards more integrated procurement systems, in which design,construction and operation of a network are procured through a single package. Within the public sector,

this has in some countries been accompanied by a requirement to arrange financing also resulting in e.g.Public-Private Partnerships to accomplish projects. This has redefined the market for large infrastructureand other public projects changing it from a market for the supply of a building or piece of physicalinfrastructure to a market for the long-term supply of the services provided by that building or infrastructure.In those initiatives, the effect has been to drive up performance and to reduce overall costs. We expectsimilar impacts in construction, and some former construction interests have already transformedthemselves into long-term service providers and managers. They see themselves as part of a builtenvironment sector that provides and manages services to clients. This emerging built environment servicesector in total accounts for around 20% of Europes GDP

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1European Construction Technology Platform - Vision 2030


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Value-based procurement

These trends have stimulated the adoption of whole-life perspective on project costs and performance, inplace of the traditional concentration on initial costs. Associated with this has been the realisation thatconstruction projects have benefits for many stakeholders, and that these should be valued and taken intoaccount during the design phase. Well designed buildings and networks positively influence the activities andbehaviours of users and the local community. They can enhance productivity whether in businesses orpublic services such as hospitals. At the urban level the built environment can stimulate social activities - oralternatively provide havens for crime. To take these into account requires understanding of the values ofusers and of society, and methods for incorporating such values into design. Value-based procurement byclients will complement and reinforce built environment service delivery by the construction supply side.They will choose the supply-side consortia that can best deliver this overall value.

Rising user expectations

Underpinning these changes are rising user expectations. Standards of design and performance inconsumer goods have improved enormously in the past decades, supported by great advances inmanufacturing systems and technology. The same expectations are being transferred to the builtenvironment housing, public buildings and infrastructure must both delight and perform, initially andthrough their lifetime. It is no longer acceptable to have defects and failures, and the new procurementsystems and strategies place responsibility for performance on the original supplier in a much more directway than previous approaches, and link this responsibility to commercial rewards. Further there is increasinguser expectation that buildings and networks take account of long term adaptability and serviceability; thatbuildings and networks are prepared for future technologies and use.

There are important roles for research in deepening understanding of these trends and concepts andassisting clients and supply interests to be effective in applying them.

Users, clients and the Seventh Framework Programme

It is clear that construction projects whether procured through traditional systems or through long-termservice contracts have to meet the needs of stakeholders and in particular the needs of users and theneeds of clients as the representative of users and owners. Equally, research aimed at improvingconstruction performance should also enhance the benefits of construction to its stakeholders, includingusers and clients. Even technological research which appears to be only of relevance to designers andcontractors needs to have client input in order to generate understanding and confidence in the outputs.

As noted earlier, clients have great influence over the outcome and ultimate success of projects andanother aim of research, therefore, should be to assist clients in fulfilling their various roles more effectivelyand helping them to be professional clients.

In order to achieve these objectives, we see a need for:

User and client perspectives to be incorporated in the formulation and assessment of researchproposals

Research to have the active participation of users and/or client interests in both execution and thedissemination and application of outputs (this may be best achieved through inputs to projectscurrently at design or construction stage)

Research that addresses topics and issues of particular relevance to clients and users

This has implications for both the management and content of FP7 research programmes in construction.One of the most significant implications is that research cannot be purely technological it must seek toexplore and improve the relationships and organisational arrangements through which clients interact with

supply interests and the ways in which users interact with buildings and other networks and with public


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spaces, so that the value to users of the built environment steadily increases. These aspects of research willcall upon the expertise of social scientists, architects and other design interests, complementing theestablished inputs of physical scientists and engineers to the development of construction technologies.

In summary, research proposals should:

Be formulated with clear user/client involvement

Be interdisciplinary, in that social scientists should be working alongside technical experts on issuesof management, organisation and implementation

Be assessed by experts who can bring user and client perspectives to the evaluation

Be steered by groupings that include representatives of user and client interests

Have dissemination and implementation strategies that clearly involve user and client interests

Content of research topics

The Lisbon Declaration commits Europe to achieve both competitive and sustainable economicdevelopment. The built environment accounts for a high proportion of Europes materials and energy useand it is therefore essential that those responsible for its creation and maintenance should minimise its callupon these resources through adopting a whole-life perspective, extending from initiation to demolition,recycling and re-use, on the requirements and performance of new and refurbished buildings and networks.This perspective, as discussed above, also enables all components of the value provided by the builtenvironment to be included in assessments at the design stage - in particular the increasing recognition thatwell designed buildings and public spaces enhance the effectiveness of the activities within them and thatthe resulting benefits far outweigh any extra cost in design or initial construction.

Recommended main research topics in FP7 from the user and client perspective that have not already beenaddressed in earlier FPs and are not already recommended as outcome of the ECTP Focus Areas as being

of general interest to a multitude of stakeholders in construction are:

- Design for allThe design, construction, maintenance and use of buildings and of a built environment includingnetworks that are properly accessible to all potential users including people with reduced mobility,persons with disabilities and other users with special needs.

- Cultural HeritageAs related to both the restoration of historic buildings and networks and the perceived values to societyof the built environment including public spaces. Focuses should be placed on techniques andtechnologies, problems in regulatory systems and tools for monitoring and assessment including socio-economic and design consequences of construction projects.

- Adaptabi li ty for the futureNot knowing the requirements of future users and society and with the aim to enhance the value andperformance of buildings and networks during their lifetime, there is a need for concepts, technologiesand assessment methods for adaptable/flexible buildings and networks.

- Value ProcurementTo replace traditional procurement models that inhibit innovation and to stimulate a development of theconstruction industry from a supplier of construction to a supplier of built environment services, there is aneed to enable whole-life value procurement, which among others requires proper whole lifeperformance and value assessment methods.

The recommend research topics are further detailed in enclosure 1 using the whole-life perspective


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In principle all research topics requires both technological and organisational innovation - interdisciplinaryinnovation.

There is explicit support for the recommendations that came out of the ECTP Focus Areas. It is howeverrecommended that in those recommendations construction user and client interests will be explicitlyincorporated.

10th October 2006


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Enclosure 1Recommend research topics for FP7

The whole-life perspective provides an appropriate framework for considering the research that will be ofspecial relevance to users and clients. Below the recommended main research topics are further detailedusing the whole-life perspective.

Initiation and pre-design tools for the assessment of users needs and the business perspective

Scenario studies for networks

Development of tools for assessment of social impact and cultural heritage

Improved tools for the assessment of user requirements prior to and during the design phase, andfor projection of these into the future

Tools for the assessment of construction costs and performance in relation to business andorganisational objectives

Design integrated approaches to fulfil users needs

Characterisation of the relationships between user behaviour and performance and properties of thebuilt environment, at the level of buildings and the urban environment including networks, such asthe impact of good design on health and productivity, and on patterns of social behaviour.

Technologies and design concepts that facilitate design for all (e.g. properly accessible to allpotential users including people with disabilities and other users with special needs), linked withstudy of future user scenarios

Technologies for effective communication of design proposals to users and clients

Tools to assist user and client assessment of design, including the impact of proposals on the widerurban environment

Technologies and design concepts to improve adaptability and enhance whole-life performance ofbuildings and networks, with particular reference to existing buildings and networks and cultural

heritage Tools and data for the projection and evaluation of whole-life costs and performance

Assessment of the impact of regulations on fulfilment of user needs

Procurement by whole-life value

Tools to assist selection of optimum procurement (including financing) strategies suitable for differenttypes of client (and especially occasional clients)

Tools for risk identification and management

Data and concepts to support value-based procurement, taking into account value to users, ownersand Society, and supply interests.

Tools to assist selection of effective supply consortia and development of team-working

Elaboration of client leadership concepts and investigation of relationship between client behaviours

and project outputs Development of benchmarking data for evaluating project performance and informing future

procurement decisions

Commissioning to translate intentions into reality

Development of commissioning protocols

Operation and feedback for informing the present and the future

Data structures for user reaction and behaviours

Protocols for post-occupancy evaluation

Specific studies of the impact of buildings and networks and spaces on users particularly in keyeconomic and social sectors: commercial, health, education etc


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Maintenance and refurbishment for optimising user and business performance

Investigative techniques for assessing the condition of buildings and structures, especially those thathave historic significance

Tools for assessing current performance and projecting future performance and suitability for use

Development of materials and renovation techniques compatible with historic structures includingimpact of current regulations

Development of repair products and materials with lower labour requirements and longer life Strategies and technologies for preventative monitoring of historic structures Database structures for recording performance and maintenance / decision-making process

Demolition and re-use

Technologies to facilitate re-use and recycling of materials and re-construction on existingfoundations


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Documents

Clients' Requirements