The Best Practice:Selecting a Professional Consultant

Canadian Public Procurement ForumOctober 6, 2010

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Association of Consulting Engineering Companies

• 500 engineering companies employing over 100, 000 employees

• Federation of 12 provincial and territorial associations

• Advocates sustainable infrastructure investment

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Challenges of engineering projects

TIMELYDELIVERY

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

SOCIETAL NEEDS

QUALITY &INNOVATION

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Engineering is a good investment

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Opportunities to improve outcomes

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ConstructionEngineering

Operations & Maintenance

100%

0%

50%

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Opportunities to improve outcomes

Time

Cost

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ConstructionEngineering Operations & Maintenance

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Procurement is the key• Establishing common objectives and desired

outcomes

• Understanding cost-benefit-risk relationships

• Clarifying roles and responsibilities

• Selecting the right team for the right job

• Identifying required resources

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Selecting a Professional Consultant

• An InfraGuide Best Practice

• Developed by the public sector – for the public sector

• Based on extensive interviews and research

• Recommends “competitive qualifications-based process” (QBS)

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How does the Best Practice work?• Focus on understanding client’s needs

• Proposals ranked based on providing service and achieving objectives

• A detailed scope is established with preferred proponent

• Appropriate fees and schedule are negotiated

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Best Practice is good policy• Competitive and transparent process

• Focus on merit, quality and long-term value

• Long-term savings realized over decades

• Encourages in-house expertise to represent the client’s (and taxpayer’s) interests

• Permits innovation and sustainability

• Allows creative risk management options

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What’s in it for the client?• The right team for the right job

• Realistic schedules and budgets

• Fewer change orders and disputes

• Better business relationship between parties

• Better service, better quality & better value for taxpayers

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Who uses this approach?

• QBS legislated by the US federal government and 44 state governments

• Municipalities across the US

• City of Calgary and the City of London

• Quebec legislation requires its ministries and agencies to use QBS for architectural and engineering services.

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QBS works (APWA Study 2009)• Georgia Institute of Technology and University of

Colorado reviewed over 200 projects across the USA

• 93% of clients expressed high or very high satisfaction with consultants selected using QBS

• QBS reduced construction cost growth by 70%

• QBS reduced schedule slippage by 20%

• QBS provided better ability to address societal issues or stakeholder concerns

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“Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts.”

- Albert Einstein, Famous Genius

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Association of Consulting Engineering Companies of Canada

130 Albert St. Suite 616Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4Tel: 613-236-0569info@acec.cawww.acec.ca

Federation of Canadian MunicipalitiesSustainable Communities Website www.sustainablecommunities.fcm.ca

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