Civil Engineering January-February 2022 | Vol 30 No 1

28 January/February 2022 Civil Engineering contract, is quoted on the basis of measurable output quantities and paid as performed by the construction entity. To receive monthly payment for maintenance services, the construction entity must ensure that the roads under the contract meet the service levels indicators as specified in the bidding document. The workload required to ensure that the service levels indica- tors are met will vary from one month to the next. However, the monthly payment remains the same as long as the contractor maintains the required service levels. Notably, OPBRCs incentivise the construction entities to be efficient and effective whenever they perform work. To maximise profits, they must reduce work to the smallest possible volume of intelligently designed interventions, while also ensuring that they achieve and maintain the pre-defined service levels over time. Sound managing capacity is essential to ensure that the standard of the roads remain above the agreed service levels. This requires an ability to timeously define, optimise and perform the physical interventions that are needed in the short, medium and long term. Under the OPBRC, routine maintenance consists of various duties that need to be undertaken frequently to maintain the road’s functionality. Among others, this includes repairing potholes, cleaning drainage, sealing cracks and clearing vegeta- tion. Periodic maintenance comprises predictable and more costly measures of a less frequent nature that will mitigate the degradation of the road over time. This includes, for instance, grading, drainage work, resurfacing and asphaltic concrete overlays. ENSURING OBPRC SUCCESS “Intelligent management, timelines of interventions and ap- propriate technical solutions are key to the success of OBPRCs. This is where this model of contracting harnesses the skills and experience of the private sector to ensure significant efficiency gains and innovation,” says Jangali. Under the OBPRC, the construction entity will also be respon- sible for the continuous monitoring and control of road condi- tions and service levels included in the contract. This will enable it to fulfil the needs of the contract and provide information on compliance with service level requirements. They will also help inform, plan and define interventions to ensure that service quality indicators never decline below the indicated thresholds. Notably, the employer does not instruct the construction en- tity on the type and volume of road maintenance works that need to be undertaken. Instead, the onus lies with the construction entity to ensure that it delivers a service according to expectation. He says this is how the OBPRC again ensures efficiency gains and technological innovation by harnessing the skills and capabilities of the private sector. Notably, this type of procurement also requires sound prepar- atory engineering work. This includes compiling comprehensive information on the actual condition of the roads that are covered by the contract. If rehabilitation works are required, the employer defines the level of quality or standard that needs to be achieved by the contractor for delivery and completion. For improvement works, a well-designed bill of quantities that defines specific outputs for bidders to price is prepared. This is later used to measure and pay the construction entity. A unit price bill of quantities with estimates is prepared for emergency works for bidders to price for bid evaluation purposes. These unit prices and real measured volumes of emergency works executed are used to pay the construction entity. Another important area that requires sound engineering advice is whether the rehabilitation works should be included in the contract or be undertaken in advance under a separate standard civil works contract. This decision depends on the ability of the construction entity to cost-effectively administer the risk. Generally, when initial works represent more than 40% to 50% of the contract value, the risks may be considered too high, warranting an initial separate contract. However, this document needs to be adapted if the employer wants the rehabilitation works to be based on a pre-defined design and connected to future maintenance by the same contractor. In this case, the bill of quantities for rehabilitation works will be modified so that they are similar to those for the emergency works. The measurement and payment clauses should also be modified for an “input” type contract. GHANA PROJECT PROGRESS JG Afrika and Taivani Consult commenced with the full engi- neering design, spanning field work through to pavement design, in August 2021. They are working to very tight deadlines to make up for minor delays due to logistical challenges. The design of the 225.3 km of roads needs to be completed within seven months so as to avoid delaying the construction works which will be super- vised by a monitoring consultant that is still to be appointed. Taivani Consult has to travel about 600 km from Accra to the construction site to complete the surveys and geotechnical studies. The engineers fly from the capital city to Wa and then travel via road to the site. Extensive use is also being made of digital communication technologies to ensure ongoing communication between JG Afrika in South Africa and Taivani Consult in Ghana. These tools, which were also very effective when restrictions on cross- border travel were implemented to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 virus, will also be used to ensure continued interaction between the various participants in the construction entity during the subsequent phases of the OPBRC. Jangali lauds the Ghanaian Ministry of Roads and Highways for its innovative approach to road construction that will also ensure the efficient use of public funds. “Importantly, these contracts are also assisting governments build experience in undertaking public-private partnerships. This is in addition to changing the public sector’s role from being a purchaser of goods or inputs to a purchaser of services – a sig- nificant change in traditional relationships between professional teams and client bodies,” he concludes.  “Intelligent management, timelines of interventions and appropriate technical solutions are key to the success of OBPRCs. This is where this model of contracting harnesses the skills and experience of the private sector to ensure significant efficiency gains and innovation”