Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

Purpose – This paper describes the use of the construction management framework (CMF) in the Highways Agency's (HA) Areas 9 and 10, two of the HA's 14 areas within England, defined by geographical boundaries. It examines: how the CMF has adapted itself to the changing needs of the client; how it has captured and used innovation and lessons learnt; and how the number of companies involved has impacted on the effectiveness of the framework.

Design/methodology/approach – The research compares the advantages and disadvantage of frameworks as reported in literature with the case study of the HA's CMF. The framework is examined in terms of: how well it met the client's changes/expectations; how it can be used to anticipate those changes; how it used innovations and lessons learnt to achieve competitive advantage; and how the number of parties involved in the framework can affect the effectiveness of this arrangement.

Findings – The CMF in Areas 9 and 10 has formed its own “Community” and established joint processes, including procedures and measures that have been put in place following changes in HA policy. The innovations process used in the CMF shows that savings of 6.3 per cent on average can be made with clear benefits resulting from the lessons learnt. Finally, it is recommended that the selection of specialisms in the framework should be considered carefully, taking into account the likely workload over the anticipated life of the framework in terms of continuity and percentage share of construction works for each specialism.

Practical implications – This research provides a model of the CMF that can be used in other HA areas. Presenting the CMF model will: allow better informed decisions to be made on whether or not to adopt the CMF; help identify how many specialist contractors are to be included; and raise awareness of some of the potential pitfalls.

Originality/value – This paper presents a review of an application of the HA's CMF, an innovative long-term collaborative working arrangement. The CMF is an option for delivering highways major maintenance and renewal schemes which is expected to be extended to other HA areas. This paper also helps to identify how this option can be best implemented.