Better values and characteristics in relationally integrated value networks to enhance total asset management

Abstract

Construction contract types span a wide spectrum ranging from traditional contracting to relational contracting modes. Although weak collaborative supply chain networks exist even in widely practiced traditional contract modes, the potentially beneficial strong relational forces remain untapped and/or fragmented, lacking well-defined common goals among stakeholders. Apart from addressing this shortfall in the built asset planning, design and construction (project management) phase, relational contracts (RC) can also be extended to total asset management (TAM) by aiming at the relational integration of all stakeholders throughout the built asset lifecycle, by engaging them in cross linked value networks’. Such integrated networks were called ‘relationally integrated value networks’ (RIVANS) when initially proposed for the project management phase. ‘RIVANS for TAM’ were next proposed to provide a holistic approach to bridge the project management phase and the asset management phase in the lifecycle of assets. The study reported in this paper, contributes to knowledge by identifying better values through adapting RIVANS as a holistic beneficial approach to the whole built environment. A questionnaire survey was conducted to identify common better values in RIVANS. These identified better values were then clustered to form similar groups using factor analysis to establish synergetic characteristics of RIVANS. Four characteristics were extracted to identify and target embedded synergies in RIVANS, for enhanced total asset management.