What is Best Value?

Procurement has traditionally focussed on a narrow area, i.e. obtaining the lowest up front price for a product or service. Buying at the lowest market price may give the appearance of obtaining value but a low price often ensures low quality and disguises the true lifetime cost of a product or service.

The historic confusion between price and cost has tended to drive down component and build quality, together with safety standards. It has also lead to adversarial positions being taken as the client seeks to maintain the contract price and the contractor attempts to recover margin.

Cheap components may appear to cost little, but the level of unserviceable units can be high and the replacement interval very short. Higher quality components may cost more but will not fail or require replacement as often. In addition the cost of administering settlement claims, the effects of poor cash flow and the adverse safety implications of handling and operating components, are reduced.

It is worth noting that, just as best value almost certainly represents a reduction in lifetime costs, it does not necessarily represent an increase in headline price. With the application of value engineering traditional components may be replaced with better-suited materials that are either comparable in cost or less expensive.

Thankfully there is no need to rely on surmise to support the case for best value. The many demonstration projects that have been successfully completed in the last few years, which draw together the linked concepts of best value and collaborative working, details of which are available from the umbrella organisation Rethinking Construction, are proof enough that the theory works at client/contractor level. Substantial gains have been made by changing working practices and by challenging assumptions about what constitutes the construction process.

For further information visit: www.constructingexcellence.org.uk

 Cellular PVC is a best value product for roofline and cladding because of its lightness, strength, formability and long life span. Unlike timber it will not rot, flake, warp or peel.

 Cellular PVC is efficiently formed into system build products that are available in a variety of standard sizes, with pre-formed shapes and standardised joints and corners. This helps to speed up installation times and reduce installation waste.

 The installed costs of PVC, including labour and materials, are comparable with timber but because PVC requires minimal maintenance there are significant long-term savings to be made, which in turn reduce lifetime costs.

 PVC has a working life that runs into decades. As it does not require painting, there are no polluting emissions associated with its life span, unlike the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC's) emissions that are associated with paint.

 When eventually replaced PVC can be easily identified and recycled. Timber cannot easily be separated from its toxic preservative coatings some of which will inevitably leech into the soil.

Swish as Best Value

Swish is able to demonstrate a wide commitment to Egan principles in products, processes and services, which conform to and exceed industry standards.

 

For further information please:

 telephone 01827 317200 or

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