Research by the firm – which it says comes from feedback that has been provided by those on the ground who have been responsible for some of the country’s largest infrastructure projects – found there were deficiencies in the setting up of numerous major projects over the past three years. Blake Dawson said the research found industry players were recognising that different approaches are required to address the frequent and serious problems that arise if a project is not adequately scoped (or set up) from the outset.Cost overruns of $200 million or more were found in a quarter of the country’s mega-projects worth over $1 billion which were surveyed. Smaller-scale projects, including community infrastructure, were also impacted. One in five had blow-outs of more than 20% of the project value, averaging $7 million. According to the report, Scope for Improvement 2008, feedback from the industry indicates that the problems are getting worse.It also found more than half of the survey respondents experienced scoping problems after contracts were signed and far too late in the process. In many cases this led to months of delays and disputes. The research also found that projects often failed to adequately consult end users, with almost 90% of respondents saying infrastructure was adversely affected by this. The continued severe skills shortage also led to errors in scoping documents, resulting in either incorrect or insufficient information being available on project sites.The Blake Dawson report is supported by the Australian Constructors Association and Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.
