ABSTRACT
The selection of appropriate contract arrangements for any but the simplest type of project is difficult owing to the diverse range of options and professional advice. Projects of a small size are not really suited to the more elaborate forms of contractual arrangements, since such procedures are likely to be too cumbersome and not cost-effective. The turnkey method, where the designer-contractor has a contractual responsibility for the long-term repair and maintenance of the project, does offer advantages, particularly in terms of quality assurance. Where the employer has been encouraged to form contractual relationship with a single organisation, then, on the whole, this appears to have been beneficial. Contractors, on the whole, have been better at marketing their services and this has reaped benefits in the growing increase in design and builds schemes. Complexity may be the result of an innovative design, the utilisation of new construction methods, the phasing of the site operations or the necessity for highly specialised work.
