Insights

Practical thinking from inside civil infrastructure.

Civil infrastructure is full of lessons that rarely make it into textbooks. They come from pricing tenders, developing methodologies, solving constructability problems, managing contractors, working through project failures and delivering work in difficult environments.

Civil Solutions shares practical insights from across estimating, tendering, constructability and project delivery.

The aim is simple: useful industry thinking based on real experience.

Estimating & Tendering

Practical discussion around civil estimating, tender strategy and the commercial decisions that shape a bid.

First-principles estimating
Market pricing and tender position
Tender strategy
Productivity and resource assumptions
Subcontractor procurement
Risk pricing
Tender reviews
Estimating systems and Candy
What makes a tender credible
Common estimating mistakes

Constructability & Optioneering

Some of the greatest project savings are found before construction begins. This section explores practical construction methodology, constructability and optioneering — particularly where changing the way something is built can reduce cost, programme or delivery risk.

Constructability reviews
Optioneering
Construction methodology
Temporary works
Staging and sequencing
Access and logistics
Design and construction interfaces
3D staging and visualisation
Lessons from complex construction problems

Project & Programme Delivery

Major projects rarely fail because somebody forgot to update a spreadsheet. Delivery problems usually develop through decisions, interfaces, unclear accountability, programme pressure, commercial issues or risks that were understood too late.

Project leadership
Programme delivery
Client-side project management
Governance
Project controls
Programme recovery
Contractor management
Decision-making
Developing project teams
Lessons from project delivery

Civil Infrastructure

Commentary on the wider civil construction market and the practical issues affecting infrastructure delivery.

Rail infrastructure
Roads and transport
Water infrastructure
Civil construction
Procurement
Market capacity
Contractor and supply chain conditions
Infrastructure investment
Remote project logistics
Emerging industry challenges

Civil Solutions has worked across different sides of infrastructure delivery — client, contractor, tender and project environments. That provides plenty of examples of what works, what does not and what can be done differently.

We will not pretend there is only one correct way to deliver a project. But when we see something worth discussing, we will share it.