Based on the book Capacity Building for Contracting in the Construction Sector (see part 11). Expanded by the ILO/ASIST team.

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Bill of quantities (BoQ)

Comprehensive list showing the quantities for items of work for each construction/maintenance activity for a project identified in a contract.

Business management

All management activities that have to be carried out by the contractor to run his or her business: business administration, insurance, accounts, financial matters, personnel matters, taxes, etc.

Capacity building

Means by which skills, experience, technical and management capacity are developed within an organizational structure (contractors, consultants or contracting agencies) - often through the provision of technical assistance, short/long-term training, and specialist inputs (e.g., computer systems). The process may involve the development of human, material and financial resources.

Community

A community is a group of people who have shared values and who work together towards a common goal. A community is often also defined by geographical boundaries.

Community-based organisation (CBO)

Any type of organisation, formal or informal, that is based upon a group of people living and working together and who associate to pursue a common interest. CBOs are established for a community-wide purpose, and not for individual gain or to promote the interests of a small group of people within the community.

Community contracting

A community with a direct beneficial interest in a project takes the responsibility for all or part of the infrastructure construction, rehabilitation or maintenance works under an appropriate contractual relationship (e.g. with the contracting agency or main contractor).

Community management

Community representatives take the leading role in planning, implementing, operating and maintaining public infrastructure and services.

Community-managed work

Undertaken by a clearly identifiable group of people (usually with the help of a facilitating agency) for the benefit of the group as a whole. The assets created are owned, operated, used and maintained by the beneficiaries themselves.

Competitive bidding

Contractors are required to calculate their own estimate of the cost of the construction (inclusive of anticipated overheads and profit margin) and to submit a sealed "tender" bid according to a required format in competition with other contractors.

Contract

A written or spoken agreement between two or more parties, intended to be enforceable by law.

Contract management

All management activities which are carried out by contracting parties with respect to the handling of contracts: tendering, tender evaluation, award of contract, contract implementation, supervision, measurement and payment, claims, variation orders, arbitration, completion, etc. For the contractor, this involves the management of the whole construction process to achieve the required result within the terms and conditions of the contract.For the client or contracting agency - or where desired through delegated authority to consultants - this means the supervisory management of the construction works in accordance with the roles and responsibilities set out in the contract.

Contract procedures

An established set of activities to be undertaken by the contracting parties to ensure that the contracts are performed in an orderly manner with each party fulfilling its assigned roles and responsibilities (e.g., tendering process, tender award, contract signing, contractual payments, settlement of disputes).

Contracting agency

The body that awards a contract to a contractor. This is usually the same body that funds the works.

Contractor

A person or firm undertaking a contract, e.g. to provide materials or conduct construction or maintenance operations.

Contractor association

A formally constituted and recognized group of contractors, sharing common interests and objectives, formed for mutual support and the pursuit of those interests and objectives (e.g. the solution of common problems, the joint purchase of items).

Contractor registration

A nationally established and recognized system of registering and categorizing contractors under a number of parameters - which may include financial position, staffing, equipment held, work experience - allowing them to compete for contracts of different financial size and complexity.

Contractor development team

A small team of experienced professionals whose task is to assist in the development of emerging contractors' technical, financial and organizational skills on a construction project, while ensuring that the contract is fulfilled according to its conditions.

Daywork

This is an employment method whereby a worker is paid a fixed rate for being present on a site for a full working day, which is usually eight hours of work. The amount of work produced depends entirely on the supervisor's ability to encourage the worker, and the worker's own motivation and sense of responsibility. In many circumstances this can lead to very low productivity, especially with permanent staff who have no particular incentive to work hard. They know they will be paid (generally very poorly) whether they work or not.

Decentralization

Devolution by central government of administrative and financial power and responsibility to smaller democratic units at provincial, regional, district, zone, village or community level for the purpose of more accountable local government and greater local participation in decision making.

Earth road

A road formed from the in situ soil, but constructed with an effective drainage system.

Employment-intensive

Projects or approaches where works are carried out through the employment of as great a proportion of labour as is technically feasible while remaining cost effective and cost competitive in achieving the quality of work.

Employment-intensive investment

Investment targeted at (infrastructure) works where the potential for employment has been optimised.

Enabling environment

A positively engineered situation in which consultants and contractors of different sizes and experience can participate and develop financially and technically in the construction field on an equal footing. This may at times require governments (or their agencies) to review and modify legislation, regulations, standards, systems and procedures.

Engineer's estimate

The contracting agency's engineer estimates the cost of construction of the works (as if he were a contractor) as a benchmark against which to compare the contractors' tenders submitted in the competitive bidding process. This engineer's estimate may be revealed to contractors prior to the bidding process as a guideline.

Equipment-based

Projects or approaches where most of the construction work is done by equipment, supported by a small labour force.

Fixed rates

Payment rates established by the contracting agency for carrying out specific construction or maintenance activities (e.g. three currency units per cubic metre of excavation).

Force account

Approach by which construction or maintenance works are carried out by a public sector workforce. This workforce is directly managed by (government) agencies responsible for civil works, and for the repair, rehabilitation and maintenance of infrastructure works.

Gravel road

An earth road with an applied gravel surfacing, or a road built on in situ natural gravel.

Hire-purchase

Arrangement whereby contractors' regular payments for hiring equipment include capital and interest components. At the end of an agreed time, the person hiring has paid the full purchase price plus interest and ownership is transferred to him or her.

Institution building

Means by which organisational structures (contracting agencies, consultants, contractors) are developed and nurtured in order to provide an enabling environment for the provisions of goods and services.

Intermediate equipment

Equipment designed for low initial ownership and operating costs, durability and ease of maintenance and repair in the conditions typical of a limited-resource environment, rather than for high theoretical efficiency. It is preferable if the equipment can be manufactured locally.

Labour-based technology (LBT)

Labour-based technology is a structured method of providing or maintaining infrastructure to a specified standard, while optimising the use of labour, and employing people with fair working conditions. The use of labour is supplemented with appropriate equipment where necessary for reasons of quality or cost. It is a supervision-intensive system. The term incorporates the idea of optimising the mix of labour and equipment to produce a cost-effective result.

Labour-intensive

Projects or approaches where labour is the dominant resource for carrying out the works, and where the share of the total project cost spent on labour is high (typically 50 - 60%).

Labour-only contractors

Entrepreneurs who undertake contractual responsibility to supply only labour (with or without hand tools) for construction or maintenance work.

Length-person system

A strategy for the routine maintenance of roads where one person is allocated a section of road (usually 1-2 km) to maintain on a contract basis, such that the required work input may be in the order of 10-15 days per month. Suitable for the employment of those who live near to the road. Monthly task schedules may be provided by a supervisor.

Local resource based

The use of approaches optimising the use of locally available resources, including labour, with a view to ensuring affordable and sustainable development.

Low-income settlement

An urban area where the average income is insufficient to cover basic needs. Such an area is characterised by severe un- and under-employment, and by poor quality infrastructure and services. Inhabitants are often tenants. The community tends to be diverse.

Main contractor

A person or firm undertaking a major contract and employing one or several subcontractors to carry out specific parts of the work or to provide services, labour or materials.

Maintenance

To conserve, as nearly as possible, the original condition of infrastructure assets. Maintenance should be carried out in a manner most likely to minimize the total cost to society of the preservation of the asset and its utilization.

Maintenance management system

Formalized technical, economic and administrative system for assessing and planning maintenance interventions, within the available (or anticipated) resources; and for planning and implementing the work on a periodic (often annual) basis.

Managing contractor

An experienced (main) contractor who is contracted to be responsible for the construction of a project through an agreement that he or she manages one or a number of smaller subcontractors for different parts of the works.

Mentorship

Provision of guidance, advice and support to emerging contractors to enable them to work and eventually establish themselves in a competitive environment.

Method specification

A construction specification in which the method of achieving the desired standard is prescribed rather than the standard itself (e.g. the number of passes of weight/type roller to achieve compaction).

Negotiated rates

Payment rates agreed after discussion between the contracting agency and the individual contractor or contractor association, generally on an annual basis.

Performance specification

A construction specification in which the standard to be achieved is specified (e.g. compaction density) and the choice of construction method is left to the contractor.

Periodic maintenance

Significant maintenance operations that are required on infrastructure assets after a few years. They usually require the temporary deployment of extra resources, and specific identification and planning for implementation.

Piecework

This is a method of setting work, usually preferred by the private sector. The worker is allocated an amount of work for an agreed rate of pay. The work he or she does is measured and the more they do the more they are paid. This approach can give very high productivities, but it can also result in exploitation, especially when the rate for the work is too low. Casual workers are seldom in a good position to negotiate favourable rates. The most dangerous situation is when workers have to put in very long hours to achieve even a subsistence rate of pay.

Pilot (or demonstration) phase

An initial phase aimed at testing different technical, management or development approaches to a construction programme. Often used to test the adaptation of experience from elsewhere to particular local conditions.

Plant pool

A commercial equipment renting or leasing firm, with public, mixed or private shareholders.

Productivity norm

A measured amount of work that can be achieved by a fit and healthy single adult worker doing a specific task in given conditions in a single working day. Productivity norms are derived from data obtained at worksites and are used in the setting of task rates.

Public works

Works undertaken by central or local government agencies for the benefit of the population in general, the infrastructure created remaining in the ownership of the agencies concerned, which assume responsibility for their management.

Road fund

A dedicated fund usually comprising fuel levies, vehicle licence fees, transit permit charges and associated taxes, for the upkeep and development of the national road network according to agreed criteria and priorities, often under the control of a roads board. A roads board is generally made up of representatives of major stakeholders (Government, road users, transport associations, etc.).

Road maintenance initiative (RMI)

Programme established by a consortium of donor agencies and coordinated by the World Bank to improve the funding and management of road networks in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Routine maintenance

Operations required at regular intervals to maintain the condition of an infrastructure asset. These operations are typically small scale and simple, but widely dispersed.

Single person contractor

A small-scale (or micro) contractor under contract to maintain a specified infrastructure element such as a section of an irrigation channel or a length of road using an appropriate work method (e.g. on their own, or with other workers).

Small-scale contractor

A contractor who can source and manage infrastructure works of limited size. This term usually comprises emerging local contractors who need to be developed to enter the civil engineering market.

Subcontractor

A person or firm being contracted by a main contractor or employer to carry out work or deliver services, labour or materials as part of a larger project.

Targeted procurement

Procurement of construction services specifying objectives other than purely technical or financial (e.g. socio-economic). These specifications may include the use of labour-based technology for the optimum employment of labour, the maximum use of local resources, training, and contractor or community development components.

Taskwork

This is an employment method that allows a worker to earn a day's pay, while still having time left to go home to do other things. Tasks are generally set to be achievable in 70 per cent of the working day (a working day being assumed as a period of eight hours), but are often completed in 50 per cent of the working day (i.e. in four hours). This approach has proved very successful in practice, often doubling the amount of work achieved in a day; and by inference doubling the productivity of the individual worker, as well as halving the costs.

Technology-neutral

Construction contracts which have been prepared in such a way as to be equally suitable for either labour-based or equipment-based technology. The aim is to provide genuine opportunities for competitive bidding to a wide range of contractors who can make their own choice of technology.

Training levy

A defined percentage of the total project or contract sum paid by the funding institutions or contractors to a training institution.

Training needs assessment (TNA)

An assessment of the training requirements of different target groups in terms of numbers, educational and professional background, present job competence and the desired competence at the end of the training.

Training objective

Provides information on the anticipated behaviour at the end of the learning process, including a description of the learning contents of the course (element) concerned.

Trial contract

An exercise contract issued to contractors who are under training. This is a negotiated or fixed rate contract under very close supervision by the contracting agency and with continual coaching from the trainers.

Unit rates

The financial amount included against each work item identified in the bill of quantities either proposed by the contractor under competitive bidding arrangements or calculated by the contracting agency under fixed rate contracts.

Unplanned settlement

An urban area that lacks planned infrastructure and services. In many cases such settlements are highly congested, and often illegal.

Urgent maintenance

Urgent remedial action required by unforeseen situations, e.g. floods, landslides.

Glossary of Abbreviations