The means by which clients specify their requirements to service providers is undergoing a radical change. The international trend has been away from the prescriptive process (input) specification toward the specification of the in-service performance of the product or service. Service level agreements and performance contracts are appearing in a variety of forms across many industries. Examination of the various forms of contract identifies a number of consistent objectives of client agencies from their contracting initiatives, and a close link between these objectives and the choice of contract form. This paper analyses the current trends, discusses the approaches adopted and outlines a number of legal and technical considerations involved in performance based contracts. The paper highlights the lack of clear distinction between the legal and technical aspects of these contracts. The paper has been prepared as a balanced study of the subject, prepared equally from the perspectives of the client road agency and the contractor. The authors are ideally placed to present this paper. Both were closely involved in the development of performance contracts during their period in the RTA-NSW and more recently as private sector contractors and advisers. (A)
Samenvatting