Guidelines for pre-project peer reviews in construction contracting

'Pre-project peer reviews' (PPPRs) are conducted by construction companies or CM-at-risk firms prior to committing to a GMP or lump sum to mitigate or reduce their project risk. A company uses the services of internal or external senior managers to review the proposed project. This process is expected to indirectly benefit the owner by improving the level of project success. A literature survey indicates that there are no published studies related to PPPR. The issues that need to be discussed in PPPRs are identified and are formulated as guidelines for the use of construction companies and CM-at-risk firms. These issues relate to leadership, staffing, contracts, budget, subcontractors, schedules, safety, quality, cash flow, owner satisfaction, regulations, and information technology. To support these guidelines, the PPPR practices of a construction company including project selection criteria, the characteristics of third party reviewers and of a facilitator, the departments involved in the process and the work flow of the process are reported. The guidelines proposed in this paper provide information on PPPR processes that is not readily available in the current literature.