WasteConsulting believe that the delivery of services needs to be well managed – DSOs may not require a separate client, but will still need to deliver the ‘contract’ just as any contractor needs to.
Contracts should be proactively managed, being an integral part of the preparation, procurement, mobilisation and continuing service delivery.
A high level survey of a small number of authorities has identified that in preparation for the new contracts only 5 of the 11 authorities consulted undertook training on contract management.
The Status Review of Contract and Relationship Management in London (London Fire and Emergency Planning Association/London Centre of Excellence) identified the following seven themes in relation to contract management:
- Managing the contract
- Managing the relationship
- Managing performance
- Managing the benefits
- Managing risks
- Managing stakeholders
- Managing service continuity
We can develop Contract Management Tools that identify key tasks (whether client, contractor or joint responsibility) which can be used to manage the risk and the approach to monitoring services, such as frequency of inspection. The tool can be developed to include hyper-links to files, reports, and forms to improve efficiencies.
They can also be used as an audit tool at a high level to ensure the relevant actions have been completed.