| المستخلص: |
This dissertation was developed as part of the Master of Engineering with Advanced Studies in Engineering Management. The main aim of the report is to implement the e-tendering model, for the public construction contract in Saudi Arabia, to improve its efficiency. The research addressed the dilemma of the traditional tendering (e.g. costs, especially in time) and to use practical tools to enhance the efficiency of the process. Importantly, the demand for efficiencies in the tendering process has seen a significant number of government and government departments implementing e-tendering systems. Indeed, that demand from governments, as well as from the construction industry in particular, for paperless business processes has generated many commercial e-tendering systems around the world. E-tendering systems can become quite complex as they involve many stages or phases to meet the needs of the public and private sectors. In the current study, numerous e-tendering systems were evaluated to provide background information to assist with the development of the proposed model. Several barriers, related to the use of e-tendering, were identified from the literature review. These barriers were also considered when developing the model; additionally, they were re-examined in the Saudi environment context through a questionnaire survey. The survey also identified the current status of e-tendering in Saudi Arabia. Further, the study determined the significant differences between the use of traditional tendering and e-tendering. A proposed model for the implementation of e-tendering was developed using the background information obtained from interviews, a focus group, and the survey. In order to provide greater efficiencies in the e-tendering process, the proposed model included the following features: contractor’s dead time could be used more efficiently during the design stage; and the pre-qualified contractors could become an official part of the process. This linking step seeks to minimise the project’s time and maximise the quality and transparency of e-tendering in the construction industry. The challenge, thus, revolved around adapting the Saudi’s construction contract into the form of e-tendering. The implementation expectations were common across the government and the contracting industries. All participants could envisage an improvement in efficiency with the implementation of e-tendering. The results also showed that the majority of participants considered that the distribution and receipt of the bids to, or from, the sub-contractors and suppliers was the factor that could most easily be influenced by the efficiency of the e-tendering process. Further, the findings highlight the importance of developing and maintaining ‘best practice’ for the IT requirements and for the configuration of the whole e-tendering model. The inclusion into the proposed model of relevant insights obtained from the interviews, questionnaire, and focus group, ensure that the model had both theoretical and practical validity.
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