Collaborative contracts, where we work with customers, their advisors and our subcontractors at a much earlier stage, have come to the fore in recent years.  This collaborative approach fits well with our ethos of partnership, which we believe is core to any successful project. The approach brings better knowledge sharing and service excellence and marks a big contrast to the more adversarial nature of typical construction industry contracts. 

The ongoing framework agreements we have with Thames Valley Police and with The University of the West of England are good examples of this. In each case irregular workloads, changing requirements, strict deadlines and difficult working environments have all been accommodated far more easily because of strong, collaborative working relationships formed at an early stage.

Other benefits include shortened procurement cycles, construction teams that customers are comfortable working with and prompt start dates. It means we can programme our resources early on and deal more easily with workload management issues so that progress can move forward swiftly.

More importantly, customers benefit from our experience during the design phase, receiving guidance on construction methods, materials, sub contractors and site set up, leading to reduced design and buildability issues once on site – all helping drive out cost and build in value.

The earlier Beard can get involved, the sooner we can understand a project’s complexities and act before issues arise and become costly to rectify.  This gives us a better chance to be flexible in our approach and put forward pragmatic solutions to meet our customer’s needs.

Above all, a strong partnership with good communication between each party and easy access to senior management brings clear understanding of the customer’s objectives, a well bonded team and a roadmap to achieving the perfect outcome for the project.


Current frameworks:

Oxfordshire County Council - four year construction framework

University West of England - four year construction framework

Thames Valley Police - four year custody suite improvement programme

University of Oxford - Measured Term Contract - Projects up to £1m

Aspire MoD Salisbury Plain - four year framework across MoD sites

Project: A New two-storey teaching block at Carterton Community College, part of our four year framework with  Oxfordshire County Council

“I’m pleased to see the successful completion of the first Beard framework project with Oxfordshire County Council.  I have never taken over a building so complete or so well presented. Beard has worked well with the county’s consultants to deliver the scheme ahead of programme and within budget. I now look forward to the continuing development of our relationship.”

Ray Sturgeon,
Principal Project Officer, Oxfordshire County Council

Beard’s knowledge of the market and their understanding of design and buildability meant that we could work in partnership to enhance the design and quality of the building at no extra cost. Beard produced better solutions and products than we would of thought possible within the budget.

Alan Spehnjak
Senior Architect, Mouchel Parkman