Contracting Rolling Stock Maintenance of Utrecht Tramway, The Netherlands

Abstract

This is a case study of the Utrecht tramway rolling stock maintenance project (21.6M euros). The case study is unique to the Dutch environment, which has experienced many construction-related projects. As it is one of the first services contracts in this area, it is different from a construction project, where the performance can be more easily and quickly identified. Another unique factor is that the vendors are also less educated in the Best Value (BV) approach. The BV approach and concept of the “vendor having no financial risk, and the owner having all the financial risk” was not well understood. At the time of its procurement (May 2011), the understanding of the clarification period in the Netherlands was not mature, causing potential issues with this type of contract. The uniqueness of this project, coupled with the approach to BV, presents invaluable lessons learned for entities interested in implementing BV.