The story so far: MERINOCA, formerly JD Clodhopper Contracting, has finished its sales pitch to Middle Tetley County Borough Council (MTCBC) on the new saviour of construction: partnering. The firm has done its homework well, even buying a book on the subject written by a well-known claims consultant. Nigel Ian Eve, the boss at MTCBC, is a happy bunny since it looks like he can offload the terminally ill direct labour department onto MERINOCA with full government blessing. Has Nigel found the holy grail? Is MERONICA a registered charity? Let's take a look…
Internal Mail MTCBC
From: nieve/the boss
To: dbody/a manager
Dave, I was well impressed with that presentation, the video was great, and that Sam Alesman knew his stuff backwards. How do we get MERINOCA on board to take care of the DLO boys ASAP?
Internal Mail MTCBC
From: dbody/a manager
To: nieve/the boss
Nigel, yes, the video was impressive and he said his lawyer could help out the boys in legal with the wording of the OJEC advert. We have to advertise it, but I like the look of MERINOCA. They said they will need ex-council officers as consultants when they expand their business - that'll keep the old pension ticking over.
Internal Mail MTCBC
From: nieve/the boss
To: dbody/a manager
Dave, how do we make sure we can use them if we have to advertise in that damned European Journal? I want this sorted out before we lose another stack of money with the DLO. I don't know where all this damned money goes, it's nothing but trouble.
Internal Mail MTCBC
From: dbody/a manager
To: nieve/the boss
Nigel, it's not a real problem. If you word the advert properly you can make sure you get who you want. Anyway, we can use the best-value cost/quality trick to rate MERINOCA over all the others and since it's based locally the others would have to pay setup costs. It's like all the PFI stuff the government has pushed on with. No one knows what things will cost in 25 years' time and by then we'll all be dead anyway.
Internal Mail MERINOCA
From: salesman/business development manager
To: jclodhopper/the boss
Justin, you should have come to the presentation: it went like a dream. Their boss only hung around for the video and sloped off once we got onto the details. It looks like we will be able to use the council yards for all our setup without paying any rent, and we can use their office space although we will have to take on their staff. I've told them we will help them write the adverts for the European Journal so it looks like it's in the bag.
Internal Mail MERINOCA
From: jclodhopper/the boss
To: salesman/business development manager
Sam, what will we do with all those extra staff? They all earn more than our boys and have all sorts of benefits and union agreements about working hours. Are you sure we can make a go of this?
Internal Mail MERINOCA
From: salesman/business development manager
To: jclodhopper/the boss
Justin, it's no problem at all. We sack all our staff apart from a few managers who we use to make sure the new lot are working their full whack. There's a big difference between being paid for 40 hours and actually doing 40 hours' work. We can use the new staff for all our other projects, knowing the money is guaranteed. After a few years we can start playing about with their terms and conditions and by year three there won't be a union member in sight. It's brilliant. I don't know who thought of it but they deserve a medal. It's the best thing to happen to the private sector since Maggie was in power.
It looks like MERINOCA has pulled the wool over the council's eyes. The DLO is within its grasp, and with it a £5m budget. Is partnering the best marketing ploy since dotcoms? Find out in part 4.
Source
Construction Manager
Postscript
Peter Gracia is a consultant and trainer on procurement and legal issues. Email peter.gracia@virgin.net
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