Use of Innovative Contracting Methods by Dots - Project Managers Speak

Alternative contracting techniques have been frequently used in highway construction in the United State and have played an important role in the effort to improve construction project performance. However, it is still unknown whether which project factors have significant influence on project performance. It is essential to learn from the experiences and opinions of construction project managers who had executed innovative or alternative contracts in order to improve and refine the usage of alternative contracting methods. Innovative contracting methods have been used by state Departments of Transportation for many years, so there is now sufficient data to measure the effectiveness of these innovations. Working under a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation （FDOT）, the research team used the experiences and opinions of construction field engineers who had executed innovative contracts on FDOT projects to measure the effectiveness of these systems. To that end, interviews were conducted with FDOT and consultant personnel from across Florida. All interviewed were project managers who had overseen at least one project using an innovative contracting method. Discussions brought enthusiastic responses from those interviewed, both for and against certain innovations. This paper will focus on the experiences and opinions of those experienced construction field engineers dealing with well-known innovations, as well as newer innovations such as ＂Detour Rental＂ and ＂Damage Recovery＂.

Traffic Impact on Incentive Contracting Project Time Performance during Highway Construction

The volume of highway traffic in the United States continues to increase. In the face of this there is a concomitant need to improve and repair transportation infrastructure. Construction frequently requires a reduction in capacity during construction activity; consequently road users as well as adjacent businesses must endure the delays and inconveniences associated with transportation construction. Recognizing the problems that construction can produce, state highway agencies （SHAs） have continually sought ways to minimize the negative impact from their construction operations. Incentive contracting has played an important role in this effort to improve project performance. The Florida Department of Transportation （FDOT） is one of the leading SHAs using such innovative contracting methods as Incentive/Disincentive （I/D）, A＋B （cost plus time bidding） combined with I/D, No Excuse Bonus, and Liquidated Savings. This paper analyzes the traffic impact on incentive project time performance using highway construction projects recently completed in Florida. Project data obtained from FDOT were evaluated using time performance indices. A survey of traffic impact on project work types was performed in Florida in order to evaluate the relationship between construction project types and road traffic influence during construction. Based on the survey results, the 38 most frequently used work types in Florida during the study period were categorized into three traffic impact levels： （1） high traffic impact, （2） medium traffic impact, and （3） low traffic impact. Statistical analysis was performed. The results show that there are significant differences on project time performance between low and high impact levels as well as low and medium impact levels.

Inquiry Letters and Tax Aggressiveness

This study examined the impact of inquiry letters on corporate tax aggressiveness based on the special inquiry system in Chinese stock exchanges.It found that the receipt of inquiry letters significantly inhibited tax aggressiveness.The channel through which inquiry letters worked involved a monitoring effect on related-party transactions.The disincentive effect of inquiry letters on corporate tax aggressiveness was mainly found in firms with overseas operations,low-quality of internal control,and weak tax enforcement.Examining the textual information in inquiry letters,the results show that more questions and the demand for a specific opinion from the auditor led to a greater disincentive effect.The level of detail in firms'reply letters weakened this disincentive effect.Finally,the disincentive effect of tax aggressiveness was more pronounced when inquiry letters pointed to tax-related issues.