The BV environment was introduced into the Netherlands in 2006. By 2008 testing was being done by a partnership of Arizona State University and Scenter [Sicco Santema, professor from Delft University]. In 2010, the $1B fast track projects were procured by the Rijkswaterstaat, and by 2012, the BV approach had become the “buzzword” of procurement. However, in the delivery of professional engineering services, larger, more traditional services which were built on a system of relationships between clients and vendors, MDC from the clients’ experts, and the importance of “billable man-hours”, the transition from a traditional approach to a best value approach is very challenging. Large traditional professional organizations naturally will have more difficulty adapting to the new approach. The BV approach utilized the expertise of experts to replace the need for relationships and owner management, direction and control [MDC.] It also places less value on traditional practices that have been used by professional services to get business [relationships and working together with the client in a trust based relationship]. The study captures the efforts of a very successful engineering firm [the largest in the Netherlands] as they attempt to become successful in this new approach. The best value team that they have put together has had outstanding results in using the BV approach to changing their paradigm.@en

The construction industry has had a history of non-performance in the delivery of services [in terms of on time and on budget]. Other industries such as IT and professional services have also experienced non-performance. The problem seems complex, as there are many participants who are involved in the project non-performance including the owner, the buyer, the vendor, sub vendors, manufacturers, designers, and project managers. An industry structure analysis proposes that the problem is caused by parties managing, directing, and controlling (MDC) another party. This could happen anywhere in the supply chain. This paper proposes that a major source of the non-performance in projects is caused by project managers who are managing the projects from the different construction supply chain participants including the owner, the designer, the vendors, and procurement. This has been identified in numerous project tests where the objective of the test was to minimize the MDC in the projects and the major difficulty was the resistance from project managers. The paper also proposes that the project managers are educated to manage, direct, and control in their education and training, including their professional certifications from the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the International Project Management Association (IPMA).@en