Project Delivery Systems in Finnish New Building Construction – A Review of the Last Quarter Century

The project delivery system (PDS) is the key means by which the owner creates preconditions for successful realization of a project. Thus, it is worthwhile finding out which systems are used in different instances. This paper aims to increase general knowledge in this area first by introducing the results of an analysis of data on more than forty thousand new building construction projects launched in Finland between 1989 and 2013.Annual shares of different PDSs are determined separately for residential, industrial and business premises, as well asother buildings – mainly public service buildings. The paper also sheds light on changes in the market structureto the extent that they influence the use of different PDSs in order to discoverthe key factors which could possibly hamper making conclusions about general trends in,and the impact of the economic situation on, the selection a PDS for a project.As to the results, the study shows that the separate contracts method is used the most while the share of construction management is the smallest. In-house construction, design-build and the traditional comprehensive contract are other systems used whose shares fall between theabove two extremes.Changes in market structure over time most likely influence the use of different PDSs in housing construction.