Introduction of a Target Cost Mechanism in one of the LHC Civil Engineering Contracts

Since February 1997 when the four main engineering contracts were issued to prospective bidders there have been many changes to the CERN requirements associated with civil engineering. The contract associated with the LHC machine (T054) has been the one most disrupted by these changes, many of which have come about as a result of the later than anticipated delivery of the Déclaration d'Utilité Pubique (DUP) from the French Government. This has led to all contractual dates being changed and significant acceleration of the works being instructed. This paper discusses a mechanism that has been introduced into the contract that enables all parties to work together in order to minimise the cost of these changes. The mechanism, which is based on a Target Cost, enables the contractor to obtain financial benefit from reducing the overall cost to CERN.