The use of performance-based contracts has blossomed in recent years with delivery methods such as design-build and construction manager-at-risk, particularly for large jobs. But another method, job order contracting (JOC), has been around for almost 30 years. As the industry looks increasingly toward maintenance of aging infrastructure, the South Carolina firm that claims the origins of JOC hopes its big time has arrived.
"JOC occupies a nice niche, but a small niche within the overall construction industry," says William Pollak, the new chief executive officer of the Gordian Group, Mauldin, S.C., which supports agencies in implementing and administering job order contracts. "We feel it could be bigger if we just went out and sold it. I see great opportunities. On the government side, we live in a world of cash constraints. Here is a fairly straightforward way of doing things more efficiently."