Project bank account (PBA) decentralised application for the construction industry
Abstract
Purpose
Poor cash flow management and lack of profitability have plagued the construction industry for decades. In response, the UK Government published the project bank account (PBA) payment strategy in 2012 to mitigate main contractors unfairly withholding liabilities. However, PBAs suffer from adoption challenges, such as systems fragmentation and a lack of incentives for main contractors to adopt them effectively. This study aims to investigate how to reduce systems fragmentation in construction by integrating PBA procedures with existing management workflows to increase payment automation, resulting in improved cash liquidity and better incentives for using PBAs.
Design/methodology/approach
A PBA blockchain decentralised application is developed, presented and critically evaluated. Blockchain is the technology used because of its permissionless, license-free, open-source and immutability properties. It is a suitable general-purpose technology layer for building and testing applications without the limitations associated with centralised technologies, such as high proprietary fees, vendor lock and intellectual property restrictions.
Findings
The research demonstrates how a blockchain application can integrate siloed construction workflows such as cash flow scheduling, supply chain management and payment executions, reducing the management workload for implementing PBAs in construction projects. Furthermore, the proposed application is open-source and replicable, and its user interface is available for external testing here: https://console.atra.io/app/bf26f846-7f16-4f80-90a0-c5488ab6edd3.
Originality/value
PBA is a suitable test case because it enforces an auditable, transparent and neutral account, which are inbuilt properties of blockchains; thus, both systems are harmonious to integrate. PBA is mandated in UK public sector construction projects; therefore, the research has a solid practical foundation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank University College London and Costain PLC for jointly sponsoring the PhD researcher with a scholarship.
Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose regarding this article’s submission.
Citation
Scott, D., Ma, L. and Broyd, T. (2024), "Project bank account (PBA) decentralised application for the construction industry", Construction Innovation, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-04-2023-0067
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited