The present status of the NATM in contracts - construction / Gegenwart der NÖT im Bauvertrag - Ausführung

Since the start of the worldwide success of the new Austrian tunnelling method in the middle 1960s, not only our society but also tunnelling have experienced fundamental change in many areas. The increasing influence of law and bureaucracy have led to the situation where today's tunnelling contracts have become extensive, intricate and disputed compared to former times. Collaboration as among colleagues has been replaced by the collective shedding of responsibility. The creation of tender documents, processing of the tenders and the construction of the works are all subject to the principle of lowest price, which is forced on the clients by law. Tender documents often contain errors and the tenders are not seldom speculative and under-priced. This inevitably leads to disputes during the construction phase.
The NATM is, however, a construction method, which needs flexible contract arrangements between partners, competent professionals, slender structures and short decision routes on the tunnel site in order to fulfil its entire potential. In contrast to this, tunnel sites today are often characterised by senseless administrative work and irrelevant reciprocal controls. The rapid development and increasing automation of machines and the development of construction materials still offer great chances for the NATM in the future. The future of the tendering and award arrangements, however, should be reconsidered and the training of managers capable of making decisions should be encouraged, in order to recreate the old team spirit of tunnellers on the site.