Construction Management Guide

By Eric Teo

What are the rights of an employer in the event a nominated sub-contractor fails to deliver the standard or quality of material and workmanship that the employer had expected to receive? Common wisdom dictates that the employer would ordinarily seek recourse against the main contractor for the sub-contractor’s failure, but are there any alternatives?

To answer the above question we need to firstly understand that there are, in practice, two types of sub-contractors: domestic sub-contractors and nominated sub-contractors. Secondly, we should examine the contractual relationships between the three parties, i.e. the employer, the main contractor and the sub-contractor. (Read more..)

by Dr  Chandana Jayalath

Changes are inevitable in any construction therefore the parties are provided a flexibility to make changes to the work under a typical contract changes clause. However, the ability for owner requested changes, even if provided in the contract, are not without limitations, restrictions as well as consequences.

(Read more..)

FIDIC’s 5^th Asia-Pacific Contract Users’ conference is taking place on 11^th & 12^th June in Malaysia (workshops on 10^th & 13^th June).

If you’re involved in this region then you won’t want to miss out! Take a look a look at these 6 great reasons to attend:
(Read more..)

By Vasanth Kumar  

As Qatar seems set finally to award raft of contract awards with highly compressed time limits, one of the key challenges will be “teamwork” amongst various stakeholders involved in the construction industry.

These mega project awards will modernise the country in line with the ambitious National Vision 2030 and the FIFA world cup in 2022 but Doha can’t afford any project delays which will be a fertile breeding ground for disputes ,penalties and lawsuits between the various parties involved in construction. (Read more..)

By Suzannah Newboult

When a party is substituted for another party to contract and assumes the original party’s rights and/or obligations, it does so either by way of ‘novation’ or ‘assignment’. Party A contracts with Party B. Party C is substituted for Party B. The contract is now between Party A and Party C.

If the substitution has occurred by way of novation, then the original contract is effectively replaced by a new contract on the same terms as if the new party, (Party C in the example above) was party to the contract from the outset. (Read more..)

By Marc Howe
The use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) could radically enhance the costing process following its expansion beyond quantities calculation and specifications data to other core areas of project management.

While BIM has thus far focused primarily on the use of digital representations of the physical and functional traits of a facility to guide both the design and construction processes, the next generation of BIM adds even greater functionality by providing advanced tools for estimating costs throughout a project’s life cycle. (Read more..)

Building quality steps in the schedule adds a certain amount of effort and cost to the project. However, these incremental costs will be rewarded with shorter timelines and reduced costs throughout the life cycle of the solution. Examples of the cost of quality include: (Read more..)

No Increases Allowed

The term guaranteed maximum price when applied to a construction contract provides for the employer a nice feeling of security. He of she when entering into a contract of this nature is convinced that no matter what happens the final cost will not be above the maximum and there is a fair chance it could be lower. Any design changes which results from the specific instructions of the employer would understandably fall outside the guaranteed price. Guaranteed maximum price contracts have been with us for many years. IDC a Stratford on Avon construction company who pioneered design and construct contracts some twenty five or thirty years ago promoted their contracts as guaranteed maximum price. It is a good selling point which can be persuasive. (Read more..)

In some cases, such as a government project, periodic audits may be called for as a part of the overall contract. This “outside party” could be any qualified person outside of the project manager. In some cases, your organization may have an internal project audit specialist. It is possible that the Project Director or the Project Sponsor could also perform this audit. The outside party could be an outside contractor or consultant, but they do not need to be. (Read more..)

Interested in getting the latest best practice guidance on FIDIC contracts from the very people responsible for drafting and updating the contracts? How about getting tailored advice for the Middle East?

You’ve got one chance this year. Join us at FIDIC’s 4^th Middle East Contract Users’ conference – and get a 20% saving courtesy of CMguide.org!

Taking place in February in Dubai, this year we have the pleasure of welcoming Samer Skaik, the founder of CMguide.org to our panel of 29 distinguished speakers. (Read more..)