Construction Management Guide

By Dr Chandana Jayalath

In Qatar’s public works, the employer and the engineer mostly operate as the same entity, although they are two different entities in the strict contractual sense.

As such, the dispute clause, which is available in any typical infrastructure project in Qatar, generally considers both the employer and the engineer as one party to the dispute. This may be why the dispute clause talks about disputes between employer or engineer and the contractor. [Read more…]

Whenever there is delay in a construction project, parties immediately look to the liquidated damages clause. This is understandable, as the Contractor carries the risk of delay resulting from events for which it is responsible, and that risk is usually quantified by the provision of liquidated damages.
However, where such events are caused by an act or omission by the Employer, the Employer bears the risk. In such event, unless there is a clear mechanism for extending the time for completion, the Employer’s right to levy liquidated damages will fall away.
It is for this reason that most standard form contracts usually provide for an extension of time mechanism which allows for the time for completion to be extended upon an event of prevention or impediment by the Employer. The purpose is primarily to enable the Employer to protect its right to potential liquidated damages in the event of its own default. [Read more…]

FIDIC’s 2012 conference is your annual opportunity to get best practice advice on using the FIDIC contracts and updates on the contract changes and amendments – directly from the very people who drafted them!
GMGUIDE readers can get a 10% discount by with VIP code: FKW82257CMGL

Taking place on the 22^nd & 23^rd February 2012 in Doha, attend for advice on:

Selecting the most relevant form of contract; cost management; the FIDIC Construction Contract & new Construction Subcontract; the Plant & Design Build, EPC/Turnkey and DBO Contracts; claims under FIDIC Contracts; application of FIDIC Conditions of Contract in the Middle East; the new FIDIC Procurement Procedure Guide; DAB procedures, arbitration, ADR and more!  Find out more on the newly released agenda. [Read more…]

This is your annual opportunity to get best practice advice on using the FIDIC contracts and updates on the contract changes and amendments – directly from the very people who drafted them!

Get a 10% discount with VIP code: FKW82257CMGP1 – and if you book by the end next Thursday 15^th December you’ll get the lowest early bird prices as well. [Read more…]

When a project or collection of projects is in the idea or concept stage, you want to put together a high-level estimate to see whether or not the project is worth pursuing. You typically do not want to spend too much time working on a detailed estimate at this point, since you do not know if the idea is a worthwhile. Basically, you just want to know the relative magnitude of the effort. While you may be asked to provide a high-level estimate of the cost, the business people are also struggling to try to understand and quantify what the benefits of the project will be. [Read more…]

By KATIE LISZKA

Building information modelling (BIM) is being used increasingly across the construction industry as a tool to reduce costs and encourage good communication and coordination between project participants. It has been used in the US for several years and its use is now spreading across the globe. For example, it has been used by GHD architects on the Palm Jebel Ali project in Dubai, UAE. [Read more…]

Detail and Summary Activities

If you look at a WBS activity and determine that it needs to be broken down to another level, the original activity becomes known as a “summary” level. A summary activity does not have any work or hours specifically associated with it. It represents a logical roll-up of the activities that are under it. [Read more…]

There is not necessarily sequential order between defining (planning) the project and building the schedule and budget. That is, you do not have to completely define the work first and then build the schedule and budget second. Some of the sections of the Project Charter, such as the estimates for cost and duration, cannot be completed without starting to lay out the overall project schedule. [Read more…]

Variations in Construction Contracts

Variations in construction contracts can mean changes to the terms of the contract or it can mean changes to the scope or character of the works. In this article, Lim Chuen Ren looks at variations in construction contracts in the latter sense.

[Read more…]

When you create a schedule you generally don’t know enough to enter all of the detailed activities the first time though. Instead, you identify large chunks of work first, and then break the larger chunks into smaller pieces. These smaller pieces are, in turn, broken down into still smaller and more discrete activities. This technique is referred to as creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). [Read more…]