Our client is a medium-sized sub-contractor who has been in business for over 20 years. They predominantly work in the civil engineering sector and contracts directly to tier 1 contractors, providing specialist reinforced concrete services.
Until now, our client carried out his services under his clients temporary works procedures. However, with the recent changes to BS 5975:2019 (code of practice for temporary works), they found themselves in the position of not having resource to fulfil this obligation. Their client offered to continue this arrangement, but at a substantial charge.
We offered our client a more cost-effective solution by developing and installing his own temporary works procedures. We also provide a full temporary works service by coordinating his temporary works designs, installations and removals
Our client did not have the necessary qualified and competent resource to manage his contractual requirements with regards to temporary works.
1. We have written a fully tailored temporary works system and implemented it into our clients business planning(?). 2. We provide temporary works services to our client by means of temporary works coordinators, temporary works supervisors and we complete temporary works designs when required.
They had previously engaged a building contractor to construct an extension several years ago. The build did not go well, and the client was left to complete it with another contractor. This was at a large cost as the second contractor would not warrant the previous work. They decided to appoint us as project manager to completely manage the build process. We removed all of the risk and liaised with the contractor to successfully complete the project.
Our client was reluctant to go forward with the construction to a two-story extension as they have had bad experiences with a building contractor, despite them being recommended by friends.
1. Coordinate design and architectural management 2. Tender development and produce bills to enable builders to quote. 3. Review and recommend contractor. 4. Write contracts for project. 5. Monitor and ensure compliance of work. 6. Gain building warrants sign-off. 7. Review and authorise contractors’ payments.
Our client is a medium-sized contractor who are primarily from a subcontracting background. They successfully won a contract to construct a high value commercial use structure. Although they have acted in a principle contracting capacity previously, their business management system (and QA/ QC in particular) was out of date and did not really encompass today’s industry standards.
Added to this, one of the contract conditions under which they are employed, was to provide the client with a project-specific quality management plan. Also, to achieve the criteria required to release further payments, they needed to demonstrate that the product met the quality control levels required by industry standards.
Many building products are constructed to industry specifications. The QA plan lays out how the company ensures the construction meets them. Check sheets are documented evidence that the construction has been checked, to make sure it is in accordance with the specifications.
Upon appointment, we drafted and submitted a fully compliant project quality plan and implemented a full QA/ QC system. We continue to provide quality engineers to visit the site, witness the installations and complete the QC check sheets.
Our client was struggling to get their first payment from the client as there were several documents required to be submitted and approved by the client to release it. One of these documents was the quality management plan.
1. We have written a fully tailored Quality Assurance (QA) system and installed a full set of Quality Control (QC) check sheets. 2. We provide a QA Engineer to attend the site and carry out periodic inspection, when we complete and compile the QC check sheets.
Our client is a small turnover sub-contractor who has limited lines of credit and has a limited cash float. His business cash flow is month-to-month and this issue was risking his overall business, threatening its survival.
When they approached us, he openly admitted he was concerned we would charge him a large fee that he could not afford and that we would not be able to help as his client was a very contractually aggressive tier 1 contractor, with limitless resource to defend its stance on releasing his payments.
After the initial consolation, we prepared our proposal. Shortly after, our client engaged us to act on his behalf. We redrafted his programme to mirror the payment values in his activities schedule. Then, whenever the activity was actualised in the programme, it triggered the value as being compete and made it impossible for the client to disagree.
Our client was struggling to get their client to agree to the value of work done (VoWD) in their monthly applications. In his contract, he had a set of agreed payments in the form of an activity schedule (i.e once the activity was complete, he was entitled to claim the value). The problem was that his client was holding payments back or reducing his payments and strangling his cash flow, as our client was not able to demonstrate the completion of these activities in his programme.
1. We took our clients programme and fully cost resourced it to evidence the value of the works carried out during each period of the project. 2. We provided our client’s project quantity surveyor with a detailed monthly report on which works were carried out and the values to which they could apply for. We also highlighted the value of which variations were to be applied for.
Our client is a medium-sized contractor who had previously worked for his client on several smaller projects.
The issue arose when the project value increased, and his client expected him to provide things that he himself had dealt with previously. Our client did not recognise there was more to constructing a contract compliance schedule than he expected, and as such left his core business exposed to LADs (Liquidated and Ascertained Damages). Once he realised how much risk his business was exposed to, he purchased very expensive software and hired a very expensive project planner to solve this issue.
Unfortunately, the person who he hired was only capable of inputting the data in the software, he was not capable of interpreting the contract requirements, nor experienced enough to implement the necessary control measures to reduce the company’s exposure. Once we were engaged, we assisted our client by attending programme workshops on his behalf with his client, and successfully gained acceptance of his programme submission.
This enabled us to recover approximately 80% of his additional costs and as he was granted extension of time, removed his exposure to LADs. Also, as we inserted the “things the client was to provide” as milestones on the newly accepted programme, any future failings on the client’s behalf were easily tracked, and by default trigged notification to the client (which we produced and issued, then tracked their development through the programme) and automatically generated further extensions of time ensure our client could no longer be exposed to future LADs. To put the commercial aspect into context, our fee was approximately 18% of the sum recovered.
In accordance with their contract, our client was required to submit within 2 weeks of award, a compliant programme for acceptance. Due to available skill sets within his business, our client was unable to develop and provide this in accordance with his contract requirements. Under the terms of his contract, and in accordance with a specific contract clause, his programme was required to identify items required to be provided by his client, on the dates for which they were to be provided. This ultimately left him in a position that not only exposed him to his contract damages, but also in a position not to be able to reclaim costs such as additional prelim etc. In addition, his client was also delaying him by not providing the items which he required to carry out his contract; but in the absence of an accepted programme which included these items and the dates, he again had no contractual entitlement.
1. Build a contract compliant programme. 2. Agree said programme with the end user. 3. Monitor programme and issue notifications of delays. 4. Demonstrate delay and recover cost due through extension of time.
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