Managing Consultants and Contractors Training Course

Participants can select appointment approaches that match project risk and delivery needs.

• Design-bid-build, design-build and management contracting allocation of responsibilities
• Consultant appointment strategy for design, supervision and specialist assurance
• Packaging work scopes around interfaces, dependencies and market capability
• Selection criteria balancing technical quality, commercial terms and delivery capacity
• Pre-award clarifications converted into controlled contract documents
• Mobilisation requirements identified before consultant and contractor commencement

Participants can prepare scopes that define deliverables, boundaries and acceptance requirements.

• Terms of reference structured around objectives, deliverables, milestones and exclusions
• Work breakdown structure used to test scope completeness
• Deliverable acceptance criteria specifying format, reviewer and approval evidence
• Interface matrix allocating design, supply, installation and commissioning responsibilities
• Assumptions register separating client inputs from consultant and contractor obligations
• Scope gaps identified through document review and stakeholder challenge

Participants can interpret key contract clauses and identify their administration implications.

• FIDIC roles, notices, determinations and claims provisions examined
• NEC4 early warning, compensation event and programme mechanisms applied
• Lump sum, remeasurement and cost-reimbursable payment structures compared
• Priority of documents clauses resolving inconsistencies between contract documents
• Insurance, indemnity and limitation clauses reviewed for operational implications
• Contract data requirements translated into an administration action list

Participants can establish the records, plans and controls needed at contract start.

• Mobilisation checklist covering personnel, insurances, bonds, plans and permits
• Baseline programme reviewed against milestones, logic links and critical path
• Contract document register controlling drawings, specifications and issued instructions
• Kick-off meeting agenda confirming deliverables, communications and reporting cycles
• Approval tracker recording submissions, reviewers, due dates and decisions
• Baseline risk register assigning owners, responses and review dates

Participants can direct and assess consultant services against agreed outputs and standards.

• Consultant deliverable schedule aligned with stage gates and client decisions
• Design review workflow using comment logs and response matrices
• Technical assurance plans defining independent checks and approval thresholds
• Consultant timesheets assessed against authorised tasks and fee budgets
• Peer review findings converted into corrective action records
• Underperformance addressed through recovery plans, notices and escalation routes

Participants can verify that contractors are ready to begin work safely and contractually.

• Site possession conditions documented before contractor access and commencement
• Method statements reviewed against specifications, risks and permit requirements
• Key personnel approvals checked against contractual competence requirements
• Subcontractor approval process controlling capability, scope and accountability
• Temporary works responsibilities allocated through design and inspection records
• Mobilisation audit findings tracked through closeout action registers

Participants can assess whether reported progress supports realistic completion forecasts.

• Critical path method used to test programme logic and float
• Look-ahead plans connecting weekly activities with constraints and resources
• Physical progress measurement based on completed, accepted work quantities
• Earned value metrics calculating planned value, earned value and actual cost
• Schedule performance index interpreted alongside critical path movement
• Recovery programmes tested for sequencing, resources and feasible productivity

Participants can control inspection, testing and acceptance of contracted work.

• Inspection and test plans linked to hold points and witness points
• Quality assurance versus quality control responsibilities clearly distinguished
• Non-conformance reports recorded with cause, correction and verification evidence
• Material submittals assessed against specifications, samples and approved alternatives
• Factory acceptance and site acceptance tests planned with acceptance criteria
• Defects registers managed through ownership, target dates and closure checks

Participants can monitor contractor compliance with HSE and social contract obligations.

• HSE plan reviews testing hazards, controls, responsibilities and reporting
• Permit-to-work systems coordinated between client, contractor and site operators
• Incident reporting requirements linked to notification times and investigation actions
• Environmental management controls monitored through inspections and compliance records
• Labour, safeguarding and community obligations incorporated into performance reviews
• Corrective actions prioritised using severity, recurrence and exposure criteria

Participants can maintain records that support timely decisions and contractual evidence.

• Communication protocol defining authorised channels, recipients and response periods
• Meeting minutes recording decisions, actions, owners and contractual reservations
• Site diaries capturing labour, weather, access constraints and instructions
• Correspondence register tracking notices, submissions, replies and overdue actions
• Document control rules managing revisions, transmittals and approved-for-construction status
• Contemporaneous records assembled to support payment, change and claim decisions

Participants can run evidence-based reviews that improve consultant and contractor performance.

• KPI scorecards measuring safety, quality, schedule, cost and responsiveness
• Performance review agenda structured around evidence, trends and corrective actions
• Root cause analysis using five whys and fishbone diagrams
• Corrective action plans assigning owner, due date, evidence and escalation
• Supplier performance ratings separated from contractual rights and remedies
• Performance improvement notices framed around specific obligations and deadlines

Participants can review payment applications and maintain contract cost forecasts.

• Payment applications reconciled against measured work, milestones and supporting evidence
• Interim payment certificates checked for retention, deductions and previous payments
• Consultant fee claims assessed against deliverables, rates and authorised variations
• Cost report separates committed cost, forecast cost and approved budget
• Cash flow forecast updated from programme dates and payment terms
• Final account preparation begins through orderly valuation and record control

Participants can assess, authorise and record changes without losing contractual control.

• Change request form records scope, reason, cost, time and risk
• Variation evaluation distinguishes instructed change from contractor correction work
• NEC4 compensation event notices assessed against notification and quotation requirements
• FIDIC variation procedure applied to instruction, valuation and determination
• Change log tracks status from proposal through approval and implementation
• Unauthorised work addressed through written direction and commercial reservation

Participants can manage emerging risks and interfaces before they affect contract performance.

• Risk register links event, cause, effect, owner and response
• NEC4 early warning notices used to trigger risk reduction meetings
• Interface risks mapped between design packages, contractors and operational users
• Constraint log identifies decisions, information and access needed for progress
• Risk exposure prioritised through probability-impact scoring and trend analysis
• Contingency actions tested against contractual responsibility and available authority

Participants can evaluate claims and pursue proportionate dispute avoidance actions.

• Claim analysis tests entitlement, causation, quantum and contractual notice
• Notice requirements assessed against contract wording, dates and delivery evidence
• Delay analysis distinguishes critical delay, concurrent delay and disruption
• Claim records organised through chronology, correspondence and supporting contemporaneous evidence
• Without-prejudice negotiation prepared using interests, options and settlement authority
• Dispute escalation routes compared across adjudication, mediation, arbitration and litigation

Participants can manage serious performance failure and close contracts with controlled records.

• Default notices drafted around breaches, cure periods and required evidence
• Suspension decisions assessed for safety, access, payment and preservation duties
• Termination checklist addresses notices, inventory, records and site security
• Practical completion criteria distinguished from final completion and defect correction
• Handover dossiers include manuals, warranties, test records and asset data
• Lessons learned review converts recurring issues into future appointment controls

Participants can build, review and present a complete consultant and contractor management pack for a project case.

• Project brief analysed to identify contractual risks, interfaces and governance needs
• Scope matrix prepared with deliverables, acceptance criteria and responsibility assignments
• Contract administration plan assembled around notices, records and decision gates
• Performance dashboard designed using schedule, quality, cost and HSE indicators
• Change and claim controls tested against a developing project scenario
• Management pack presented for peer review, challenge and improvement actions