Robert Merry is an independent Stone Consultant and Project Manager who also runs training courses on project management. He continues this series of his thoughts on successful estimating and project management with a discussion of: Handovers – but not the obvious ones.
As the tender and then the contract passes around the office from estimator to contracts director, to contracts manager, to quantity surveyor (to name but a few) I always think of a relay race. If someone drops the baton we’re in trouble – not out of the race entirely but with a lot of catching up to do.
The image has stuck in my head and for me there are two essential handovers in the contracts race: Contracts Director to Contract Manager / team and estimator to Contract Manager / team. That’s apart from the traditional one at the end between you and the main contractor.
This month I want to deal with the first handover: Contracts Director to contracts team.
If the Contract Manager is going to make the contract work, they will have to know what this contract requires. For example, how does it deal with notification of delays, additional works, non- productive overtime (NPO) and variations? What are the Health & Safety issues and how might these differ from your existing procedures? Whoever checks your contracts before you sign them and agrees the final contract, they should ensure the terms are able to communicate these details to the rest of the team.
Main Contractors have spent a lot of time and money preparing contracts to suit themselves and not the sub-contractor. Counter this by matching their effort. As sure as eggs are eggs, the contract will contain clauses that leave your company exposed to late payment, non-payment, withheld payment and probably a whole lot more.
A contract specialist from an M&E background once told me he couldn’t believe how easily most trades sign away their livelihoods without requesting changes to the contract.
M&E companies spend time and resources (and loads of red ink) changing and altering the contract until they have an agreement with the main contractor as close to ideal as possible. The liability for them is extremely high and therefore this process is essential.
Make any handover to your team clear and simple. Deal with the mechanism of this particular contract. You probably have forms already in place that you can use, with some minor adaptations, such as RFIs, day work sheets, or whatever it may be.
Be on hand to advise and keep your door open. People take time to absorb new information and may have to ask you the same question more than once. In fact, if they don’t come and ask you any questions after the first meeting, start worrying.
Successful contracts are built on good relationships and are fostered by mutual respect between all the players.
I once had an excellent contracts manager who came to contract meetings with confidence. Always reporting a clean bill of health on the project, payment terms met, client happy. Then at one of our regular contract meetings his face was marked by a furrowed brow. The client had sent him solicitous texts, asking him for a date! Apparently this had been going on for some time but he hadn’t felt able to say anything before. He wanted to be moved to a different contract.
There was nothing in the contract to cover this one!
I weighed up whether the contracts manager was delusional or it was a genuine case? And what to do about it? We decided together he should move to a different contract and we would tell the client it was because of an emergency with another project. As compensation I, as the MD, would take over to steer the project to its end.
The client didn’t make any fuss and it was never mentioned again. Good professional relationships (and professional relationships only) were maintained. There are some things a contract handover just cannot cover.