My Project Management Lessons » Contract

Check Geotechnical Reports

michael — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:33:22 +0000

Check and confirm geotechnical reports that are supplied to you in a contract. The client may supply reports that are old or inaccurate. Specify in the contract that you are relying on the accuracy of their reports. If that is not acceptable, budget for new testing and reports. Related Posts Document Reliance on Information Check [...]

Learn to Say No

michael — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:14:02 +0000

You must learn to say no to some requests from clients

If change requests from the client will make the design unsafe or unusable, you should refuse to change it. Otherwise you could still be sued as the designer for giving misleading information when your company is the expert (accepting a change could be deemed as approving it, even if you gave a warning that it would be unsafe or unusable).

Another instance to say no is if the client asks for changes that will increase the schedule but won’t approve the increased schedule. Get approval from the client for the extended schedule or cost before saying yes to the proposed change.

Watch External Dependencies

michael — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:35:24 +0000

Keep a careful watch on external dependencies.

External things such as deliveries, contracts, and approvals that could delay your project if late.

They may not be your direct responsibility and are out of your control, but you need to keep watch that they are getting done and that dates are not slipping.

Deliveries are a big one here. You should make your suppliers aware of your project schedule (or the part relevant to them) to emphasise the importance of the delivery date you require of them.

Don’t say you need it by a certain date if that date is the actual date you will install it. You need to allow time for delivery, unpacking, checking, and moving to the site.

Scan Large Specifications

michael — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:57:10 +0000

When reading a large specification, to avoid inducing sleep, scan it by key words.

If possible, when given a specification by a client, get the it in electronic form. This allows faster scanning and you can easily come back to important parts by a quick search function

If you have it electronically, use the find command to search it by one word to focus on one area at a time.

For example, search for pipes to find all the mentions of pipes areas of specification (colour, size, joints, type, etc).

Addition Clause in Contract

michael — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:54:32 +0000

For contracts longer than 12 months, you should have a clause to allow unknown technologies to be added. Particularly for high tech and IT projects.

Part way through a long contract, the industry best might have superseded some of the items specified in your contract. You need a way to change to these newer technologies. They may perform better, and at a lower cost.

If you don’t have a way to add these, you could be stuck trying to source a specified item that you know is outdated, cannot be supplied, and will be more expensive to maintain because no one supports it anymore. An addition clause will allow you to approach the client with a change/addition proposal that the client can comfortably approve. If no clause exists, they may not be able to allow a change or addition because of their internal organizational procedures.

Importance of the Contract

michael — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:07:06 +0000

A contract is a risk allocation and control device. Remember the importance of the contract. Related Posts Clear Duties in Contract Agree With the Contract Before Signing It Addition Clause in Contract

Agree on Deliverables

michael — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:23:06 +0000

Make sure you and your client agree on the deliverables expected for the project.

Sometimes a contract may specify deliverables without enough detail. This could lead to you delivering something quite different than what the client required.

If the scope is not clear, or if deliverables are not clearly listed, you should clarify with the client as early as possible.

Wet Weather Delays

michael — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:57:19 +0000

Allow for wet weather days.

You should get a list of the average number of wet weather days for the area of your project (if the project can be affected by the weather). This will allow you to put this into your plans.

The contract should allow you to get extensions of time because of wet weather above the average for that area, and also allow you to claim extra costs for that time.

Submit Deliverables Before Invoicing

michael — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:17:01 +0000

Submit deliverables to the client (if that is required) before invoicing them. Don’t make the mistake of not submitting deliverables, as it will delay payment. Related Posts Agree on Deliverables Submit claims as soon as possible

Treat Restarted Projects as New Projects

michael — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:54:05 +0000

If a partly completed project is put on hold (deferred project) by the client, when it is restarted it should be treated as a new project.

This includes reviewing and redeveloping the scope, project plan, schedule, and budget.

The original project team may not be available anymore, so new people will take time to get familiar with the project.

The project should be renegotiated with the client.

Make sure language in the original contract does not say that no additional costs are allowed due to delays, as the client may use that clause to refuse to renegotiate the price.