They say that no plan ever survives first contact with reality. This can also be true of your contract process. You need to be flexible with what you want as any contract requires both buyer and seller to agree to the terms. A £40m construction dispute amply demonstrates the pitfalls
Am I the only person who went into construction for the paperwork? If so, it would make a massive difference if others like you could take the time to plan and sign your contracts properly. The NBS Contracts and Law Report 2018 shows 30% of projects start without a contract
According to the data, 75% of clients expect their software projects to fail! Wow… and I thought we had it bad in construction! What should you do? Many of the proposed solutions (link) will also resonate for anyone involved with construction projects: Improve communication Embrace change (both in the project
I would like you to (1) learn from the failures of others (the quickest, cheapest and least painful approach) and (2) embrace the idea that failure is not optional – it is your best friend. Lesson: check the technical data In November 1999, NASA lost a $125m satellite, the Mars
If you are writing a contract, you should really make sure that its terms are simple and effective. You need to ask: do both parties understand what it does? what is it meant to do? does it actually do? when would it apply? how does it transfer risk? Lessons from
Given the likelihood of delays on a construction project, it makes good commercial and practical sense to pre-agree the compensation that the contractor will pay to the client if it is causes any delay to completion. These are called liquidated and ascertained damages (JCT) or delay damages (NEC). [This blog
Which should come first: works or contract? Well you might expect me to say the contract but here’s why… The defective car park In 2001, two companies were trying to agree the terms for a long-term agreement on a variety of projects. One of those projects was in a hurry,
The Guardian’s Consumer Champion column told the story of a shopper who had been charged £70 for overstaying at a 90-minute car Aldi car park. Although I have some sympathies with the amount of this charge, the report didn’t tell the whole story of car parking charges… Are you sitting
On a simple house refurbishment project in Putney, London, Mr & Mrs West ended up with an extended house with no proper waterproofing, serious defects in the plumbing and all the newly installed M&E services needing replacing. Disaster! When planning and creating their contracts that the clients were failed by
Contracts should help you do business. But we have to be realistic. Change happens. Risk events occur. Humans are fallible. Most contracts do not anticipate ‘failure’ in stark terms. However, not every project will be a success, especially those which are on the edges of what is currently possible. Is