At a Constructing Excellence event, I was one of a panel debating the issue of trust in construction. We discussed these themes and challenges: trust from the public: the Grenfell tragedy and inquiry have eroded public trust; there are sector initiatives which may start to rebuild that trust but we
Contracts have a wide variety of functions, but one which is too often overlooked is their role as a communication tool. For that they need to be accurate, legally sound and enhance trust. Communicating trust Trust is a many-faceted word, combining concepts of integrity, intent, capabilities and results (or, as
My sneak peak at the responses so far to the 500words digital-first contracting survey shows some interesting trends on how current practices in contracting vary and how they might change in the future. So how might changes to the business landscape impact construction contracting? Will contracts embrace the rise of
As well as having a positive process, the terms in your contract can (and should) enhance the trust you already have* with your client/supplier, both through specific terms and through their general style and tone. Demonstrating trust First, check which of the 8 Habits of Defective Contracts you are guilty
The UK Government’s Construction Playbook has 14 key policies for reforming and modernising aspects of public sector projects (and perhaps, with luck and trickle down, the private sector too). However, it will need some robust contract tools to bring those ideas to fruition. In a series of posts, I consider
The length (and contents) of your contract gives off so many first impressions to would-be clients. A contract that’s just a couple of emails risks not covering the bare minimum, and a long contract with in-depth legal stipulations may showcase a lack of trust. So what is the ‘Goldilocks measure’
Do you really want to sign up to a contract that allows your client (or the main contractor) to keep taking work away from you and giving it to someone else? Contracts both entitle and oblige the provider to perform the whole of its scope – what I call a
What is the retention? Is it, as I have suggested, the contractor’s money which the employer is holding to ransom? Is it security for any defects discovered during the defects period which the contractor fails to put right? Is it a form of commercial leverage? In Yeovil v The Stepping
Dominic Cummings, a UK Government advisor, was outed for an ill-conceived trip to Barnard Castle during the Spring 2020 lockdown (a place which ought to be famous for its mechanical silver swan rather than policital shenanigans). In his statement, he made a series of increasingly bizarre claims about testing his
The scandal of construction, according to the Huxtable Report (1983) is: the persistent and continuing imposition as a matter of deliberate policy… of onerous and unfair subcontract conditions. An ideal subcontract, said the Report, was which set out the rights and obligations of the subcontractor as clearly as possible, was
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