FIDIC Amendments and The Golden Principles

Publications,FIDIC,Industry Commentary

February 18, 2020

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We have all seen it. We receive what we assume is a FIDIC form of contract. But when we examine its contents or the Particular Conditions, we find it has been subject to amendments and changed considerably. FIDIC amendments we often see include:

• Clauses struck out, usually those that give the contractor rights and remedies.
• New clauses appear which are often punitive toward the contractor.
• The remeasurable Red Book changes to a lump-sum contract.
• Time-frames may have been reduced for the Contractor’s actions and extended. Alternatively, time-frames vanish altogether for the Engineer and Employer’s obligations.

Added to this, the changes and amendments are often poorly drafted and the final version contains ambiguities and conflicts.

So what we end up with is not what FIDIC intended. In short, it does not do what it says on the tin.

Employers and Engineer’s make these changes in an attempt toRead more

Construction and Contract News 2019

FIDIC,Construction Claims,Industry Commentary,Disputes

December 26, 2019

As we look ahead to 2020 and back on the past year, what has changed and what should we be looking out for in the world of construction contract and claims? We take a look in this round-up of construction and contract news from around the world…

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Should I Consider In-House Training?

Nina's Blog

October 21, 2019

We all know that ongoing development and training are important for the continued success and growth of business. Professional institutions insist their members continually improve their knowledge and enhance their understanding. There are a plethora of options available. Training can be external or held in-house, bespoke or standard, on any manner of subject or content.

Many organisations now offer courses and training to help bring the skills of your team up to a higher level. The e-courses offered by Claims Class and our workshops are an example. Many firms offer free seminars. There are one-day courses, distance learning, academic courses and many other options available.

One option you might not have considered is in-house training. But why should you think about bringing your training in-house? And what are the potential benefits? What are the risks? We take a look...

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How to Manage and Minimise the Submission of Spurious Claims

FIDIC,Construction Claims,Responses & Determinations

September 24, 2019

The Claims Class blog has attracted loyal readers over the years. We get lots of comments as well as questions on issues that our readers are dealing with on their projects. And this often gives me inspiration for new articles. A reader recently asked how he could effectively manage and minimise the submission of spurious contractor's claims. So here are my thoughts...

Consultants need to spend a lot of time and effort to manage and respond to contractor's claims. So it's worth making sure that this time is spent working on justifiable claims, not on reviewing and responding to claims where the contractor has no entitlement, or to those that have not been submitted in an appropriate manner to enable a proper review and response.

Remember that the onus is on the claimant to prove the case. Even though most contracts require consultants toRead more

Top 10 Tips for Effective Letter Writing

Contract Administration

September 19, 2019

One of the things I notice when I review the records to prepare a claim, review claims on behalf of the respondent, or review particulars put forward in a dispute, is the poor standard of letter writing. This ranges from “could have been better” right through to “I have no idea what this letter means”. If your letters fall into these categories, you are not doing yourself or your company any favours. In fact, you could be doing considerable harm. This blog, therefore, contains my Top 10 Tips for effective letter writing.

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The Engineer’s Responses and Determinations: What Should be Included?

FIDIC,Construction Claims,Industry Commentary,Responses & Determinations

September 3, 2019

Earlier this year I presented a CPD talk to RICS members in Dubai on the topic of Engineer’s Responses and Determinations. I usually like to kick things of with a poll and I asked the group the following questions:

How many people have experienced a situation where the Engineer does not respond to a claim within the contractual time-frame? Almost everyone confirmed that they had.

How many people have experienced a situation where the Engineer’s response has done little to resolve the claim? Again, almost everyone confirmed that they had.

How many people have experienced a situation where the Engineer’s response has caused the matter to be escalated to a dispute? Over 50% of attendees confirmed that they had.

How many think that failures of the Engineer to carry out their contractual obligations with respect to claims is helpful to projects? No one thought that this helped projects.

This is clear feedback from RICS members that the Engineers often do not perform their obligations and that this has a detrimental effect on projects.

So, what should Engineer’s be doing to help projects when responding to claims? Well, as usual, the contract provides the answers, so let’s have a look at what the FIDIC Red Book has to say on the subject.Read more

How to Ensure you Avoid Costly and Time-Consuming Disputes on your Projects

FIDIC,Construction Claims,E-Courses,Industry Commentary,Disputes

August 19, 2019

ARCADIS have just published their annual Global Construction Disputes Report 2019 and it makes interesting, but, not altogether surprising reading.

This year, the top three reasons for disputes are:

1. Owner/Contractor/Subcontractor failing to understand and/or comply with its contractual obligations;
2. Errors and/or omissions in the contract document;
3. Failure to properly administer the contract.

Some other interesting noteworthy observations are:Read more

Q&A: Delay Analysis

Andy's Blog,Construction Claims

June 24, 2019

In partnership with the CIOB, Claims Class is running a series of monthly webinars on construction claims. The webinars cover some of the modules Construction Claims e-courses. In this webinar, we took a look at preparing a delay analysis.

At the end of each webinar, we invite questions and send the attendees answers to any questions that we do not have time to answer during the webinar. We've received good feedback from the two previous blogs on Q&A: Contract Administration and Q&A: Types of Claim.  So, I've decided to do the same for this month's blog. The following are questions and answers from the webinar on Delay Analysis.Read more