Introduction

Construction projects often face contractual disputes due to complex work, multiple stakeholders, and diverse commercial arrangements. This 10-day program helps participants understand the root causes of disputes, master contract management, adopt collaborative approaches, and develop practical skills to prevent and resolve conflicts efficiently, while improving project performance and profitability.

Objectives

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Understand construction contracts and their legal and commercial implications.
• Identify common clauses that create risks or disputes.
• Apply collaborative and modern contracting approaches.
• Manage contracts effectively from award to closeout.
• Handle disputes using negotiation, ADR, and formal resolution methods.
• Enhance communication and coordination among commercial, legal, and technical teams.

Target Audience

• Project Managers
• Construction Contract Administrators
• Procurement and Tendering Officers
• Engineers, Architects, and Site Managers
• Legal and Commercial Teams
• Contractors and Subcontractors

10-Day Programme Outline

Day 1 – Introduction to Construction Contracts

• Role and importance of contracts in construction
• Contract formation: principles, oral vs. written, and formalities
• Overview of construction-specific contracts and standard forms (FIDIC, NEC, LOGIC)
• Differences in international legal systems and bargaining positions

Day 2 – Key Clauses and Risk Areas

• Design responsibility, warranties, and fitness for purpose
• Standards of work and variations
• Time, money, and force majeure clauses
• Intellectual property, limits of liability, indemnities, insurance
• Minor clauses: notices, entire agreement, incorporation by reference

Day 3 – Traditional Contracting Approaches

• Lump sum/fixed price contracts
• Bill of Quantities / Schedule of Rates
• Incentive fees, escalation, economic price adjustment
• Call-off contracts and dealing with market volatility

Day 4 – Contract Administration Essentials

• Roles and responsibilities of contract administrators
• Monitoring contract performance
• Payment procedures, progress claims, and interim certificates
• Managing variations, change orders, and disputes

Day 5 – Advanced Contracting Strategies

• Risk and reward structures
• Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and similar models
• Open-book contracting and collaborative working
• Delegate workshop: structuring contracts for alignment of commercial goals

Day 6 – Tendering and Procurement in Construction

• Elements of competitive tendering
• Tender evaluation criteria
• Selecting the right contractor and contract type
• Documentation, pre-qualification, and bid analysis

Day 7 – Managing Contract Performance

• Maintaining schedules and quality
• Expediting and progress monitoring
• Contract variations and price changes
• Bonds, guarantees, and insurance considerations

Day 8 – Dispute Avoidance Techniques

• Identifying potential dispute triggers
• Communication strategies and proactive management
• Collaboration and partnering to reduce conflicts
• Case studies on dispute prevention

Day 9 – Dispute Resolution Methods

• Negotiation strategies
• Litigation, arbitration, adjudication
• Mediation, conciliation, early neutral evaluation, expert determination
• Dispute Review Boards, pendulum arbitration, and mini-arbitration

Day 10 – Contract Closeout and Lessons Learned

• Contract completion and final acceptance
• Post-completion services and project feedback
• Evaluating contractor performance and lessons learned
• Practical exercise: drafting a risk-mitigated contract framework