TRAINING.

Overview

After participating in this course, you will be able to:

• understand the various contracting strategies employed to manage risk and minimize claims and disputes
• administer the contract to minimize construction claims and disputes
• understand the importance of project controls, documentation and communication
• analyze delays using different critical path method (CPM) techniques
• recognize the factors that cause claims and disputes, resulting in project overruns in time and cost, and quantify the parties’ damages and entitlements
• establish procedures for claim prevention and management
• resolve disputes using various alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods to avoid high litigation costs
• certify substantial completion and contract close-out

Description
This course deals with the issues that cause construction disputes resulting in time delays and cost overruns and the means to minimize their impact on a project’s success. The first step is selecting the most appropriate project delivery system and analyzing and managing the anticipated risks. The second step is recognizing the importance of effective project controls and devising a project and document control system to minimize claims and disputes. Changes will impact the project schedule and cause delays, and analyzing these delays and their impact on productivity is essential in managing and settling disputes by calculating the parties’ entitlements.

The course addresses the different methods used to present and analyze delay and productivity claims. It then examines the strategies owners, consultants and contractors use to avoid disputes and minimize risk to achieve the project’s objectives. It also examines amicable ways to resolve disputes as they arise through negotiation, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods. Finally, the course will address best practices for contract close-out.

Course Outline:

• Risk Management for Various Contracting Strategies
• Contract Administration and Control to Minimize Disputes
• Communication and Project Documentation
• Project Scheduling and Delay Analysis
• Evaluation of Claims related to Scheduling
• Claims by Different Parties
• Damage Quantification
• Claim Prevention and Management
• Dispute Resolution
• Contract Close-Out and Substantial Completion

Who Should Attend
Project Managers • Engineers • Contract Managers and Coordinators • Designers • Architects • Contractors • Construction Management Personnel • Construction Inspectors • Procurement Specialists • Field Engineers • Subcontractors • Project Technicians and Technologists • Developers • Business Owners • Consultants • Government Employees • Public-Sector Employees and others concerned with the ultimate success of a project

Requirement
Participants are expected to have some technical knowledge of, and interest in, the subject matter.

Please note: You can check other time zones here.

Syllabus

DAY 1

Welcome, Introduction, Workshop Preview and Learning Outcomes

Risk Management for Different Contracting Strategies

• Reviewing the fundamentals of project risk management
• Risk identification and classification
• Risk Priorities
• Contractual risk allocation and management

Workshop I

• Case Study: Risk Management and Allocation of Risk in Different Project Delivery Systems
• Discussion of lessons learned

Project Delivery Systems

• Examining different types of contracting risk elements and how to analyze and manage them
• Roles of the parties and their responsibilities
• Methods of payment: fixed unit price, lump sum, cost-plus contracts, and other forms
• Public-Private Partnerships (P3s)
• Risk management and allocation

Workshop II

• Case Study: Select the most appropriate delivery system to meet the owner’s requirements.
• Discussion of lessons learned

Effective Project Administration

• Contract administration in the field
• Project Administrator - their roles and responsibilities
• Contractual roles
• Pre-construction activities

Workshop III

• Case Study: Establishing a Responsibility Matrix and Line of Communication for Effective Site Administration
• Discussion of lessons learned

DAY 2

Project Documentation and Control Systems

• Definition of records and their types
• Keeping good records
• Hierarchy of records
• The record as a constructive tool in dispute prevention
• The documentation process

Workshop IV

• Case Study: Designing Forms for Different Administrative Activities
• Discussion of lessons learned

Scheduling and Tracking Work Progress

• Scheduling techniques and project planning
• Developing the schedule
• Project precedence diagram, time analysis, critical path and floats
• Resource management and its impact on the schedule
• Time-cost relationship, project compression and acceleration

Workshop V

• Case Study: Scheduling, Project Compression and Acceleration, and Resource Management
• Discussion of lessons learned

DAY 3

Delay Analysis

• Types of delay
• Means and methods of analyzing delay
• Parallel and concurrent delay and the notion of pacing

Workshop VI

• Case Study: Using CPM for Delay Analysis
• Discussion of lessons learned

Claims by the Owner

• Delay completion - liquidated damages and unliquidated damages
• Contractor’s lack of performance
• Contractor finishes with deficiencies - cost vs diminished value
• Claims against design consultants

Claims by the Contractor

• Sources of change and change evaluation
• Suspension of work and re-sequencing of work
• Variation orders and variations in estimated quantities
• Differing site conditions
• Defective specifications and drawings
• Unforeseen conditions and Force Majeure

Workshop VII

• Case Study: Project Claims and the Parties’ Entitlements
• Discussion of lessons learned

Day 4

Productivity Impact and Damage Quantification

• Factors affecting productivity
• Discussion on different methods of calculating productivity claims, i.e., differential cost method - estimated cost/industry charts - Total Cost Method
• Pros and cons regarding the various means of quantifying the cost
• Direct and indirect cost
• Equipment ownership

Workshop VIII

• Case Study: Calculating the Entitlements Due to Delay
• Discussion of lessons learned

Claim Prevention and Management

• Mitigation of claims
• Documentation of claim events
• Knowing your contract
• Do not waive claims
• Monitor job progress
• Monitor the impact of the schedule

Dispute Resolution

• Strengths and weaknesses of alternative strategies such as negotiation, mediation, project neutrality, adjudication, arbitration and litigation
• Discussion on available strategies during and after construction is complete
• Controlling the costs of the process while resolving disputes

Workshop IX

• Case Study: Video presentation – Resolving a Dispute Through Mediation
• Discussion of lessons learned

Substantial Completion and Contract Close-Out

• Commissioning and handing-over
• Substantial completion
• Preparation of punch list
• Starting of systems
• Conclusion

Discussion on Workshop Findings

Case Studies/Discussion

Questions and Answers and Feedback to Participants on Achievement of Learning Outcomes

Concluding Remarks and Final Adjournment

Instructor

Sami M. Fereig, Ph.D., LL.M., P.Eng., PMP, F.ASCE, F.PMCOS

Prof. Sami M. Fereig, B.Sc. [Hons], M.A.Sc., Ph.D., LL.M. [Construction Law], P.Eng., PMP, F.ASCE, F.PMCOS .

Prof. Fereig has over 50 years of civil engineering experience in construction, contract management and dispute resolution. He received his doctoral degree from the University of Waterloo. He was the lead instructor of the Certificate Program in Conflict and Dispute Management for Project and Contract Managers at Conrad Grebel University College from 2002 to 2016. He was a senior bridge engineer and senior structural engineer for two local consulting engineering firms in Brantford and Hamilton, designing bridges, restoring existing bridges, and designing connecting roads.

He is the founder and president of Fercan Corporation, which has provided construction development for a condominium project in Kitchener and training, dispute resolution, and project management for construction. He is actively involved in construction contract administration and project management with several organizations, including public and private engineering and construction companies. He has numerous publications in the areas of structural engineering and construction management.