THE CONTRACT GAME

GUIDANCE NOTES

Your client, The Border College Trust, presently based at North Roof Side, Borwick, is a private educational institution for the training of veterinary surgeons.

Your client has agreed to accept the tender submitted by Double Felix Construction Ltd, of Clawmark Row, Purton, for the erection of a domestic animals research and support centre within the existing veterinary school in the grounds of Border College, immediately adjacent to a listed sea wall and linked buildings owned by the RNLI, part of which is a lifeboat station. Part of the wall intrudes into the site and is therefore owned by the Employer. The site for the development is known locally as “College Wall”. Your client, the Employer, is keen to commence operations on site as soon as possible.

The contract has been let under the StandardBuilding Contract With Quantities 2011, as published by the JCT or SBCC. The contract value is £12,800,003. The contract commencement date has been confirmed as 6 January 2014 and the contract period is 39 weeks including holidays, which brings the Date for Completion to 6 October 2014. Architect’s Certificates are noted as being issued at monthly intervals, with the due date being the 10th of the month every month, with an agreement having been reached that the Contractors’ application for payment will be made between the 1st and 3rd of the month to give the QS and Architect time to review matters and issue the relevant documents. After Practical Completion, the monthly certification regime is to continue until one month after PC. Thereafter, certificates are to be issued every second month, on the 10th of the month, up to the issue of the Final Certificate.

The Rectification Period is to be 12 months in duration and the retention percentage set at 3%. It has been confirmed in the Contract Particulars that L&A Damages have been set at £10,000 per week. There is no provision for Sectional Completion and no provision for advance payment, nor is there a contractor’s retention bond. There are Contractor’s Designed Portions within the contract covering the steel frame and carcass,above ground floor plumber works, the mechanical ventilation,heating and fire suppression systems, stone faced concrete panels and the lift installation. Some of the sub-contract works are to be carried out by named listed subcontractors.

There is a provisional sum for the defined works for the landscaping.Some of the quantities in the bill, particularly for the fit-out works to the board room, are approximate. The cafe fit-out is likely to be instructed as a Variation Quotation. There are no third party rights or collateral warranties. It is confirmed that the Employer will assign his rights and obligations under the contract to another organisation after Practical Completion.

Your name is Sandy Lamb and you are the project architect in charge of a team of qualified staff and trainees in the largest architect’s office in Tweedie Dew, Team X (X being replaced by the number of your team) Architectural Partnership. You will be assisted by one of the partners, Mrs Imonia Mentor. With her occasional guidance you will be running all of the day-to-day Contract Administrator’s activities.

The exercise is intended to simulate events subsequent to this stage and covering a Contract period of 39 weeks. It follows, therefore, that the contract has to be "entered into" and effectively administered through to the occupation of the building by your Client.

Control staff will act as Employer, Contractor, Quantity Surveyor, Structural Engineer, Clerk of Works, CDM Co-ordinator or mentor and each "scenario" will be presented to the Architect in numbered sequence.

Within this workshop, you will work in teams to deal with the matters presented to you in a competent and professional way. The principal source material will be the JCT Standard Building Contract with Quantities 2011 or the SBCC Standard Building Contract with Quantities For Use In Scotland 2011 but you may also wish to refer to the Architects’ Job Book” and other source materials available.

You will be given one scenario at a time and will only be able to proceed to the next scenario once the preceding one has been answered correctly. There are 36 scenarios. Each practice will be asked to cope with the same sequence of events.

Each practice will need to consider initially:-

  • Allocation of responsibilities and duties;
  • Office Administration and Filing System;
  • Appropriate use of standard forms, letters, etc.

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

ARCHITECTTeam X Architectural Partnership

2 The Streets, Tweedie Dew

CLIENTThe BorderCollege Trust

North Roof Side, Borwick

QUANTITY SURVEYORKerr Ching Quantity Surveyors

Counter Upper, Carlsburgh

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERChianti Leaverer Consulting Engineers

8 Pattress Place, Roseabbey

CDM CO-ORDINATORBootinard Hatton

Infirmary Close, Carlsburgh

CONTRACTORDouble Felix Construction Ltd

Clawmark Row, Purton

MENTORMrs Imonia Mentor

Team X Architectural Partnership

2 The Streets, Tweedie Dew

NOTE:

All communications must be dated and it is important that the intended distribution/circulation is recorded on every communication but it will NOT normally be necessary to make and forward the various copies. Quote the Scenario Numbers on all correspondences, and any contract clause used in the correspondence.

Gordon Gibb

September 2012

Contract Game 2013 - Guidance Notes - updated 12 September 2012Page 1