Contract Administration

Question 1

What are Preliminaries

Answer 1

The purpose of preliminaries is to describe the works as a whole, and to specify general conditions and requirements for their execution, including such things as subcontracting, approvals, testing and completion at the tender stage

Question 2

What is section A10 of NBS Preliminaries

Answer 2

Project Particulates - The Project Address, Clients details, Principle Contractor details, Architect / Contract Administrator details, and details of any other named consulatants such as Quanitity Surveyor, Structural Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Electrical Engineer.

Question 3

What is section A11 of NBS Preliminaries

Answer 3

Tender and Contract Documentation - List of tender drawings, List of contract drawings, direction to Pre-Contruction information, description of other documentation and where it can be found e.g. historic rocord drawings and pictures.

Question 4

What is section A12 of NBS Preliminaries

Answer 4

The Site / Existing Buildings - Description of the site and use, description of adjacent buildings and use, access to site, parking provisions, Health and Safety file location and access requirements, general and specific description of health and safety hazards, site visit provisions and details on how to arrange, Existing services information.

Question 5

What is section A13 of NBS Preliminaries

Answer 5

Description of the Works - Prepetory work by contractor or others, description of main works required by contractor, description of works to be undertaken by others.

Question 6

What is section A20 of NBS Preliminaries

Answer 6

Recitals are the introductory statements in a written agreement or deed, generally appearing at the beginning, and similar to the preamble. Typically there are eight recitals;

Question 7

What are Contractors Site Prelims of NBS Preliminaries

Answer 7

Allowance for provisions such as; staff, welfare provisions, site offices, plant, site waste clearance, water, electricity, furniture, ICT and consumables, rates, protection of work, protective clothing, site transport, setting out, building control fees.

Question 8

What are the roles and responsabilities of a Contract Administrator

Answer 8

the roles and responsabilities of a Contract Administrator are set out in the Contract administration RICS Practice Standards, UK 1st edition, guidance note and include;

• Keeping records
• Conducting site inspections
• Attending and recording meetings
• Reporting to the client / employer
• Issuing instructions
• Interim valuations of the works
• Issuing cetificates
• Manage the insolvancy of a contractor
• Adjust the contract sum
• Loss and expense claims

Question 9

What are the CA’s responsabilities if event of a loss and expense

Answer 9

The CA should be familiar with the relevant contract clauses concerning loss and expense. It is the CAs responsability to calculate actual loss or instruct a QS to do so and not estimate it. CA ensures that claims for loss have been applied for under the terms of the building contract.

Question 10

What are the CA’s responsabilities of interim valuation of the works

Answer 10

he CA is required, both under the contract and case law to ensure that the preparation of all valuations are carried out impartially and fair. When undertaking valuations the surveyor must take into consideration; Materials on or off site, Retention monies, Delay and prolongation costs and Liquidated damages.

Question 11

What are the CA’s responsabilities when an instruction or variation is required

Answer 11

It is solely the CA’s responsibility to issue instructions which should be given in writing and issued promptly, The CA will need to be aware of the cost implications of issuing instructions. If CVIs are being issued then the CA will need to check their contents to make sure they are accurate.

Question 12

What records are the CA expected to keep

Answer 12

Notes of site inspections: recording the date, time and duration of the visit; the weather, persons on site, progress and status of the works; any defects in workmanship.

Office files e.g. collated so that information letters, emails, notices, telephone notes, instructions and drawings.

Photographs with date, time and location easily identifiable.

Question 13

What is a Schedule of Works

Answer 13

Schedules of work are ‘without quantities’ instructional lists often produced on smaller projects or for alteration work. They may be prepared as part of the production information alongside drawings, specifications, bills of quantities and preliminaries and are likely to form part of the tender documentation and then contract documents.

Question 14

What are Dayworks

Answer 14

New Rules of Measurement 2 describes dayworks as “the method of valuing work on the basis of time spent by the contractor’s workpeople, the materials used and the plant employed”. It is typical to allow for the rate of different trades depending on what is required

Question 15

Can a daywork rate be changed

Answer 15

It is accepted that if a non specified trade is required the rate cannot exceed that of the highest rate specified within the SoW.

Question 16

What is a Provisional Quantity

Answer 16

New Rules of Measurment 2 describes a Provsional qantity as “a quantity which cannot be accurately determined (i.e. an estimate of the quantity).”

Question 17

Can a Provisional Quantity be changed

Answer 17

The contractor will have to stand by their rate within the SoW even if an error has been made. The rate may decrease if there are more works than previously anticipated due to economies of scale.

Question 18

What is a Specific Provisional Sum

Answer 18

A provisional sum is an allowance (or best guess), usually estimated by a cost consultant, that is inserted into tender documents for a specific element of the works that is not yet defined in enough detail for tenderers to accurately price.

Question 19

What is a Contingency

Answer 19

Typically, contingencies refer to costs, and are amounts that are held in reserve to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Most construction projects use a rate of 5%-10% from the total budget to determine contingency.

Question 20

What are Overheads and Profit

Answer 20

New Rules of Measurement 1 describes OHP as “means the main contractor’s costs associated with head office administration proportioned to each building contract plus the main contractor’s return on capital investment.” Most contracting organisations will the OHPsomewhere between 2.5% and 10% depending on the complexity of the works.

Question 21

What is a Bill of Quantities

Answer 21

The bill of quantities is a document prepared by the cost consultant that provides project-specific measured quantities of the items of work identified by the drawings and specifications in the tender documentation.

Question 22

What types of Breakdown are there of a BoQ

Answer 22

New Rules of Measurement highlight 2 ways in which a BoQ can be broken down;
Elemental,
Works Sections,
Work Packages.

Question 23

What is an approximate bill of quantities

Answer 23

n approximate bill of quantities (notional bill of quantities or provisional bill of quantities) can be used on projects where it is not possible to prepare a firm bill of quantities at the time of tendering.

Question 24

BoQs are prepared in accordance with what

Answer 24

most commonly prepared in accordance with the Standard Method of Measurement, currently in its 7th Edition (SMM7). However, a new standard, the New Rules of Measurement became operative on 1 January 2013.