Contracts Administration

Our Expertise

• Bespoke procurement

  We develop procurement strategies tailored to our client’s requirements. To do this, RSK will
  • define the time, cost and quality priorities and objectives
  • establish the requirements of the client’s procurement system and/or public funding rules
  • draft a project brief to confirm the project’s objectives and the documentation describing how these objectives and any quality standards will be met
  • prepare an initial risk and opportunity register to capture potential issues and then review, revise and implement measures to control risks and create opportunities
  • develop a project programme to identify the timescales, milestone activities and a critical path
  • prepare an initial cost plan for the project by estimating the quantities and applying market rates to develop a cost for the known work
  • agree the allocation of risk responsibility with the client, particularly for unforeseen risks
  • prepare a contract strategy and propose a standard form of contract.

• Contractor identification

  To identify a suitable contractor for completing work, RSK will
  • complete public notices advertising for expressions of interests in European or other journals where necessary in accordance with procurement rules
  • write pre-qualification questionnaires and an assessment method for identifying the relevant information from the contractors
  • assess completed pre-qualification questionnaires to determine the most suitable contractors to bid for the work and then prepare a report
  • obtain expressions of interest from suitable contractors and make an assessment to develop a tender list where public procurement rules do not apply.

• Tender documents

  For preparing tender documents, RSK will
  • write contract amendments based on a standard form contract to allocate the risks and opportunities, as agreed with the client
  • draft a contract agreement, a parent company guarantee and bond and third-party warranty documents for the client’s legal adviser to review
  • prepare specifications, drawings and other work information to define the client’s requirements accurately
  • prepare an activity schedule, so that the costs submitted by the contractors are comparable
  • write a set of tender instructions and a method for tender assessment
  • fulfil the role of principal designer and prepare a pre-construction health and safety plan.

• Tender invitations and assessments

  At the tender invitation and assessment stages, RSK will
  • issue documents to tenderers and answer their queries
  • arrange a mid-tender site visit for the contractors and, if beneficial, conduct mid-tender interviews to explain the scope and context of the work
  • receive and open tenders to record the documents and information submitted and identify incomplete tenders, and then request additional information if permissible
  • fully assess each tender returned and summarise the potential benefits and pitfalls
  • assess the contractors’ project programme, including calculating resource usage before the programme is finalised to avoid overallocation of resources, and confirming that the programme clearly shows the links between tasks and any dependencies to show the critical path and float
  • the sales value for each task to determine the monthly expenditure profile
  • arrange and complete post-tender interviews
  • make contractor recommendations based on the most advantageous tender submission.

• Contract agreement and pre-commencement

  At the contract agreement and pre-commencement stages, RSK will
  • prepare the contract documents
  • receive and review the method statements required from the contractor before work can start on site
  • as principal designer, receive the construction phase health and safety plan and advise on its suitability.

• Contract administration

  To administer the contract, RSK will
  • provide experienced site personnel to observe the work and confirm contract fulfilment
  • provide site scientists to collect and log verification samples and arrange on-site testing, as necessary
  • complete accredited geotechnical and chemical laboratory testing at its in-house facilities to ensure the verification criteria are met
  • issue variations or instructions in accordance with the contract conditions and assess requests for change to quality, time and cost from the contractor
  • check that the logic and milestones in the programme will deliver the critical path and the completion date
  • receive applications for payment, assess the amount due, issue any payless notices and issue a certificate of payment to the client
  • chair regular progress meetings to assess programme cost and quality, and review the risk register with the contractor to assess the likely final cost
  • agree with the contractor when the work is substantially complete and prepare a list of items for completion or correction
  • receive the as-built information from the contractor and incorporate it into the project’s verification report
  • if the principal designer, receive the health and safety file from the contractor and pass it to the client
  • make a final inspection and issue the final payment certificate for the work.