NEC Training dates in Belfast

Jon is doing five and half days of training on different aspects of the NEC in Belfast in late October and November :  a 2 day introductory course; a half day on NEC4, one day on compensation events; and two days on the professional services contracts. Click to find out more. 

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NEC4 : the good, the bad & the ugly.

The NEC4 family of contract was completely updated in July this year.  Jon is doing a two part webinar, via the Association for Project Management, on 14th and 21st November, highlighting the (mainly) good, the bad and ugly changes in the update.

The first webinar will focus on the changes at the contract strategy level e.g. additions to the family; alterations to main payment options and changes made to the secondary option clauses, including the dispute options.

The second will focus on the changes in the Engineering and Construction Contract, many of which are replicated in other members of the contract family, with a focus on the payment, programme, early warning and compensation event clauses.

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What’s the Procurement & Management of Contracts got to do with me ? I’m a Project Manager.

The Association for Project Managements's long awaited ‘APM Guide to Contracts and Procurement for project, programme and portfolio managers’’ (or ‘the C&P Guide’ for short) was published in July 2017. In this article, Jon and John Lake, who were co-editors and lead contributors to the Guide, explain why project and programme managers need to be competent on these topics.

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Launch Conference for the APM's Contracts & Procurement Guide

On 12th July 2017, the launch conference for the 'APM's Guide to Contracts and Procurement for project, programme and portfolio managers' was held in London. Jon was instrumental in its development and chaired and presented at the event. Find out how the day went, what people liked about the guide and how to get hold of one.

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Guide to Procurement & Management of contracts for projects & programmes launched

The Association for Project Management's (APM) long awaited Guide for the Procurement & Management of contracts for projects and programmes has been launched. Jon wrote the early chapters and co-edited itwith John Lake, with contributions from other members of the Contracts & Procurement SIG.

Jon is both relieved that it is out of the way and very pleased with the result. Find out more.

 

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5 ½ reasons to get rid of the percentage for Working Areas overheads

Jon was recently challenged by a distant project sponsor to justify why he wanted to delete the percentage for Working Area overheads from his NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contracts option C and E cost based contracts for a new framework. Instead, the winning contractors would simply be reimbursed at cost for the items in the percentage. With a few additional stories to bring it alive, this was my response.

Since then, NEC have announced the fourth edition will be published in June and that the percentage will be done away with.

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Contracts for Effective Collaboration

Jon is talking at the Joint RICS / APM Project Leadership conference on 28th March 2017 in London.

Jon's presentation is officially titled 'Tools for Achieving Effective Collaboration' but Jon will actually be talking about 'Contracts for Achieving Effective Collaboration'.  Find out more.  

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Ethical Project Management : how to apply governance, manage the risks and gain the benefits.

This article, published in the Spring 2017 edition of 'Project', discusses the considerable risks that can be avoided, and the opportunities that can be seized, by behaving and adopting policies for procuring and managing supply chains ethically.  It was co-written with Philip Reese of Reese Procurement.

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Beyond Collaboration

“‪Is it a framework? Is it an alliance? Is a 'packaging' of work? Is it collaborative working? Is it Even Earlier Contractor Involvement (EECI)? Find out what Jon has been developing with Connect Plus, the people who maintain and improve the M25. In this video, Chris Richardson, their commercial director, talks first on the background and drivers for CP, followed by Jon on their future rather groovy contract strategy. 

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What every Project Manager should know about Offer and Acceptance : common pitfalls of the ignorant & how to avoid them.

Co-authored with Rob Horne

Whether entering a multi-million pound contract to deliver a substantial 
project or buying some off the shelf components, a person involved in projects is increasingly having to be involved in negotiating and entering into contracts. This blog - originally published in a slightly shorter version in 'Project' (1) - identifies the common legal pitfalls and how to avoid them, so that you enter a contract with your ‘eyes wide open’ as opposed to in ignorance, leaving you and your client with a big hole to get out of.

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The new NEC3 Early Contractor Involvement clauses : a constructive review.

This blog reviews the newly published NEC3 Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) clauses, which are added onto the NEC3 Engineering and Construction (ECC) contract as additional conditions of contract. It briefly outlines what Early Contractor Involvement is; what I like about the ECI clauses; what I don’t like about the ECI clauses and a conclusion.

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