inresidence
Major Works Project
Once the major works have the green light, the funds are in and a start date agreed, the scaffolding can be erected (if required). The more experienced PM will know that once
document to be used on-site when the post contract phase begins. Talk to your surveyor about including a contingency sufficient to overcome any requirements once the extent of the works can be seen from the scaffold. • d. Tendering Attention turns to the selection of who will carry out the work itself, which means the creation of tender documents and the subsequent selection of the right contractor for the job. A good surveyor will appreciate the requirements of s20 in terms of the leaseholders nominating a contractor, and will ensure the process is as objective as possible. It’s important not to select contractors for the wrong reasons. The key is to make the right selection based on a range of criteria – including financial strength, management structure, H&S competence – plus evidence of similar projects. Managing a tender process means doing so under a sealed bid ensuring a formal tendering procedure with the surveyor administering queries along the way. Bids will be opened at an opening event, recorded, reviewed, with the intention of looking for anomalies. You would hope to go for the least expensive tender but if one comes in dramatically under the rest, then questions need to be asked. The surveyor will then produce a tender report with a recommendation for appointment. You’ll need this to produce your second s20 notice. If the least expensive option isn’t recommended
the scaffolding is up, the surveyor and contractor are able to see the extent of previously inaccessible areas. You would hope that the scoping
8. Your role as property manager A successful major works project clearly relies heavily on the building surveyor, yet it’s your role as the managing agent to ensure that communication with all stakeholders is fluid, the s20 notices are correctly served, the necessary funds are raised/chased, that you are paying the contractor correctly as per the surveyor’s valuation certificates, and that you’re ensuring the cost of the works are fully accounted for as the works progress and in the year-end service charge accounts. The fees for your admin role ought to reflect the extra time you need to put in, for instance, for site visits with the surveyor and client, and to ensure you are up-to-speed with how the PMP needs to be updated post major works. The recipe for the perfect major works project in part relies on you not overstepping your mark. Your role is vital, but it should be limited to admin and communication tasks. Do discuss with the surveyor at an early stage what he/she can do to take some of your burden away. If like many of our clients you choose Earl Kendrick for many or most of your major works projects, you will benefit frommonthly meetings (which we call ‘trackers’) for the PMs and surveyors to meet, discuss each project and together decide on the best course of action for the client and the leaseholders. At your offices or ours, the time is well spent in nurturing the relationship – all part and parcel of the perfect recipe.
document would have prevented any nasty surprises, but they do happen from time-to-time, and there may be implications for the section 20 notices served and the funds raised. With any luck, you will have pre-empted these extra works and the contingency you have allowed for will cover them. There is a common misconception that the surveyor’s role is to manage the site. The surveyor actually has specific obligations under the terms of the JCT, including periodic inspections of the works, giving instructions to the contractor, authorising interim payments, certifying the completion of the work and settling the adjusted contract sum (otherwise known as the final account). client’s responsibility as they have specific duties before and during a major works project, including the provision of welfare facilities and responsibility for H&S. So gather all recent H&S related reports e.g. FRA/asbestos management plans – and pass them to the surveyor. • g. Rectification period After the project is over, there is the defects rectification period to see through (typically 6 or 12 months after practical completion). The surveyor will take care of that but there will be a retention sum to pay to the contractor. • f. The Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015 And don’t forget about CDM. It’s your
by the surveyor, the surveyor will set out why; you may need to serve a third s20. • e. JCT and the surveyor’s role as ‘CA’ The surveyor’s role within the Joint Contracts Tribunal Contract (JCT) is formally described as ‘Contract Administrator’. The CA is responsible for administering the
contract which is between the
‘employer’ (e.g. the RMC) and the ‘contractor’.
Andrew Banister, Director, Earl Kendrick North
19 ISSUE 103
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