Contract Administration
SVEDS understand Variation and Claims are unavoidable in any kind of development project due to the complex nature of the construction process and the involvement of numerous parties in the development. Lack of managing variations and claims would derail the performance of the project by causing risk to the client’s budget, delayed completion, additional cost to the contractor, and pay damages for late completion if no entitlement for deferment was not established. Delay in resolving variations and claims would affect parties’ relationships which in turn affect future business, and eventually, such issues that are not settled on time and amicably within the contractual framework will lead to disputes.
Our teams are well experienced in managing Variation and Claims as per the contract and as per Industry’s best standards.
1 . Variations Management
Any change to the scope agreed under the Contract will constitute a Variation to the Contract, which involves identifying the scope change, instruction to implement the change, proposal to carry out the change under the contract, entitlement review, assessment of variation, agreement to additional time and cost, formalize contract variation order, etc. The whole process although appears to be sequential any delay in progressing the process would affect the formalization of a variation order.
SVEDS experts are well versed and highly experienced in managing the process on or ahead of time and thus add value to the project and parties. Our teams are hands-on experience in finalizing variations without affecting the parties’ relationship and without affecting the parties’ entitlement under the contract and law.
2 . Claims Management
Any claims begin with an assertion of a right of a party seeking additional time and or cost to complete the project. Any such assertions shall begin with a notification, entitlement review, maintain contemporary records, preparation, submission, and assessment of the interim and up to final particulars of claim, formalize Variation Order to award an additional time and cost. On the contrary, if the claim was not justified the rejection of such claim shall be justified through Engineer’s Determination in accordance with the contract. In either case, a conclusion on the assertion of such a claim shall be reached at the appropriate time and without undue delay.
As the claim process is complex, the likelihood of the outcome of such a process may potentially affect the parties’ relationship and put the performance of the project at greater risk. The party who is liable for the default and the party who is entitled to compensation associated with the damages shall be concluded with no delay to avoid risks to the project’s performance.
Our teams are hands-on experience in finalizing claims without affecting the parties’ relationship, without affecting the parties’ entitlement, and without affecting the performance of the project under the contract and law. We are familiar with and have been successful in dealing with various types of claim headings including but not limited to the following:
- Claim for extension of time
- Claim for prolongation cost related to the extension of time
- Disruption claim
- Acceleration claim
- Overhead recovery claim
- Loss of profit claim
- Claims related to varied works
- Claims associated with price escalation
- Cost claims associated with the change in Law
- Claims associated with resources shortfall including labor/plant and material
- Claims associated with any change in circumstances/conditions
- Force Majeure
- Cost claims associated with suspension/termination
- Insurance claims,..etc.
3 . Dispute Resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) have been an emerging trend in construction contracts for resolving disputes. The various ADR mechanisms that have been applied in construction contracts include the following:
- DAB Board
- Mediation
- Conciliation
- Expert determination
- Adjudication
- Arbitration
Generally, ADR mechanism varies from each other in their application process for resolving disputes although the aim of each mechanism is to provide a resolution to the dispute without delay. If the dispute was not resolved through ADR, Parties may elevate their dispute through litigation proceedings.
In recent years amicable settlement proceedings have been in the dispute resolution process for resolving disputes amicably and are becoming a pre-requisite for parties to refer their dispute to other ADR means or litigation, in accordance with the Contract.
SVEDS’ professional team are hands-on experience in dealing with all types of ADR proceedings and litigation proceedings. The SVEDS team will make sure the compliance of parties to the process requirements such as parties’ submission, supporting documents, contemporaneous records, witnesses, evidence, etc. SVEDS’ team is capable of coordinating with law firms as necessary for providing parties’ submissions as per lawyers’ requirements. We are familiar and capable to work with both civil law and common law jurisdictions such as the codified law in civil law countries and case precedence evolved through courts in common law jurisdictions.
