Commercial Awareness

Our Commercial Awareness Introductory course will enable delgates to have a raised awareness and better appreciation of commercial awareness within construction, including contracts and risk management.

Overview:

This is an introductory level course addressing commercial aspects of construction for which aspiring project managers need a level of knowledge in order to be able to protect themselves, their Employer and their clients.

 

Aims & Objectives:

To provide course delegates with an appreciation and understanding of Company objectives and how those objectives relate to practice and procedure external to the Company.

Course Outline:

The course is divided into three main elements:

General Introduction

1) What is a Contract?

  • Basic constituents of a contract
  • Breach, variation and damages

2) Contracts Generally

  • Standard Form Contracts
  • Bespoke Contracts
  • Procurement alternatives - lump sum, measure and value etc.

Pre-Contract Considerations

1) Bonding

  • Forms of protection - PCG, Bond, Collateral Warranty
  • Rights of Third Parties Act
  • Amounts of Bonds and their effects

2) Insurances

  • Different types of insurance and their purpose
  • PI Insurance, All Risks, Employers Liability, Third Party Liability
  • Excepted Risks

3) Contract Viability

  • Factors influencing decision to tender
  • Targeting tenders

4) Currency and Tax

  • Taxation regimes on domestic and international projects
  • Effects of exchange rates on transactions and contracts
  • Multi-currency contracts and payments in kind
  • Hedging of currencies

5) Payment

  • How will payment be made?
  • Letters of credit and guarantees
  • Cash flow and milestones.

6) Risk Management

  • Identification of risk on a project
  • Selection of courses of action
  • Monitoring and Managing the risk

Post-Contract Considerations

1) Change Management

  • Identification of Changes
  • Recording and evaluating
  • Contract mechanisms

2) Programming

  • Methods of Programming - Gantt Chart, Time location, line of balance
  • Proprietary software
  • Importance of monitoring effects on a project

The training session is run on an interactive basis and incorporates a number of group exercises in addition to elements of PowerPoint presentation.

A raised awareness and understanding of some of the commercial considerations arising during the construction process.

 

Intended For:

The course is aimed at delegates up to assistant Project Manager level or equivalent.