Appraise the mechanisms by which the law relevant to the construction professional is enacted and developed.

SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND SURVEYING

ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/2023 

CONSTRUCTION LAW, CONTRACTS AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION M32580

Coursework

Instructions:  See the attached brief.

Provided:                         N/A

Module

RICHARD WISE Coordinator:

 RICHARD WISE Author:

 Objectives:

1.     To prepare students for the commercial environment by appraising the various approaches which may be utilised to implement & manage various contractual arrangements.

2.     To justify an informed choice when considering how to resolve or avoid a complex dispute or difference.

Task Outline:

The task is to prepare a professional report approximately 2,000 words in length (subject to UoP regs

+/-10%), referenced appropriately, relating to the contractual remedies and practical solutions which may be available to the project team in the event of a substantial delay caused by an unexpected issue on site as described in the scenario below.

Scenario:

You are a firm of construction consultants covering various disciplines including quantity surveying and project management. Your team has been engaged to carry out both PM and QS roles by the University of Portsmouth in the development of proposals for a project to demolish the existing Burnaby building and replace it with a new building with the same footprint as existing but with one additional storey.

There are existing electrical and IT services within the building which will have to be incorporated into the new building but will have to be temporarily maintained or relocated as these feed other buildings on the campus.

I. The demolition of Burnaby Building will require the existing staff and equipment to be moved out of the building before work can commence, either through a separate contract or by inclusion in the main contractor’s scope. You should assess the contractual options available to the client and explain how you could facilitate either approach.

II.  Some services (power and IT supplies in particular) feeding some other buildings are housed within the Burnaby Building. The client requires advice with regard to how the power and IT can be temporarily or permanently reinstated before disconnection of these services in order to effect switch-overs. The client is concerned at the disruption which this may have on the operation of the existing campus and has asked how this work could be either incorporated into the contract or separately procured work carried out outside the main contract in order to minimise any ‘down-time’.

III.        The client has asked for your guidance regarding how the tender invitation (and therefore the contract documentation) will provide for separation of the site from the operational campus. The client is specifically concerned about how the site can be made safe while students and staff are using the remainder of the campus and how this will be captured in the project documentation.

IV.        When the existing building was constructed, asbestos was still permitted in construction work, the client has asked for advice on how to go about meeting their statutory duty with regard to the potential existence of asbestos and provisions for removal of any asbestos which is found.

V.     The client normally uses JCT 2016/Q as their preferred standard form of contract however they have asked you for a summary of the benefits of using NEC4 instead and have asked for a summary of main issues to be considered in making this choice.

Coursework submission and deadline:

Coursework should be submitted electronically through the Moodle drop box in accordance with SCES regulations by the deadline shown above as a single .pdf file.

Learning outcomes (numbers relate to the module descriptor learning outcomes)

•  Appraise the mechanisms by which the law relevant to the construction professional is enacted and developed.
•  Critically discuss the obligations most commonly imposed by law; those arising from the contract or negligence of the parties.
• Assess and evaluate contract principles and relevant case law relating to construction disputes and assess the management needs resulting from these particular issues, recommending the most appropriate procedures and remedies available to the parties to a dispute. 

Reading / References:

Your submission should be in a professional report style, so there is unlikely to be a substantial amount of academic referencing although you will need to refer to contract clauses.

Any academic references you use should be properly cited and referenced in accordance with the APA 7^th Edition method