SUPPORTING NOTES
- Landscape Practice Class
- Apr 3, 2020
- 7 min read
SUPPORTING NOTES A. Start-up Meeting B. Progress Meeting C. Site Meeting D. Technical Meeting E. Completion
A. Start-up Meeting
A start-up meeting should be held when members of the consultant team are appointed, before they begin work. It should be chaired by the client and attended by the consultant team. It is possible that consultants will not all be appointed at the same time, so it may be necessary to hold more than one start-up meeting.
Possible concerned parties involved in start-off meeting
Main parties: client, main contractor
Design team: client, lead consultant, quantity surveyor, engineer, architect, landscape architect, specialist consultants, resident site staff, independent checkers
Contract team: contract manager, site agent, sub-contractor, safety officer
Others: independent checkers, statutory authorities, public utilities, end users, maintenance authorities
Issue are usually covered in a construction progress meetings
Introduce the parties to be involved, explain responsibilities and exchange contact details.
Describe the organisational structure that will be adopted.
Issue and discuss site information.
Issue and discuss the preliminary business case (if appropriate).
Issue and discuss the strategic brief.
Issue and discuss the project execution plan.
Agree working methods such as; methods of communication, means for reporting, approvals and decision making processes (consultants can sometimes programme client decisions into their work without first establishing that the programme suits the client), drawing protocols and standards, collaborative practices, document control strategies and so on.
Discuss procurement options and tendering restrictions (such as OJEU procurement rules).
Discuss CDM and other legislative obligations.
Identify any additional members of the consultant team, specialist designers, specialist contractors or independent client advisers who should be appointed.
Discuss the programme.
Identify immediate tasks to be undertaken.
Agree meeting schedules.
Discuss the application of VAT.
B. Progress meeting
During the construction stage, the contract administrator (sometimes referred to in different forms of contract as the 'architect/contract administrator', 'project manager', 'engineer' or 'employer's agent') holds regular (often monthly) construction progress meetings attended by the contractor and if necessary members of the consultant team. The client, client representative or project manager may also wish to attend these meetings. Construction progress meetings may require decisions to be made and so it is important that they are attended by sufficiently senior individuals if delays are to be avoided. Meeting minutes should be prepared, with a requirement that any disagreement with the items recorded in the minutes is raised within a predefined period (perhaps one week). The progress meetings will also result in the preparation of a construction progress report for the client.
On construction management projects, the construction manager holds regular construction progress meetings with the client and consultant team, however, they will also hold regular construction progress meetings with trade contractors to discuss on and off-site progress against the programme and to coordinate the release of information. It may sometimes be appropriate for these meetings to take place at the trade contractor's premises. Construction progress reports will then be prepared for the client.
On large projects, the construction manager may hold a daily logistic meeting on site with trade contractor foremen to organise, schedule and coordinate on-site shared services such as deliveries and off-loading, hoists and craneage, scaffolding, safety issues, rubbish clearance, etc.
Similar meetings may be held on management contract projects between the management contractor and the works contractors.
Issue are usually covered in a construction progress meetings
Receive progress reports from the contractor (the contractor may hold a progress meeting, sometimes called a production meeting, with sub-contractors prior to the construction progress meeting).
Receive progress reports from the consultant team.
Receive cost reports from the cost consultant.
Receive records of sub-contractors and labor on site.
Receive progress photos (which may be required from the contractor if included in the preliminaries, or may sometimes be commissioned separately by the client).
Other issues that shall be discussed over construction meetings
Any special circumstances which may affect the contract at any stage
Testing regimes
Mock-ups
Quality issues
Weather reports
Issues that may impact on costs
Health and safety issues
Issues with neighbours (such as noise, dust, vibrations, rights of light, access, safety, etc.)
Off-site fabrication and off-site payments
Earned value analysis
Design issues
Warranties
Look ahead to the next period (including specific requirements for progress photos during the next period, which may include off-site fabrication photos)
C. Site Meeting Site meetings are an important part of the successful management of construction projects. Regular site meetings between the different stakeholders on a project can help facilitate better communication and a shared sense of purpose making it more likely that the project is completed successfully. Project failures are often attributed to inadequate management, with a key factor being a lack of proper communication.
Meetings should be regular and formerly scheduled, perhaps on a weekly or monthly basis depending on the parties involved, although the size and complexity of the project may necessitate a more regular schedule. They are used as a means of reporting progress, enabling discussion of any problems or issues, and allowing the proposal of solutions. They provide a good opportunity for two-way discussions of any issues that have arisen or that are anticipated.
Holding meetings on site enables the stakeholders to see progress for themselves (rather than relying on a report for another party), and to look at problem areas, discuss quality issues, assess mock-ups, and so on.
Construction progress meetings are a specific sort of site meeting during which the contract administrator receives progress reports from the contractor and consultant team, cost reports from the cost consultant and other more specific information such as sub-contractor reports, progress photos, and so on.
In order to be able to provide the correct information at construction progress meetings, the contractor may previously hold a progress meeting with sub-contractors sometimes called a production meeting.
Meeting minutes should be prepared, with a requirement that any disagreement with the items recorded in the minutes is raised within a predefined period (perhaps one week). Progress meetings may also result in the preparation of a construction progress report for the client.
On construction management projects, the construction manager holds regular construction progress meetings with trade contractors to discuss on and off-site progress against the programme and to coordinate the release of information. It may sometimes be appropriate for these meetings to take place at the trade contractor's premises. On large projects the construction manager may hold a daily logistic meeting on site with trade contractor foremen to organise, schedule and coordinate on-site shared services such as deliveries and off-loading, hoists and cranage, scaffolding, safety issues, rubbish clearance etc.
Similar meetings may be held on management contract projects between the management contractor and the works contractors.Other meetings held on site might include safety briefings and toolbox talks which are held to ensure that workers properly consider health and safety issues on site.
Typical agenda
Present / Minutes of Last Meeting and Matters Arising
Contractors Progress
General Report
Subcontractors Report
Progress and Comparison with Programme
Percentage of Main Items Complete
Causes for Delay
Claims Arising
Information Received since Last Meeting
Information and Drawings Required
Instructions Required
RSS Report
Site Matters – Weather and General
Quality Control
Lost Time
Consultants Report
Qs Report
Valuation and Measurement
Health and Safety Matters
Communication and Procedures
Contract Completion Date
Any Other Business
Date, Time and Place of Next Meeting
D. Technical Meeting Technical meetings are held on a regular basis during the project and may involve just the technical team; excluding the client and anyone else who is not technical personnel.
Typically, they are not long, and are straight forward, aiming to resolve the technical ambiguities arising out of the project.
The chairman of the meeting is often the project manager who typically starts the meeting by reading the agenda; then asking the contractor’s representative or site agent to lead a site inspection. During site inspection, technical problems are observed and discussed, and instructions issued to correct them. It is also during this time that team members may agree to change certain aspects of the construction to make them more easy to build and economical.
After completing the site inspection the technical team assembles in a meeting room, confirming the meeting minutes of the previous meeting, followed by signing the minutes sheets.
Thereafter, follows critical discussion on all the issues raised during site inspection in which decisions are made with the agreement from all the parties, instructions are issued and advice is given to members of the team depending on the situation and the raised matters.
After thorough discussion, the chairman calls for any matters from contractors, allowing them to present proposals or objections.
Then, consultants discuss whether they are satisfied with the works or whether they are not satisfied proposing an alternative approach to the project manager.
Finally the project manager calls for Any Other Business (AOB) from any party, here anyone can raise his objections, calling for corrections of defects, advising on any behaviour/relation that is not working amongst the members of the team and so on.
A site meeting differs from a technical meeting in that it involves all the project technical team and client or client representative and other non professional members of the project team.
Here, the client raises issues about the progress of the project, explains choices of materials, set out budget limitations, resolves issues regarding the quality of the works and so on.
As in the technical meeting the site meeting is typically headed by the project manager. Starting with the opening, site inspection, confirming the minutes of the previous site meeting, discussing the issues arising during the site inspection, presenting contractors matters, rising consultant matters, then discussing any other matter that might be raised and finally; closing up the meeting and setting the date for the next site meeting.
E. Completion
The due time for completion of the works is the date written in the appendix to the form of tender, subject to any EOT granted during the course of the contract. When the Contractor considers that he has completed the works he can apply to the Architect for completion. If the Architect considers the works are practically complete i.e. fit for the Employer to use for the purpose intended, then he is obliged to issue a Certificate of Practical Completion (= Substantial Completion).
Completion can happen earlier than the date stated in the appendix, but only with the Employer’s consent. If the Employer does not want to take over the work early, but the works are complete, then the Architect must issue a Certificate of Completion (CofC), but the Contractor retains the works until the date specified in the contract.
Things that could happen upon completion
defects liability period (DLP) / establishment period (EP) commences
certificate of making good defects is issued
responsibility for the site and the works passes to the Employer and insurance, notably the responsibility for repair from typhoon damage
one half (moiety) of the retention money is retained
assessment of an Liquidated Damage (LD) is made
period of final measurement and valuation, leading to the drafting of the Final Account
end to the issuance of Variation Order (VO)’s (no further works should be instructed)
release of surety bonds
usually the start of any arbitration proceedings
Architect’s powers to issue variations to the works (except defects) ends
Sectional Completion
only if the Contract allows
the Employer can take possession of portions of the completed works before practical completion
sections need to be clearly defined beforehand (in the Appendix or by supplemental agreement)
should be discrete i.e. can be completely separated from the rest of the work
effects on the whole contract should be addressed in terms of proportional reduction in payments, retention moneys etc
Final Meeting Agenda
Last meeting issues (e.g. contractor application, supervising inspection, agreement, defects/ snagging list, practical completion certificate)
Contractor progress
RSS
Consultants
Financial/ QS
Handover issues
Snagging list/ defects
Establishment
AOB/ completion party
Meeting Agenda / Meeting Minutes Template https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dhx3UJILSSrntePxGmEPhJFskMarKbmfze8QPTY7HJk/edit?usp=sharing
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