Engineering & Construction group

Risk Assessment & Monitoring

Risk assessment and monitoring, the most vital risk construction process, is dictated by events that occur before the construction works actually starts. It is therefore vital to afford appropriate time to the various parties to the contract to enable them to play their part in the process.

Engineering & Construction Group

Contracting practices are growing more complicated and few, if any, items have more impact on the cost of a project than the contractual arrangements. It is vital that each party understands their rights and obligations.

• Do you need assistance finalising the legal requirements of a construction project? 
• Do you require clarification on your contractual rights and obligations?

If the answer is Yes, KPMG’s Engineering & Construction Group can assist you.

Pre-Contract Assessments

• Is the critical success of your project based on its timely delivery and are you certain that the proposed procurement routes suit this arrangement? 
• Are you being asked to sign unfamiliar contracts or heavily amended contracts?
• Do you need someone to review the contract from a practical construction perspective i.e. with legal and practical construction knowledge?
• Are you being asked to provide collateral warranties, parent company guarantees (PCGs) or bonding facilities, but you don’t know the ramifications? 
• Do you need your contract conditions drafted to reflect your practical construction risks? 
• Do you want your contracts structured to assist you in achieving effective project management?

If the answer is Yes, KPMG’s Engineering & Construction Group can assist you.

Contract Risk Management

• Do your sub-contract documents need to be adjusted to reflect special bespoke conditions in the main contract? 
• Is your main contractor or, conversely, your sub-contractor taking longer on-site than was originally agreed? 
• Are you confident that your project team is in control? Are you finding it difficult to get paid and need some external advice on how best to quickly recover the sums? 
• Do you have a new contract that you are being forced to adopt and do you need to review your internal procedures to comply with it? 
• Has your contract got strict time limits in relation to timely claims for money and time, and do you need to know how to administer these claims? 
• Has your company grown, necessitating the need to update its construction contract control procedures?

If the answer is Yes, KPMG’s Engineering & Construction Group can assist you.

... For the Contractor or the Developer

Has your interim/final account been reduced with no valid reasons? Are the consultants refusing to recognise your entitlement to an extension of time or claim for loss and/or expenses?

Is your contractor/sub-contractor threatening to walk off the site if they are not paid their full claim? Have you incurred additional costs as a result of the contractor not complying with the terms of the agreement and do you need assistance in compiling the figures to help maximise your return?

If the answer is Yes, KPMG’s Engineering & Construction Group can assist you:

• Presentation of Interim Account / Final Account 
• Professional Opinion on Individual Claim Items 
• Assessment of Quantum Claim

We can help identify and produce a robust contractual loss and/or expense claim or common-law breach of contract claim.

Business Disruption Loss

In conjunction with KPMG’s Forensic group, we can assist with a wider calculation of business disruption losses as a result of defective works or breach of warranty claims.

Production of Extension of Time Claim

We can assist in the production of a credible and accurate extension of time application based on contractual and common law best practices.

... For the Contractor or the Developer

Have formal litigation or arbitration procedures commenced and does your legal team require expert reports covering delay and costs? Has one party instigated dispute proceedings and you do not know how to defend the case?

Do you need representation in conciliation proceedings from experienced construction professionals who can present your case in the best possible way?

If the answer is Yes, KPMG’s Engineering & Construction Group can assist you.

Our construction professionals have direct experience in the various forms of dispute resolution processes, including the following:

Litigation

We can assist you whether you are solicitors representing a construction client and you want prompt advice on the strength or otherwise of your case, or you are a contractor or developer preparing for litigation.

Arbitration

It can often be daunting for parties drawn into a formal dispute who have no experience of the processes involved. We can assist you by producing credible and robust quantum reports.

Our skilled planners can produce extension of time applications, and our significant experience places us in a strong position to defend claims of these types.

Conciliation

The majority of standard forms of construction contract in Ireland provide, at the first instance, for disputes to be considered in the forum of conciliation.

We have the necessary skills and experience to case-manage your claim/defence by producing clear, concise documentation and represent you through the conciliation process.

Adjudication

Our team has first-hand experience of the adjudication process and can case-manage your claim/defence.

Mediation

Increasingly, parties are looking at less adversarial processes to settle claims and maintain relationships. Our Accredited Mediators, trained with CEDR and ADR Group, can help you.

Expert Determination

Rather than embark on a formal dispute process, parties may wish to introduce us as an independent third party to review each party’s claims.

Negotiation

The best form of dispute resolution is negotiation which, if successful, maintains relationships and future work opportunities. We believe that, whilst negotiation can take place at any stage, it is usually more suited when a claim has been presented in a basic form.

We can discuss your requirements and tailor our reports to your needs, keeping our costs in proportion to the overall dispute.