Professional Construction Project Consultancy

Adamo Estates can oversee the entire process. From initial advice outlining the potential for your scheme to be approved through planning all the way through to completion and handover. Taking away the stress and hassle associated with identifying and adhering to the numerous statutory compliance issues and the time it takes for identifying a suitable contractor, building a relationship with them and managing the construction process. We can act as designers, construction managers and consultants, planning consultants, providing detailed construction and structural design, project managing and administering the contract between client and contractor. We are your one stop shop for your construction project with as much involvement or as little as is suitable for you.

The role of a contract administrator is to administer the contract fairly and impartially between the client and contractor. The role technically begins when the contract is signed, however, the individual tasked with being the contract administrator would usually also provide professional services prior to the contract commencing. The pre-contract phase also known as contract practice begins well before the contract is signed. If required Adamo Estates can also act as designers and prepare the Architectural, Building Regulations, Construction, Structural design and Schedule of Works that forms part of the contract. An overview of our duties and responsibilities for both the pre-contract and post contract phases are outlined below.

Pre-Contract

a) Advise the Client on which procurement strategy is best suited for their project; namely what type of contract is the most appropriate
b) Review drawings and specification information and prepare initial draft contract
c) Tender the project to contractors and advise / recommend on the most suitable contractor to enter into the contract with;
d) Draft contract for parties review, assist in agreeing terms and advising on Alternative Dispute Resolution methods;
e) Determining appropriate weekly quantum for Liquidated Damages, clarifying payment intervals and Rectification Period duration;
f) Assist the parties in the signing of the contract;
g) Chairing site and design team pre-contract meetings;
h) Chairing a pre-start meeting and taking minutes;

Post-Contract

i) Chairing monthly progress meetings on site and taking minutes;
j) Undertaking site inspections and reviewing progress reports;
k) Assessing contractor’s Interim Payment Applications;
l) Preparing and issuing Interim Payments Certificates;
m) Analysing contractor’s variation and Extensions of Time(s) requests as necessary;
n) Issuing Contract Instructions as necessary;
o) Issuing Extension of Time Certificates as necessary;
p) Issuing Practical Completion Certificate;
q) Reviewing and issuing the handover documents to the employer (Health and Safety File);
r) Releasing retention at Practical Completion and at the end of the Rectification Period;
s) Calculating final payment and issuing Final Certificate;
t) Maintaining close contact with the contractor, design team, and employer throughout.

By appointing a contract administrator, you can ensure that a suitably qualified, experienced professional consultant from a suitably accredited and insured firm is overseeing the construction project whilst keeping an eye on workmanship quality, certifying payments, keeping the employer up to date with progress and potential issues. 

The Contract administrator has a duty to act fairly and impartially when making decisions. All instructions come from the Contract Administrator relating to payments, ensuring that your personal relationship with the contractor is separated from the contractual mechanisms of the contract. 

In many instances the employer may lack the time and expertise in construction related matters to safely vet and subsequently establish and build a working relationship with a contractor placing their trust in them. If there is a considerable disparity between the knowledge, experience and expertise relating to construction matters between the client and contractor; this may lead to many problems and disagreements between the parties. 

Appointing a contract administrator will greatly bridge the gap between the level of knowledge and experience between you and the contractor allowing you to offload the stress associated with achieving the desired outcome.
The Contract Administrator would have been trained to deliver on his/her role over a course of several years on projects similar to yours bringing a wealth of value to your project. This experience would be translated into greater efficiency in delivering quality, neutrality in dealing with payments due to the contractor, knowledge and understanding of the contractual mechanisms and dispute resolution. 

Having a single point of contact to advise you on construction programme, design matters, contract mechanisms (notices and certificates), payment provisions whilst maintaining close communication with you by way of cost reporting and minutes provides you with all the information on the progress and any foreseeable risks of your project allowing you to make informed decisions.

The multitude of different construction professionals can act as the contract administrator. These include but not limited to architect, surveyors, or structural engineers. The main thing is that the professional whose duty is to administer the contractor is adequately experienced and the firm holds sufficient professional indemnity cover. 

Under the separate suite of contracts such as Design and Build the role of the contract administrator is carried out by the employer’s agent who acts solely on behalf of the employer. The role is carried out by the project manager under the NEC suite of contracts. Again, the individual carrying out the role should demonstrate impartiality and fairness. 

In some cases, the contract administrator, employer’s agent or project manager is working within the same organisation as the employer. In rare instances the contract administrator may also be the employer. It is vital to consider the practical issues to impartiality and neutrality in these circumstances.

In the first instance the firm that you are considering would provide you with a fee quote for their services. If required Adamo Estates can provide you with a detailed fee quote for contract administration services. Depending on your situation and exact project needs, a separate quote for design, project management and statutory compliance can also be provided. 

A full scope of services expected to be provided by the Contract administrator would also be shared. The client would also have the opportunity to add any bespoke services to the scope of services which would form part of our agreement. 

Separate scope of services for project management can also be provided if that is a service you are also interested in. 

Once the fee quote has been accepted, we can proceed to putting together a contract to provide you with the agreed services. 

An RICS form of consultant’s appointment would be used to form a contract between the professional consultant and you as the employer. The scope of services list would also form part of this contract. The contract includes details of the parties, payment mechanisms, terms of conditions, insurance details and dispute resolution procedures. 

Contact us today so we can begin to look at your requirements and prepare a bespoke fee quote for services tailor-made for you and your project.

Simply put, the Project Manager is tasked with the day to day running of the project. This includes (but not limited to) managing the various construction consultants and ensuring statutory compliance to the numerous legislations and industry standards applicable to your particular project. Ensuring the envisaged construction programme (duration) is adhered to. 

The Contract Administrator is tasked with administering the Building Contract between the employer and the contractor. This is an “isolated” appointment from the day to day running of the entire building project. Further information on the specific duties of the contract administrator have been mentioned previously. 

Generally, the Project Manager and the Contract Administrator are two separate professional appointments provided by two respective consultants. The Project Manager can also manage the contract administrator as part of the project’s professional team. 

Here at Adamo Estates we can provide both project management and contract administration services. If we feel that sufficient value can be provided via a single professional consultant. In some cases, the two appointments may be split between two separate consultants.
Moreover, it may be that you only require a contract administrator or a project manager only for your project. In that case, we would be happy to provide you with either service. 

We are your one stop shop for all your project consultancy needs.

Many prospective clients approach us at different stages of the project. It may be that you have already obtained planning approval and procured detailed Building Regulations, Construction or Structural details. In this instance a full design service may not be necessary. However, if you are at the early stages of your project, you may greatly benefit from our complete architectural, planning and design services. We can advise you of the likelihood of you achieving planning approval for the suggested scheme and put together a complete design package on your behalf. 

The Building Contract also has a priced construction specification appended thereto. The architect usually prepares a construction specification which is used for the contractors to price and submit tenders. 

Adamo Estates can also prepare the construction specification as well as all the design packages. We can prepare as little or as much design as required, it is all dependant on how far along the process you are and whether other design team members have already been appointed at the time of our instruction. 

Having one point of contact and responsibility for your project, both in terms of design and delivery allows simplicity and straightforwardness to remain at the forefront.
This is only suitable for a traditional building contract. With design and build contracts the contractor takes responsibility for design and construction. 

Depending on the size and complexity of the project; a cost consultancy service may be valuable where a quantity surveyor deals with the financial management and budgetary aspects of the project whilst the contract administrator deals with administration of the contract. 

We are your one stop shop for all your project consultancy needs, providing bespoke tailor-made solutions at highly competitive fee structures.