Comprehensive Two Day Construction Contracts Training Course
Understanding and Negotiating Construction and Construction Related Contracts
Description: A two day practical course taught by a contractor using plain English and designed to significantly strengthen the ability of all attendees to understand, evaluate and negotiate better and less risky commercial terms and conditions in construction and construction-related contracts.
Outline of Commercial Terms Covered in Course
- Scope of Work – The most important part of all contracts. The majority of claims and disputes that occur on a construction project arise out of poorly written scopes of work. Learn how to significantly improve scope of work documents.
- Schedule – Make sure the schedule required is achievable and don’t ever give away the float. There is a cost associated with schedule delays by the client; get paid for those delays.
- Terms of Payment – Always try to negotiate a downpayment or some form of an early payment. Insist on being paid on time. Resist agreeing to the withholding of retention money. Learn why doing a cash flow analysis leads to better terms of payment. Learn how to get rid of a cash retention requirement.
- Letters of Intent – Learn how to write an enforceable letter of intent. Not all letters of intent are created equal.
- Assurances of Performance – The commonly required on-demand bond provided by a bank is not an assurance of performance, nor is it a guaranty. Why is a surety bond better? Learn how to significantly limit your exposure under an on-demand bond.
- Insurance – Insurance is an extremely important asset of a contractor’s company and something you must have and understand. Insurance is highly technical often misunderstood. Learn how to protect this important corporate asset called insurance!!!!
- Additional Insured Status – Why is granting additional insured status one of the most dangerous commercial giveaways for a contractor? Learn ways to avoid providing additional insured status, or limiting it’s coverage.
- Contractual Liability Insurance – Why do clients insist on contractors providing contractual liability insurance? Learn why this little known and generally misunderstood insurance endorsement can provide coverage for the negligent acts of your client.
- Indemnity – A typical indemnity will transfer to the contractor the client’s financial responsibility for bodily injury and property damage claims that arise out of the client’s negligent acts, plus all his legal defense costs associated with the claims. Learn how to limit your liability and defuse this dangerous contractual landmine.
- Anti-Indemnity Legislation – The name sounds good. But are the various anti-indemnity statutes that exist in 41 states any good for the contractor? Learn how to separate the good from the bad. Learn how to identify and understand the complex and dangerous linkage between indemnity, additional insured status, contractual liability, venue and state law, and anti-indemnity legislation.
- Changes – Always get paid for changes at full value and always get the extra time necessary. Learn how to negotiate a change clause that is fair to you and your client.
- Disputes – Why are negotiation and mediation the best ways to resolve disputes arising out of a construction project? Everyone loses when you have to go to court. Learn how to resolve potential disputes early and without going to arbitration or to court.
- Damages – Are liquidated damages an unnecessary penalty and do they create an adversarial relationship? Consequential damages could bankrupt a contractor. Learn how to lessen or eliminate your exposure to these types of damages.
- Warranty – Stand behind your work, but don’t get into a maintenance mode. Learn how to write an effective, but limited, warranty for your work.
- Termination and Suspension – Termination for convenience is unfair unless you are well paid for allowing it to be a contractual option. Learn how to get paid for suspension time and have the right to terminate or renegotiate the contract for a lengthy suspension.
- Independent Contractor – Learn why is it important for a contractor to have this designation in a construction contract?
- Advance and Final Waivers – Never waive any of your company’s rights in advance, and be careful of what final waivers may require a contractor to give up. Learn how to deal effectively with waivers of liens, but still protect your interests.
- Assignment – Learn what financial risk the contractor assumes when the client makes an assignment of the construction contract.
- Venue and Applicable Law – Working in one state, but the laws of another state apply to the contract? Why? Learn about this dangerous hidden risk called “contractual rendition” and how to mitigate or remove it.
- Tips on Negotiating – Learn how to be better prepared and improve your chances of success. A short course on effective negotiating.
- Other commonly found clauses: time permitting terms such as Force Majeure, Differing Site conditions, Severability, Secrecy and Confidentiality Agreements, Patent Indemnity, etc. will be covered.
- International contracting (by request or may be a separate course).
Benefits of taking this course: Learn how to better understand and evaluate the risk associated with the commercial terms and conditions typically found in all construction contracts. Learn how to protect the assets of your company by lessening or eliminating commercial risk through successful negotiation of a contract’s commercial terms and conditions. Insist on and negotiate a fair and balanced construction contract.
Method: The course is taught using a power point slide presentation along with numerous examples and handouts of typical commercial language found in construction contracts. Copies of all slides and handouts are included in a three ring binder for all attendees. Constant dialogue between the instructor and each of the attendees is encouraged. The dialogue process helps attendees to better understand and evaluate the risk in the commercial terms presented, and how to lessen the associated risk by negotiating improved commercial terms. The two-day course includes a challenging homework assignment on analysis of several important commercial terms. The course can be taught off-site or at your company offices.
Typical Course Attendees: Contractors, subcontractors, suppliers of materials to construction projects, procurement managers, sales personnel and sales managers, risk managers, insurance managers, project managers, accounting managers, and all corporate managers and executives interested in better understanding and managing their company’s commercial risk exposure assumed in a construction contract. A fair and balanced construction contract benefits all companies involved in a construction project.
Time: The two day course typically begins each day at 8:00am and concludes at 4:00pm with a one hour lunch break and two fifteen minute breaks per day.
Class Size: Ten to fifteen attendees is a good class size. Larger or smaller class sizes can be arranged.
Instructor: Mr. Kit Werremeyer, Owner and President, Southernstar Consultants LLC. Over 40 years of US and international construction contract negotiation experience. See web page on this site: “About the Owner."
Testimonials
“Thank you for the great contracting course. Each of our sessions in Dallas, Charlotte, and Columbia, received very good reviews. Our sales, credit and risk management personnel were engaged, informed and challenged. For some the sessions were eye opening to better protect our assets through better contracting. Thanks again for a great result.”
Mr. Karl J. Schoenleber, Executive VP & Divisional Manager, CMC Structural/Joist & Deck, Columbia, South Carolina.
“Thank you very much for coming to our plant in Monterrey, Mexico to teach our group there the ins and outs of international construction related contracting.
We were very pleased with your course, particularly with its practical focus. Immediately after it we were able to apply the concepts we learned to a contract we had under negotiation in the Middle East, and obtained a much better agreement.
And thanks to your course we are now able to review contracts faster and more effectively. As engineers, we were inclined to dismiss as boilerplate dangerous commercial terms such as indemnity, insurance, liquidated damages, and others. Now we are much more aware of how important these conditions are and what to look for in each of them, and others, to prevent unintended liabilities or losses to our business. I will certainly recommend your course to anyone that needs to learn about negotiating commercial terms in construction contracts.”
Mr. Francisco Castaño, PE President, Geometrica, Inc., Cypress, Texas.
“Fantastic course, real life experiences, attentive material because of the instructor engagement with the students. If you want to increase your awareness regarding contractual terms and conditions I would highly recommend this course.”
Mr. Rick Krause, District Construction Fulfillment Leader, Trane Commercial Systems, Lenexa, Kansas.
“I wanted to thank you again for your excellent presentation on contract knowledge and contract negotiation. The course content and materials provided were right on target! The contracts manual is well organized and provides some very good examples of what to look for and how to respond. This will continue to be a useful tool for all to reference in our ongoing business activities. Our employees gained practical, useful, working knowledge that they will use on daily basis. I believe you took a very tough, not so fun subject, simplified it, and made it interesting for all to learn. As you know, the risk an employee can unknowingly sign the company up for, due to a lack of knowledge, could be devastating. Thanks again for helping our organization in our pursuit for knowledge and responsible risk management.”
Mr. Brian Cooke, Director of Engineered Products, Kane Sterling, Kane, Pennsylvania
“Our company is increasingly faced with large construction contracts as we continue to grow domestically and globally. Kit’s ability to express his extensive experience and knowledge in all facets of construction contracts was evident during the open discussion seminar. He provided us with a vast understanding of how to mitigate our risk while giving us the confidence to present contractual alternatives to our customers. Kit knows what a fair contract looks like and how to get there!”
Mr. Shane S.
Director, Power Industry Sales
"In my position I am responsible to review and comprehend dozens of contracts in a year. After attending Kit's seminar I not only enhanced my ability to understand the subtle nuances contained in terms and conditions that may shift risk from the owner(s) to the contractor, I gained valuable knowledge and tactics that have proven beneficial when negotiating fair and equitable terms for our construction company. I strongly recommend this seminar to anyone in a similar position or those who deal with contracts for any construction company."
George,
Manager-Contracting/Estimating
Nooter Construction Company
Philadelphia Office
Connect With Us
Contact Us Today For More Info - 813-653-3090
email: southernconsult@aol.com