The success of a building contract for infrastructural development essentially requires competence and commitment by the parties in charge of the project, Uwe Putlitz, CEO of the Joint Building Contracts Committee, has cautioned. Putlitz was a keynote speaker at the 5th International Conference on Infrastructure Development in Africa (ICIDA 2016) held at the University of Johannesburg in early July this year. The conference was organised to explore infrastructure’s role as a driver for economic growth in Africa.

JBCC is a non-profit South African company which represents building owners and developers, professional consultants, and building  contractors who provide input for the compilation of a comprehensive suite of JBCC building contracts, drafted to comply with South African conditions and legislation, as well as to ensure equitable distribution of contractual risk.

Putlitz told the conference that although such formal contracts were vital for building projects and infrastructural development, the success of service delivery also depended on the competence of the users and the will to bring contracts to a successful conclusion within the defined scope and quality criteria, an agreed budget, and realistic time period. “An experienced project manager, or team of project managers with different skills, are essential to see a building project through all its phases and to ensure that critical decisions are reviewed and made timeously by corporate management or relevant authorities. When this has not been done, the construction team may have to resolve problematic issues on site in a hurry. This type of compromise situation leads to delays and additional costs, and almost inevitably results in crisis management,” he stated.

To avoid such disruptive incidents, the project manager should at the outset have ensured that the project had been properly and practically designed, that the materials specified complied with applicable recognised standards, and that the material procurement processes were flawless. Potential personality clashes and competence issues should also have been identified.

“The issue of whether sufficient time has been allowed for statutory and other approval issues, such as Occupation Certificates, should also have been considered, and a specific quality management system formulated for the project in question,” Putlitz added. The project management team should be proactive to resolve defective work on site while dealing with administrative duties such as the preparation of drawings, maintenance manuals, product warranties and the formulation of final accounts for each subcontractor and for the works as a whole – within the period of time stated in the contract.

Faced with late delivery issues, employer organisations should alsodo professional soul-searching and ask themselves whether:

• Their project management team had the necessary skills and had been authorised to make decisions promptly without “having to refer to a board meeting in two months’ time”;
• The project’s complexity and method of construction had been gauged properly by the contractor and sub-contractors; and
• The employer organisation had perhaps been expecting 5-star finishes from a 2-star specification.

Putlitz said avoiding potential disputes that could crop up in a building contract was another essential factor for the successful execution of projects. “In this regard, pertinent issues include ensuring that the correct information is conveyed to the contractor, identifying possible additional costs at an early stage, reaching consensus on delays to the project completion, dealing with late changes instructed by the employer or for statutory compliance, and late or non-payment by the employer.”

He said, in addition to employing the JBCC suite of contracts, it was essential that accurate project records be kept in a format that could be easily accessed; consensus was reached on communication procedures – “ and that these procedures are adhered to” – and any potential problem be speedily and effectively dealt with.

• The ICIDA 2016 conference was hosted by the University of Johannesburg in collaboration with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology in Ghana; and the Bells University of Technology in Nigeria.