05/04/2020
Construction is an imperfect art. Inevitably, things go wrong and challenges appear. At TC Consult, we’ve built our business on solving problems and the current COVID-19 crisis is something we’ll all need to pull together on.
As everything is up in the air it’s common to see organisations hold back on giving you advice, and when they eventually do, it can often be slippery. That’s not what we do.
We’ve never been afraid to give you honest advice, and this time is no different. We’re fully equipped to work from home effectively and continue giving you the support you need.
We’re still here to help you and your projects. We’ve already started helping some of our clients manage the shutdown of their sites and advising others on the implications of a lockdown. We’ve even successfully surveyed sites through video calling and provided a guided tour to clients and stuck to government regulations. We’re not limited in what we can do.
With this in mind, how can we help you?
No matter the stage you’re currently in, we already have ways to help.
Site lockdown
As we all know, the events of the COVID-19 outbreak are unprecedented, and more so there has been a real lack of clarity within the construction industry. Some contractors have closed down sites, some remain operational, and others are in limbo about the whole thing. While protecting the health and wellbeing of site personnel is the principal concern, the industry cannot ignore the substantial business disruption and financial impact this is having on clients, contractors and subcontractors alike.
This is where we come in.
TC Consult is a team of problem solvers and always has been. We know these are testing times and TC Consult can support you. We’ve seen difficulties over the years, including helping our clients when contractors go into administration, being there for businesses when the market gets tough and assisting with the many project issues that come up.
Whether the decision to carry on with construction or shut down your site was made by you, the government or the contractor, we have processes in place to guide you through the next steps. As well as dealing with site closure, TC Consult can also help with looking at ways in continuing works on sites and managing government advice on COVID-19.
When sites are closing we can help with:
- clear direction on where you stand contractually and how to act
- obtaining an accurate progress report, tracked programme and value at time of site closure
- site safety and security and the security of materials or plant on site – It should continue to be secure during the duration of the lockdown
- securing off site materials, their insurance and ownership paperwork
- practical advice around correct insurances to maintain and other project critical policies.
When sites remain open we can help with:
- obtaining COVID-19 safe working method commitments from the contractor
- obtaining weekly updates on constraints/labour force and impact
- regular review and updates of risk registers & actions
- practical steps to improve cashflow & confidence to the supply chain
- increasing regularity of client updates via online meetings
- clearly advising on each of the parties rights & obligations under the contract.
De-risk and be proactive
Keep the momentum going on your project by planning what to do and how to do it. There are plenty of things that can be done during the shutdown of your site so that once it resumes, you’ll be prepared and on track.
We can help with:
- Minimising costs and the impact the shutdown will have
- mitigation strategies to continue works efficiently
- loss and expense claims as a result of delayed programmes
- putting a health and safety plan in place to incorporate social distancing on site
- making the most of the downtime to get back on track, (e.g. risk workshops, preparing implementation of new risk register, obtaining remaining statutory consents and agreeing firm costs that weren’t fixed).
Looking ahead
The future may look hazy, and in construction you never know what’s around the corner, but this doesn’t mean you can’t prepare. We believe it’s essential to think ahead with both live projects and ones in the pipeline:
We can work with you on your live projects to:
- prepare for different outcomes and scenarios at each stage of a project with expertly prepared programmes
- cashflow test each of the programme scenarios
- produce a detailed restart/rescale plan with your construction team now
- prepare contract agreements to lock prices with the contractor now for a given period.
We can also help with your projects in the pipeline by:
- strategically planning which potential future projects are most suitable
- breaking down pre-construction stages into more comfortable bite size pieces for instruction to maintain momentum
- working with contractors to understand the impact on tender costs when cost planning
- obtaining contractor tenders to be held open for acceptance, together with set criteria for agreeing any increases to avoid re-tendering.
Typically, new build projects take 12-18 months from inception to site so don’t fall into the trap of shelving projects. Keep the momentum going with the design and procurement stages.
Here to help
We’re keeping a close eye on developments and will update you regularly.
If you’re unsure about anything during this difficult time, need help or there’s something we haven’t mentioned, we want to know. We pride ourselves on our expert advice and are ready to help.
If you’ve worked with us before, you know what we can do. If you’re new to working with us, we’re available to help manage you through this complicated situation.
Nothing has changed. You can still ‘Be Totally Confident’ in us.
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