|
Contractual conditions need to be framed to define the rights and obligations of both the contractor as well as the firm. ER. JAGVIR GOYAL, Deputy Director, Civil Hydel Design and Construction, Chandigarh, on what's necessary to complete construction projects on time. Government departments find it easier to assign construction works on a contractual basis, rather than getting them executed departmentally. But often, many contracts end up in a dispute resulting in the holding up of the contractor's payments, filing of claims, acrimony, arbitration, litigation and the eventual delay in the completion of the work. It is high time that contractual conditions are framed to clearly define rights and obligations. Foolproof contracts The onus of preparing a foolproof contract lies upon the department that inserts the data and clauses to minimise the disputes. It therefore requires greater professionalism to frame the contract so that it is adequate - legally and practically. No misinterpretations should be allowed to occur. Sub-soil investigations Among the various measures undertaken to make foolproof contracts, the most important is to carry out adequate subsoil investigations by the department and to provide accurate subsoil geological and hydrological data in the contract. At present, almost all contracts carry a standard condition stating: "The contractor shall carry out his investigations at site before tendering and quote his rates accordingly, and no claims shall be entertained by the department on account of change in subsoil conditions." Generally, the contractor has very little time before the submission of his tender, and hence cannot carry out any subsoil investigations. Disputes arise when the subsoil conditions encountered during the execution of work force the contractor to incur extra labour and time, or deploy extra plant and machinery. The data depicted in the contract document should be accurate enough, to the extent that actual conditions differ from it only within permissible tolerance limits. Approach roads Almost every contract carries a standard clause that the contracting firm shall make a visit to the work site and examine various approaches available to transport men, machinery and materials. It is further written that no such expenditure shall be incurred by the client on providing approach roads, strengthening of any bridges on the way, making the work site accessible and so on - and the contractor should keep this aspect in view while quoting his rates. Contracting firms visit the site but do not pay due attention to this aspect. Later, disputes arise. It may not be possible for a contracting firm to create approaches, as the land does not belong to it. Therefore, the client should ensure that good approach is available. However, it may ask the contractor to take temporary strengthening measures into account. Space for labour huts Large projects have a lot of land available and the contractors are allowed to raise temporary huts for accommodating labour. Their final bills are cleared on completion of work when they have removed the huts and restored the land to the original level. Today, there is greater vigilance and labour laws are implemented according to rules. The punishment is also severe if wages clause, EPF deposit rules, etc, are not followed. Most of these clauses are part of the tender specification and contract document. Thus, the department or client steers itself clear of these responsibilities. In some cases, the department is declared the principal employer and it has to ensure that the contractor is following the labour laws. Otherwise, it is supposed to s a part of contractor's payments, which in turn affects the progress of work. This aspect must be kept in view while quoting rates or signing contracts. Work drawings The tender specifications and the schedule of quantities should be based on final work drawings and not on preliminary ones. All the work drawings should be kept ready before the calling of tenders. Currently, it is normal procedure to prepare the final drawings after the allotment of work, while the tenders are called on the basis of preliminary drawings. This results in a large variation in quantities of various items, leading to extra claims by the contractor. In addition, once the work is allotted to a contractor, he may influence the design and drawing staff to involve such specifications in the drawings prepared later which are most suitable to him with respect to his quoted rates. Contractors quote very high rates for those items whose quantity is very small. Due to less quantity, there is hardly any loading on their evaluated tender. Later, they influence the design and drawing section to incorporate these items in the final drawings. The result is that the quantities of the items quoted highly by them are increased, increasing their profits. Quantity variation clause A clear and viable 'quantity variation clause' should also be included in the contract document before the calling of tenders. According to this clause, a quantity variation of not more than 15 per cent of the tendered quantity should be allowed for each item, further limiting to an overall ceiling of 10 per cent variation in the tender cost. It should be further analysed whether the contractor to whom the work was allotted still remained lowest or not, after accounting for the variation in quantities. If not so, the new lowest one may drag the department into the court of law for 'intentional manipulation in the contract'. Printing errors No mistakes should be permitted in the preparation of the contract document. There should not be any typing or printing errors. A number of cases have been noticed where the contractors have got large claims due to a missing coma, full s or semicolons in the tenders. Logically, the department was right - but legally the contractors won. The tender document should be easy to understand, properly printed and bound without any cuttings or overwriting. Workspace Every contract should mention the exact coordinates of the worksite and the workspace available to contractor. The site should be free from encumbrances. Its levelling readings with respect to permanent benchmark should be recorded so that any manipulations in earthwork can be eliminated. The land acquisition should be completed in advance so that no delay occurs on this account after allotment of work. Price escalation and arbitration clauses The escalation clause and the arbitration clause should be incorporated in the tender document. Departments often tend to delete the arbitration clause from the contract and the contractor is forced to move the court for redressal. Rather, the system of arbitration should be streamlined for early decisions. Both parties should jointly appoint an arbitrator, who should be a reputed, learned and unbiased person. Many contracts fail in the court of law as they have been declared partial, unilateral or one-sided. It is normal for the department to put in so many one-sided clauses that for every fault, crime, error or act of overlooking, the contractor is held responsible. The contract document should be equitable, fair and acceptable to both parties. The department should take legal advice before floating tenders or entering into a contract. Besides, every department should prepare a standard tender document and should get it legally vetted and use it in the tendering process. Completion period When work on a project progresses at a snail's pace, there is often high-level pressure to execute the project quickly. This causes panic, and tenders are floated prescribing unrealistic completion periods. The contractor does not object to such a short completion period, either for fear of disqualification or under the impression that he will 'manage' to get an extension at a later stage. However, if the extension is not granted, he is penalised. Under such conditions, work may suffer or s and disputes may occur. Selection of contractors Contractors should be selected on the basis of their qualification, experience, extent of manpower, and plant and machinery, including financial options. Further, during tough competition, contractors take the risk of quoting very low or unpractical rates. The department should reject tenders with non-workable rates; the result may be bad quality of work, or work spage causing loss to both the parties. Once the contract has been signed, it is not easy to rescind. There are clauses of getting the work done at the contractor's risk and cost, but the department refrains from using them as the court of law is immediately moved by the contractor to seek stay orders. This results in the work coming to a standstill. It is, therefore, better to resolve all ambiguities at the time of entering into the contract itself and to have a fair, equitable and workable contract. Conmix: Quality Plasters After serving the customers of the UAE well, Conmix Ltd is now well positioned to cater to the demands of the Indian construction industry, with branch offices in major Indian cities. CONMIX Ltd, the largest manufacturer of pre-mixed plaster products, and one of the leading ready-mixed concrete suppliers in the United Arab Emirates, was established in 1975 as a joint venture company between Bukhatir Investments Ltd, German Gulf Enterprises Ltd, of the United Arab Emirates, and Karl Epple GmbH of Germany. The main plant of CONMIX, situated in the industrial area of Sharjah, is spread over 21,580 sq m of land with a covered area of about 15,100 sq m. It also has a plant in Dubai and Umm Al Quwain. Production Production facilities include five fully computerised concrete batching plants with a combined capacity of 430 cu m per hour. Presence With two plaster plants in the United Arab Emirates, and through a network of distributors in more than 20 countries, including the GCC, the near East, East Africa, and Bangladesh, CONMIX has been selling up to 7,000 tonnes monthly of dry pre-mixed plaster products. CONMIX (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED, a wholly owned subsidiary company of Conmix Limited, UAE, was established in India in 1999. With the pre-mixed plaster production facilities located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and branch offices in all major towns and cities in India, the company is well positioned to cater to the demands of the construction industry in India. Quality Apart from being an ISO 9001 certified company, every product in its extensive range meets all the relevant BS, ASTM and DIN standards. Fully approved by the municipal authorities in Sharjah and Dubai, Conmix products undergo a very strict quality check and only those that meet the required standards are supplied to the building projects. Applications CONMIX ready-mixed concrete and pre-mixed plasters and mortars form an integral part of numerous buildings and civil engineering works throughout the Middle East and elsewhere. Some of the prestigious projects completed with Conmix material include international airports, highway interchanges, palaces, hotels, schools, universities, housing complexes, villas, shopping malls, office blocks, banks and hospitals. Products CONMIX manufactures a wide range of gypsum and cement-based, pre-mixed spray plasters for internal and external application and specialised non-shrink grouts, ensuring greater efficiency and cost saving with quality finishing. Advantages The advantages of CONMIX pre-mixed plasters are: • Consistent quality of raw materials and finished products • They can be spray-applied, saving time and labour costs • Special mixes can be designed to suit specific requirements • Decorative plasters are available in various colours • Chemical additives are added for better performance and durability • All raw materials are premixed at factory - only water needs to be added at site • They are packaged in easy-to-handle paper bags (20, 25, 33, 40 and 50 kg) • They can be stored in dry conditions for six to 12 months • Technical support is provided by the manufacturer. Human resources Construction companies are increasingly relying on Conmix products because of the quality of its product and the renowned reliability of its service. German-managed Conmix has a team of more than 280 skilled and trained multinational employees with highly experienced engineers and laboratory personnel. The company's technical advisers are always on hand to assess projects and recommend suitable products and cost-effective systems.
Conmix believes in constantly upgrading and improving its existing product lines and introducing new and innovative products in keeping with the times.
|
