NEC People Conference London 2024

Introduction

Practical Early Warnings

Is my NEC Contract Healthy? People, Profit and Process

NEC, Ground Conditions and Geotechnical Baseline Reports

Z clauses: Clarity or Curse?

State of the industry review

Want to know what Clause 10.3 should say?

Managing Compensation Events in the real world

Contract versus Ethics? Old rules for new times

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – what does it mean for our industry?

NEC Integrated Project Controls

Delivering Infrastructure for the 21st Century - the CECA view

Who wants to be an NEC millionaire

Question Time Panel

Andy Thompson is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, but one who has spent the last 20 years working in, on and around NEC Contracts, predominantly in the Highways Sector in the UK and Ireland. He is proud to say that none of those projects have ever needed to go to a formal dispute. Today he mixes the roles of NEC Project Manager – he is currently PM on 3 NEC ECC Projects, and Employer’s Representative on another contract under the Irish Public Works form – and delivering NEC Training and independent Consultancy through his own company, drawing on that current, real life experience. He has worked on the development, tendering and implementation of NEC’s of (almost!) all types and sizes and spanning ECC, PSC and TSC and their various short and subcontract variants.

Barry Trebes FRICS, FAPM, FInstCES is Director of Trebes Consulting Limited: A construction professional with over 30 years’ experience in major projects including transportation, infrastructure, utilities, building projects in the UK and overseas. Procurement experience across a wide range of market sectors. Developed and led NEC training and advice support services in Needleman’s and initiated collaboration with MPS Limited in 1998 to development of the first web-based NEC contract management system named CCM. An active contributor to the body of knowledge on NEC3 and NEC 4 contracts which including co-authoring ‘Managing Reality’ a 5 book set on the practical administration of NEC3 and NEC4 ECC contracts, NEC3/4 ECC Role of the Project Manager, NEC3/4 ECC Role of the Supervisor, NEC4 TSC Role of the Service Manager, Global Risk Assessment Strategic Planning all published by ICE publishing with the objective of giving practical advice and support in the use of the NEC and project risk. Experienced trainer and facilitator.

Business Development Executive, RPCuk. Chris joined RPCuk in 2020 but has been working in the project controls arena for 13 years. The last 10 of these have been spent dealing with software solutions for the likes of Oracle and Aconex, giving him extensive experience across a wide array of organisations within the public and private sectors and across a number of specialist disciplines, such as document control, cost management and change management – predominantly NEC contracts. With this background, he is both excited and wellplaced to help RPC to bring their innovative Oracle Primavera Unifier Solution Sets to market. He fully understands the need – common to all industries using NEC4 contracts – for an efficient, trusted and integrated solution that offers compliance, a high level of control, collaborative working practices and a reliable way to mitigate risk and has extensive experience in working with clients to shape the solution that best meets their requirements.

Dr Jon Broome has over twenty-five years involvement with the NEC family of contracts as an academic, author, trainer and consultant. As an academic, Jon studied under one of its two co-instigators gaining the world’s first PhD through applied research on its use.His finding was fed back into the second edition and third editions, for which his contributions were acknowledged. He has also led the development of the Professional Services Short Contract, in developing the concept and drafting the clauses.As an author, he has numerous articles and academic papers published, is the author of the highly praised book ‘NEC: A User’s Guide’ series of books (with the NEC4 version published last year) and, together with Glenn Hide, wrote the NEC3 eLearning Academy from Built Intelligence.As a trainer, he has delivered over 800 days of training around the world on all aspects of the contract.As a consultant, he prefers to be involved in the front end helping develop contract strategy, particularly for complex projects, from which he has written additional clauses, critiqued and developed the other contract clauses, helped run the selection process and then trained the team

Glenn Hide: Director of GMH Planning Ltd which for over 18 years has provided specialist training/consultancy and management resources to those working and administering under the NEC family of contracts. His engaging practical training style has led to a large proportion of the industry calling on GMH Planning for their NEC contract training. Glenn has presented on aspects of the contract at various national conferences and had published into the industry a number of articles. Glenn is the founder of the NEC People LinkedIn Group from which this annual conference has emerged which now has over 12,200 active users and by far the biggest discussion forum for NEC in the UK.

Marie-Claude Hemming is an experienced communications and policy professional. Having started her career in public affairs consultancy, she moved to a policy role at the Federation of Small Businesses in 2009, before joining CECA National as Industry and Public Affairs Manager and undertaking a variety of roles in the business, before becoming Director of Operations in 2021. Marie-Claude is media relations and policy lead and has complete oversight of communications and public affairs work. Reporting at board level, she also supports the development of the corporate business plan alongside other operational duties.

Matthew Smith focuses on advising on UK and international transport, energy and infrastructure projects and disputes. He has more than 25 years’ experience in advising on construction and infrastructure projects and has acted for owners, contractors and consultants on many different disputes utilising many different forms of dispute resolution including litigation, arbitration, adjudication and mediation with values into the billions of pounds. Matthew also advises on procurement strategy and contractual arrangements for major infrastructure projects, particularly those utilising the NEC3 and NEC4 forms, FIDIC and bespoke EPC contracts. He has advised on structuring numerous complex and high value projects including light and heavy rail projects, complex systems signalling and special airport system projects, marine, nuclear, LNG, oil and gas refineries, roads, bridges, water, offshore wind farms and FPSOs, tunnelling and pipelines.

Neil is a quantity surveyor and project manager with over 30 years of experience in procuring and managing NEC contracts in the UK construction industry. He is a recognised expert in NEC contracts and as a trainer has delivered over 1,000 NEC Training courses, spoken at numerous national/international conferences, authored articles and had his work published. Neil’s article on key dates is cited in Dr Jon Broome’s NEC4: A User’s Guide which also includes a write-up of a workshop on collaborative working under NEC held at the NEC People Conference which he co-facilitated with Jon. Through his work across many sectors of industry over the years he has built up an extensive practical knowledge of the NEC contracts and how to set them up and manage them to improve the likelihood of successful outcomes from your projects and services.

Nicola Ellis Focuses on advising clients on non-contentious matters, including advising on negotiating and drafting construction documentation and the various forms of dispute resolution. She has extensive experience advising on construction and infrastructure projects, acting for developers, contractors and consultants on numerous standard form contracts (particularly NEC, FIDIC and JCT) and appointments, as well as bespoke forms. She also advises on the construction arrangements for a range of international infrastructure projects including renewable energy power projects. Nicola advised the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors as part of the drafting committee on the 2019 update to its Standard Form Consultants’ Appointment. She has worked on numerous rail projects around the world including both ‘brownfield’ and ‘greenfield’ rail signaling projects in the UK, Qatar and Malaysia. Nicola has extensive experience of NEC3 and 4 and regularly lectures on the subject.

Richard is a chartered civil engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE) and procurement and NEC specialist with global development, engineering and management consultant, Mott MacDonald. Richard was part of the drafting team for NEC4, has been part of the ICE’s working group on procurement, contracts and carbon/net zero and contributed to NEC’s soon to be released secondary option relating to ‘net zero’. Richard leads on NEC for Mott MacDonald and delivers in-house and client training and training for NEC Training, including their 4 day ECC Project Manager accreditation course. Richard is very keen on getting NEC used more widely and has given NEC training in Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Ethiopia, France. Germany, Hong Kong. Ireland, New Zealand, Qatar, Peru, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka and the USA. Richard has contributed to two NEC books, had 7 NEC papers published in ICE’s Proceedings and sat on the Editorial Advisory Panel of the ICE’s journal, Management, Procurement and Law.

Sarah has been with Oracle for a total of six years within the Construction & Engineering Industry Unit. She focuses on Central Government and Transport, helping improve the management of capital programs. With extensive operational experience managing multiple teams across the UK and spearheading digital transformation at Orange, where she transitioned operations from paper and Excel to a fully digital system, Sarah is well-equipped to lead these discussions.

Sarah is a Solicitor-Advocate (2001, 2007) and Mediator accredited by CEDR and CMC (2024), specialising in construction, engineering, technology and infrastructure projects. She is also an accredited CAPMPMI® (with PMP-PMI® in view). Sarah has had a tri-partite legal career: private practice, in-house Senior Counsel at both client (London Underground and TfL) and professional services provider (WSP|Parsons Brinckerhoff) and, since 2014, independent consultant. Her London-headquartered company, Schutte Consulting Limited, has the strapline: “Making law work for the construction and engineering industry” (#SCLGLobal #SCLatSW11) and serves clients globally. She has over two-decades’ experience of working with NEC contracts, designing terms to release collaborative potential, supporting delivery through training and facilitation workshops, and in adjudications. She focusses on putting law in its practical and purposive context, and on confident contract management, leveraging her unusual technical edge.

Simon Fraser has over 35 years of expertise in the Construction Industry, with a focus on Major Projects and Highways. Holding the position of Head of Information Management at Balfour Beatty, Simon’s extensive background spans various disciplines such as project management, design management, and programme and planning. His proficiency in NEC planning, coupled with a decade-long tenure as Bid Manager for Balfour Beatty Major Projects, equips Simon with strategic insight essential for complex infrastructure projects. Simon presently leads Information Management initiatives, pivotal to the success of major projects like Sizewell and Lower Thames Crossing. His leadership ensures streamlined data management and communication, crucial components for project efficiency.

Yosof Ewing is a transformative figure in the construction industry, committed to ensuring subcontractors, whom he calls ‘specialist contractors,’ receive equitable contract terms and timely payments. With nearly 35 years in the field, Yosof spun out his coaching business in October 2022, driven by a personal mission to protect smaller contractors from the abusive actions of larger contractors he witnessed first-hand when his father’s business was forced into liquidation due to non-payment by major construction firms.Yosof empowers specialist contractors with the knowledge and confidence to assert their rights, offering expert guidance in contract negotiations and adjudication. He actively advocates for systemic change in the industry, highlighting the financial and psychological toll of late payments. Yosof’s empathetic approach, rooted in his own experiences, and his innovative solutions have established him as a trailblazer and a trusted advisor in the construction sector, aiming to foster a fairer and more supportive industry environment.

CECA represents civil engineering contractors building and maintaining the UK’s critical infrastructure networks in transport, energy, water, waste and communications. We stand up for the interests of over three hundred firms employing close to 250,000 people and delivering work worth around £15 billion every year. CECA is also a member of the Construction Leadership Council and we maintain close relationships with clients, government and the media to ensure that our members’ views are represented and their expertise is shared as widely as possible. CECA, in addition provides specialist training for its members, publishes a range of key publications, resources and guidance documents. Members also have access to a range of issue-specific briefings which alert members to impending changes in law and policy and to enable members to take action to deliver optimum outcomes for their businesses. CECA is a strong advocate for the Construction Playbook and for fairer and more accessible procurement processes. It has been actively working with the main political parties to promote the importance of infrastructure to the UK economy and need for a visible joined up strategy to efficiently and sustainably deliver and maintain it. CECA also played a key role in driving procurement reform via the Construction Playbook, the Procurement Act and the Cabinet Office (Mosey) Review of Frameworks

Digital Beehive has been at the forefront of digital transformation in the UK construction industry since we released CCM, the first cloud-based NEC Contract Change Management software, over 20 years ago. Now, we are proud to introduce our latest innovation Contract Bee, the next-gen SaaS solution that makes managing construction contracts easier, faster and more compliant than ever. With Contract Bee, you can manage an unlimited number of contracts and frameworks on any web-enabled device. You can also stay on top of your contracts with Live Actions Dashboard and Notifications. Contract Bee’s 360-Notes allow unparalleled and seamless collaboration and communication between all parties.

Gather provides digital site reporting software, creating powerful data-led insights and structured commercial analysis to unlock productivity opportunities in the infrastructure sector and accelerate sustainable construction. By providing granular data insights into the who, what, where, when and why of projects, teams are able to identify risks and opportunities and intervene sooner to navigate challenges before they arise. By aligning data with industry standard methods of measurement, teams can make more informed commercial decisions with quantifiable evidence to drive proactive contract administration and supply chain collaboration.

Since 2006 GMH Planning have provided specialist NEC training, consultancy and resources into organisations who are using the NEC form of contract. Clients who we have provided extensive training programmes to include HS2, CECA, Crossrail, Thames Tideway, London Underground, Heathrow, Parliament, many local authorities as well as to a majority of the main contractors and consultants working in the UK.We provide engaging practical training to delegates who attend our sessions which are run both in-house and as public sessions. We also provide joint training to project teams which allows both Parties to understand the key principles of the contract and their own contract data/Z clauses, allowing them to head off in the right direction in terms of understanding and how to practically follow the rules of the contract. In addition, we provide more general consultancy and advice to clients and contractors, in particular in terms of disputes and also understanding Z clauses on a specific project.The GMH Planning website offers a wealth of free information in the form of guidance material, published articles, downloadable documents and a regular blog, so please visit for more details at gmhplanning.co.uk

K&L Gates LLP are one of the largest law firms in the world. Spanning five continents, we have more than 40 fully integrated offices located in key capital cities and world commercial and financial centres. We offer clients local market knowledge and access to both national and international capabilities. We foster an inclusive and collaborative environment across our fully integrated global platform that enables us to diligently combine the knowledge and expertise of our lawyers and policy professionals to create teams that provide exceptional client solutions. Our construction and infrastructure lawyers are global leaders in construction law. Their knowledge and understanding covers all aspects of a project’s life cycle, from the early stages of finance, development, and design through implementation, construction, and project close-out. Our lawyers draw upon their legal and technical experience to work with clients to minimize disputes and accomplish common project goals on a local, national, and international scale. With full-time, dedicated construction lawyers located in most major cities across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, our firm has one of the largest and most geographically diverse construction law practices in the world. Our extensive global footprint allows us to service our clients’ needs on a multijurisdictional basis and provide insight into the local legal and cultural issues that commonly arise in particular jurisdictions.

It’s painful to see the harm to industry confidence caused by poor planning, blind-sided decisions, and an absence of meaningful controls; Resource challenges, supply chain issues, and a lack of technological adaptation only add to the challenge. Powered by an energetic team of 180+ spanning 14 countries across Europe, North America, Middle East, & APAC, Laminar Projects is a project management consultancy doing things differently; We combine our first-hand construction, engineering, and project knowledge with our digital skills to manage complex projects right down to the details. With these ingredients, we deliver further give certainty and refreshing clarity to project, portfolio and enterprise decision-makers. Whilst streamlining the execution of controls on projects, we integrate the disciplines of realistic planning, cost control, contract administration, risk management, and 4D planning, with award-winning Data & Digital strategies to alleviate the pressures sustained by the most complex projects, giving peace of mind to those involved. Recognition such as the Project Controls Expo Consultancy of the Year further fuels our passion to continuously enhance the industry we love. Such is the desire to drive change that we invest 100% of our profits into software development, creating a suite of construction management applications that we hope will change our industry for the better, one project at a time. To find out more: www.shape.construction / www.laminarprojects.com

The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity is the only charity that provides emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support to the construction community and their families. A crucial element of the charity’s strategy is to provide a wide range of free and widely available pro-active resources to support the industry. The charity offers a free and confidential 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline and text HARDHAT service which provides a range of information, guidance and support on a huge variety of wellbeing issues. These services are complemented by their free Self Support App which offers another route to support, along with their Lighthouse Beacons who provide a safe space for people to share concerns. The Lighthouse Club Wellbeing Academy offers a variety of free soft skills and leadership training delivered across a variety of platforms to suit every learning style from self paced e-learning, tutor led online masterclasses and seminars, through to bespoke onsite training. Their Help Inside the Hard Hat aims to raise awareness of mental health issues in the construction industry and you can join the campaign for better mental health by downloading free resources and site hoardings artwork from their website. If you or anyone you know is struggling, reach out for 24/7 free and confidential support now; 24/7 Construction Industry Helplines; 0345 605 1956, (UK) 1800 939 122 (ROI) Find out more at www.lighthouseclub.org

nPlan is the global market leader in forecasting and de-risking large-scale construction projects with AI. The core of nPlan’s technology is a patented process that involves using ‘deep learning’ to model project outcomes on large volumes of historical construction data. nPlan’s use of AI and historical data effectively nullifies the impact of common biases on the planning process and enables project teams to auto-learn the lessons contained in its dataset of over 550,000 past project schedules at the push of a button. nPlan’s customers–including the likes of Rail Projects Victoria, Infrastructure New South Wales, Shell, Network Rail, HS2, Kier, Costain and Skanska–use its platform to achieve a range of objectives including selecting the best tender for a project, winning more profitable work, delivering projects on time and on budget, de-risking whole portfolios of projects. Founded in 2018, nPlan has created a new gold standard for planning and managing large-scale construction projects. nPlan is headquartered in London with offices in Sydney, Australia and Houston, Texas.

Asset owners and project delivery teams rely on Oracle Construction and Engineering solutions for the visibility and control, connected supply chain, and data security needed to drive performance and mitigate risk across their processes, projects, and organization. Our scalable cloud construction management software solutions enable digital transformation for teams that plan, build, and operate critical assets, improving efficiency, collaboration, and change control across the project lifecycle. www.oracle.com/ construction-and-engineering.

Rimkus is a worldwide provider of engineering and technical consulting to corporations, insurance companies, law firms, and government agencies. Rimkus experts specialise in forensic consulting, dispute resolution and construction management services, solutions for the built environment, and human factors support for the consumer, industrial, and healthcare industries. For more than 40 years, the company’s professional engineers, architects, scientists, and technical specialists have been recognised for their commitment to service excellence by local, national, and international business communities. Rimkus operates more than 110 offices worldwide.

As Oracle Primavera specialists and members of the Oracle Partner Network, RPC has been helping clients to deliver their projects successfully since 1992. We offer the full end-to-end lifecycle for providing a Primavera solution, creating a holistic environment in which programmes and projects are routinely completed successfully – on time and within budget – and expected returns on investment are fully realised. Our innovative pre-built Solution Sets utilise Oracle’s Primavera Unifier and enable clients to expedite the deployment of previously complex project controls solutions across a number of common business areas. These Solution Sets support compliance with NEC3 and NEC4 contract terms and ANSI/EIA-748 Earned Value Management requirements, enable collaborative working practices and improve clients’ project controls and risk mitigation. • World-leading Oracle Primavera EPPM software products • Oracle Specialized Primavera product implementation, integration and reporting consultancy expertise • Oracle Primavera application support • Oracle Primavera product education and training • Oracle SaaS and cloud hosting Using our NEC4 Solution Set, Unifier can deliver not only a more comprehensive system for managing and controlling an NEC4 Contract on its own, but with direct links to Cost Management, Scheduling via P6 and the reporting capabilities that this offers, it becomes what we believe to be the most powerful and fully integrated projects control platform available.

The Contract Coach® is the brainchild of Yosof Ewing, a former specialist contractor who for the last 17 years has recovered tens of millions of pounds for specialist contractors throughout the UK in adjudication. By giving specialist and main contractors the contractual knowledge and confidence needed to negotiate and manage contracts better, he is driving much needed change to the way our industry works. People make construction, so it is critical that those people know what they need to know about contracts and more importantly how to confidently assert and protect their rights in any contract situation. His message to the industry is clear – you are not a subcontractor, you are a specialist contractor, get the respect and the payment you deserve. Watch this space because 2024 will see the launch of a suite of products and services all designed to improve contracting for all.

Thinkproject creates technology solutions for the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) sector that unlock the potential of data seamlessly across the entire asset lifecycle. We drive progress in the industry by accelerating collaboration and innovation, creating a gold standard for industry digitalisation. Our engineering and software experts combine their real-world experience with the power of our platform to give customers digital solutions that allow teams to collaborate and gain a competitive edge. Since 2000, we have helped our customers deliver more than 75,000 projects, achieving the fastest payback period in the sector. Thinkproject also allow/make contract management easy with CEMAR, the leading contract administration tool from Thinkproject. With CEMAR, you can simplify the management of sophisticated contracts and reduce your commercial risk through contract compliance.