NEC People Conference 2025 – London

Introduction

Lower Thames Crossing Project with National Highways

Project 13 How Enterprise Delivery Models Enable Better Outcomes

Delivering Infrastructure for the 21st Century - the CECA view

What is the State of the UK Construction industry?

Legal Challenges and Opportunities: NEC’s race to the future

NEC4: Taming Commercial Chaos

What’s the Snag with Defects?

Disallowed Costs in NEC4 Contracts: Avoiding the contractual and commercial pitfalls

Mock Adjudication

Z Clause of the Year Award

Question Time Panel

Widely respected for his extensive experience with contract management and digital transformation, Walker founded CEMAR in 2003 to help large-scale infrastructure projects manage New Engineering Contracts (NEC) and International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) contracts. CEMAR proved instrumental in delivering iconic projects for National Highways, Nuclear New Build, ITER, Heathrow Airport, HS2, Network Rail, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Its rapid adoption across the industry led to its acquisition by Thinkproject in 2018.

Charles is a high performing Construction Barrister, Chartered Quantity Surveyor, Chartered Civil Engineering Surveyor and head of chambers at New Temple Chambers. Charles is a legal expert in Construction and Engineering Law and is sought after in large scale major and complex construction, engineering and infrastructure disputes.

Chair of the Infrastructure Client Group (ICG), including Project 13: A New Delivery Model for Infrastructure. He has led a number of industry initiatives, including the ICE Alliancing Best Practice Report and Code of Practice (2016). Dale was formerly Managing Director of the Anglian Water alliance, responsible for overall management of the @one alliance and an Executive member of the @one Alliance Board. Prior to this Dale held a number of senior management roles in asset management, operations and in the development of international concession contracts. His career has included periods in the UK, US and New Zealand. Dale is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a Chartered Civil Engineer and an MBA.

David Allen is a Chartered Civil Engineer with a background operationally in contracting across many sectors that include highways, rail, aviation, port & marine, telecom and general civil engineering . Delivering for both public and private sector clients. He also spent some time with a design consultant earlier in his career. David joined the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (Southern) Ltd as Executive Director in 2018 where has looked to create a window between the CECA members and the wider industry. He engages with industry and its influencers looking to both increase respective party awareness and to promote the value that collaborative working across these interfaces can bring to outcomes.

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.

Katharina is a senior leader in infrastructure National Highways with experience delivering complex projects.

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 is a commercial director who has spent 30 years working in the UK engineering and construction industry. He is a chartered surveyor and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has enthusiasm for contract strategy and collaborative working. Current role is commercial director for Dalkia Engineering and previously worked for Costain in the delivery of UK infrastructure, and NG Bailey. Recently joined the steering group of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition. Matthew joined the NEC Panel in 2005 and now sits on the NEC4 Board.

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.

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

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, technical, and construction 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. For more information, visit http://www.rimkus.com

As Oracle Primavera specialists and members of the Oracle Partner Network, RPC offer the full end-to-end lifecycle for providing a Primavera solution, creating a holistic environment in which programmes and projects are routinely completed on time and within budget – and expected returns on investment are fully realised.Our innovative pre-built Oracle Unifier solutions enable clients to expedite the deployment of previously complex project controls solutions across a number of common business areas, including Contract Management and Earned Value.Deploying Oracle’s Unifier Accelerator with NEC4 Contract Management delivers not only a comprehensive system for managing and controlling your NEC4 Contracts, but direct links to Cost Management, Scheduling via P6 and the reporting capabilities that this offers, creating what we believe to be the most powerful and fully integrated projects control platform available.RPC is proud to be 100% employee owned, guaranteeing our customers the highest level of service and commitment from every single member of the team, providing:• 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 hostingGet in touch to find out how we can help you to transform your project controls.

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.