So how good are your subbies?  How well do they know your contract, and do they understand your deliverables?

Chances are your project is just another contract to them.  It doesn’t mean that you’re not important to them nor that they don’t work hard for your project but how can they have your back when they don’t understand the contract deliverables that you abide by?

I am seeing more and more penalties and issues surrounding subcontractors than ever.  Here are some of the areas of concern:

• Subcontractor delays in attendance for final fixes causing penalty points or unavailability events.
• Delays in getting parts causing penalty points or unavailability events.
• Extension of Time requests being denied due to long lead times for works or materials.
• Insufficient details in scopes and quotes causing delays in processing Variation and Lifecycle works. This also leads to the inability to demonstrate value for money to other stakeholders.
• Delays in processing invoices for payment because of missing information.  Late payments often end in non attendance and PPM’s being missed whilst disputes are being resolved.
• Insufficient information given in reports and attendance sheets to clearly highlight remedial works leading to delays in following up and processing. This can cause major compliance issues.

These challenges can have a significant impact on a PFI/PPP contract. With the increased scrutiny through audits and performance evaluations, it is now more crucial than ever for contract stakeholders to engage proactively with their supply chain partners.

How many of your contractors truly grasp the distinctions between a PFI contract and a standard maintenance contract? When configuring the contract packages, how much emphasis was placed on Service Level Agreements (SLAs), reporting requirements, quoting procedures and updating planned preventative maintenance (PPM) dockets? Have you considered requesting contractors to document damage with photographic evidence?

Over the last few months I’ve spoken to a number of contractors who carry out a lot of their works on PFI/PPP contracts.  All are eager to help and would welcome the chance to better understand PFI requirements so that they could become a more reliable and useful partner. 

At Nine Acres, we are in the final stages of developing a tailored training program designed for subcontractors seeking to better support PFI/PPP projects. Key topics covered in this training include:

• Effective scoping and quoting for projects: An emphasis on the importance of breaking down labour, materials and markup to expedite approval and processing.
• SLAs, Penalties and Unavailability: Understanding how delays can impact a contract both financially and reputationally and identifying strategies for risk mitigation.
• The critical role of Remedials: Emphasising timely identification and quoting, as well as the essential details necessary to distinguish between requirements and recommendations.
• The importance of Audit Trails: With an emphasis on recording actions, competencies, locations, cause and effect, isolation, final fixes, and future return plans.
• Considerations related to the lifecycle replacement of assets on PFI contracts: Including comparisons between like-for-like quotes and alternatives that offer energy efficiency, ease of maintenance and improved availability of parts.
• CDM (Construction Design and Management), HTMs (Health Technical Memorandums) and other contractual obligations: Summarising potential nuances and standards that may arise in PFI/PPP contracts.
• Guidance on invoice submission: Highlighting the specific information required to expedite payment processing. Most PFI/PPP contracts require a purchase order reference, proof of attendance, correct project/contract references and the receipt of the required reports.

A project is only as good as its weakest link. There is no reason for that weakest link to be your supply chain.

If you think your supply chain could benefit from some PFI training, or if you are a contractor that wants to better understand how you can support and maximise performance for your clients on PFI/PPP projects, then get in contact with Nine Acres. Nine Acres will be tracking all contractors that complete the training which can be shared across the PFI/PPP community.

Drop me a message here, LinkedIn or email me at tgreen@nineacres-amc.com.