Blog 025 - Pre-Start Post-COVID

You have spent weeks paging through the enquiry, back and forth with the tender queries, completed the take off, reviewed supplier quotes and compiled your best and final offer tender. Great news, you’ve been successful! As a Specialist Contractor we all know what is coming next, the inevitable phone call or email from the Contractor’s site team, expecting you to start tomorrow!

Stop and remember the basics.

Still have your pre-start meeting. During times like this, it might not be feasible to all pile into the meeting room in the site cabins, but this is no reason to not have a meeting at all. There is always a lot to be said for having the meeting in person, you get the chance to start building the relationships and look the people in the eye who will have a large part to play in whether this project is a success for you. Times change, one day we will be back there, but for now, get on zoom and hold the meeting. The adaptability of video conferencing means that you can have the right people at the meeting, calling in from different locations, not just the best blend of people that were available at the time.

Just because the meeting is video conferencing, doesn’t mean you avoid any of the formalities of the pre-start meeting. Ahead of the meeting request an agenda or better yet, issue a copy of the pre-start meeting minutes downloaded from here. These will serve as the basis of the meeting and ensure you remember to cover all the important points.

Given the ongoing issues with supply chains having temporary shutdowns due to COVID outbreaks and the like, it is important to clarify in this meeting (and make a record of it!) whether or not your offer makes allowance for delay or disruption due to coronavirus restrictions. At this stage of the game, there can be no pretending that you were not reasonably aware of the potential disruption that could be caused by Coronavirus, its now just determining who is to be the owner of the risk. Be open and be clear about how you agree to manage or allocate this risk. Ambiguity will benefit nobody in this instance.

We have a pending Brexit, this is likely to have many different effects on UK trade, most we will only find out with the passage of time, but two things you need discussed and recorded now are:

1. Whether you have made allowance in your bid for Tariff changes in January 2020

2. Whether your lead times are expected to increase

Again, get these matters discussed and the agreements recorded.

The pre-start will not be only meeting that has gone online, its likely any design team meetings that you may need to have in the pre-construction phase will be held in the same way. Please consider carefully how much design communication is “in the room” and in person “sketching”? It still remains to be seen if this is going to increase design times, it could be said that it could improve the process, people are more readily available for a zoom call, so you could have them more regularly. Whatever the outcome, ensure you have allocated sufficient programme time for this design process and agreed turn around times for drawing comment during pre-contract.

Ultimately, things have changed and it is up to the pioneers that are the Construction Managers and Quantity Surveyors to make the best of this situation and ensure that Trade Contractor’s continue to operate in a professional manner, serving their clients needs and protecting their own businesses.

If you want to discuss further, or want assistance preparing for a pre-start meeting, drop me an email.