The trust in any relationship
by Angela Giuffrida
 While in discussion with a number of contractors over the last few weeks, all alluded to being in talks with other firms about partnering. …
Contract Administration
Contract Administration
Contract Administration
Suspension of works
by Dennis Brand
 Until late last year I was frequently asked by those visiting the UAE and seeing the amount of construction being undertaken, when I thought the construction bubble in the UAE would burst.
My often repeated answer was that I did not think the bubble would burst as such, but would over time slowly deflate; how wrong I was. What we have seen over recent months as a result of what the experts tell us is result of the world wide economic downturn has resulted in an unprecedented number of projects and therefore contracts being suspended. …
Contract Administration
UAE law provides security in construction deal risks
By Jim Delkousis
The UAE has seen a major slowdown of construction projects in recent months, particularly in Dubai. The situation is far from being ideal for players in the construction market.
Trapped with stagnating projects, developers and contractors are facing a recurrent question. What can we do when a project is frozen? Do we take drastic measures such as cancellation of the project? Or shall we wait until conditions improve? …
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Contract Administration
Salaries of engineers have fallen by 15 per cent
Salaries of engineers have fallen by 15 per cent as construction companies reconsider their budgets, said experts.
“The salaries of civil engineers in the country have fallen by 15 per cent for new hires. It’s not like six months back when engineers in the construction sector got a 50 per cent hike when they switched jobs,” said Ian Giulianotti, Associate Director, HRM Consulting, at Nadia Recruitment. …
Contract Administration
The ‘science’ of civil engineering deserves an artistic approach
by Sadek Owainati
[More Images] Engineering is mainly classified as an ‘applied science’ subject, but more often than not, engineers are asked to produce ‘innovative designs’ and propose ‘creative solutions’. This suggests that engineers need to be both scientists and artists. …
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Construction Law, Contract Administration
The UAE’s new arbitration law: is there an easier way?
by Anthony Edwards
 In May, Construction Week reported the UAE’s plan to finalise a new arbitration law, and highlighted various criticisms of the current draft. One contributor was quoted saying that “The point (in arbitration)…is beaten if things get complicated”. Review of the current draft suggests that the criticism reported in May could hardly have abated. …
The UAE’s new arbitration law: is there an easier way?Read More »
Contract Administration
5 tips to manage your manager
Written by Ron Holohan   Â
As a project manager, you are responsible for managing the efforts of your team to insure that your project deliverables are met. But how do you manage one of your most important project stakeholders – your own manager? …
Contract Administration
Estimating Techniques
The following techniques can be used at the project level or activity level, or for any sized work in-between. …
Contract Administration
Create Detail and Summary Activities
If you look at a WBS activity and determine that it needs to be broken down to another level, the original activity becomes known as a “summary” level. A summary activity does not have any work or hours specifically associated with it. It represents a logical roll-up of the activities that are under it. …
Contract Administration
Collecting Metrics Using Surveys
One way to supplement quantifiable metrics is with client satisfaction surveys. For instance, instead of trying to measure the exact response time of an application against some service-level standard, you could simply ask your main users how satisfied they were with the application response time. …
Contract Administration
The cost and benefits of quailty
Building quality steps in the schedule adds a certain amount of effort and cost to the project. However, these incremental costs will be rewarded with shorter timelines and reduced costs throughout the life cycle of the solution. Examples of the cost of quality include: …
Contract Administration
A long term view for Credit Crunch
A long term view for Credit Crunch
by Omar Al Saadoon
Senior Associate Omar Al Saadoon.Construction & Engineering Practice – Al Tamimi & Company
This article might deter short term speculators or pessimists (so called realists) in reading further and if so no hard feelings. I too have noticed a reduction in crane activity and generally less traffic on the Sheikh Zayed Road. I also understand and appreciate the world we have lived in is rapidly changing and the credit crunch is likely to have a profound impact on global construction industries for the foreseeable future. …