Project Management

Construction Law, Contract Administration, Project Management, Statutory Adjudication

Unveiling the Veil: The Complex Role of Superintendents and QS in Construction Projects

By Dr Samer Skaik

In the intricate dance of construction projects, the roles of superintendents and financier-appointed quantity surveyors (QS) are central yet often enveloped in complexity. These roles are critical in maintaining contractual integrity and financial oversight. However, their independence and impartiality are subjects of ongoing legal scrutiny. This post delves into the delicate balance these professionals must maintain, guided by insights from landmark legal cases.

Construction Industry, Construction Technology, General Management, PMP Hints, Project Management

COVID-19: How to make the transformation into online operations more effective?

By Dr Samer Skaik

With the unprecedented outbreak of the coronavirus across the globe, many universities and schools have been initiating projects to transform their operations from ‘face to face’ to virtual environments aided by various technologies. This call seems to be inevitable since the outbreak will continue to evolve for at least another six months. In this context, three demanding questions come into play:

Construction Law, Project Management

Legal project management: Intuitive or something else?

An interactive oral presentation by Dr Samer Skaik at the 2018 National Conference of Society of Construction Law Australia in Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia. The presentation will make it simple for you to fully understand the concept of project management and how to apply a simple methodology to manage projects in any discpline not only law firms.
Civil Engineering, Construction Industry, Construction Law, Construction Technology, Contract Administration, General Management, PMP Hints, Procurement Management, Project Management, Statutory Adjudication

Launching My Channel on YouTube

By Dr Samer Skaik

Very recently, I have launched a channel on Youtube. This channel aims to provide integrated, handy and focused educational materials for those interested in developing their competencies in construction project management, professional practice and leadership. My aim is to help raise the bar by providing sound, solid and up-to-date knowledge for students, graduates and professionals in the construction sector. The channel, in addition to the videos, includes other interesting educational playlists. You can display the playlists chronologically if you are keen to develop a robust understanding in the field and advance progressively towards mastering the subject. …

Contract Administration, Procurement Management, Project Management

FIDIC’s Middle Eastern launch for the new contracts

The FIDIC Middle East Contract Users’ Conference in Dubai is your opportunity to gain exclusive analysis and best practice guidance on the three new FIDIC contracts.

In order to provide accurate and balanced information, the FIDIC Contracts Committee will be joined by distinguished professionals and contract users from across the region and will also be delivering insights on successfully using the full FIDIC Suite, managing major projects, mitigating risks and resolving disputes in the Middle East. …

Civil Engineering, Construction Industry, Construction Law, Construction Technology, Contract Administration, General Management, PMP Hints, Procurement Management, Project Management, Statutory Adjudication, Sustainability

Launching CMGuide Inaugural Mentoring Programme

We are very delighted to launch the Inaugural Mentoring Programme targeting graduates and early-career professionals in the construction industry.

This is a free service initiated and operated by CMGuide and led by CMGuide Founder (Dr Samer Skaik). The mentoring programme is targeting ambitious graduates and early-career professionals in the construction industry. The programme is only available in Australia. We encourage prospective and interested mentors in Australia who have the experience in any of the mentoring areas to join our ‘Mentors Panel’ ASAP so we can serve and enrol more mentees in the programme. Interested mentors should mention the mentoring area and availability arrangement so we can properly match mentees (protégé) with appropriate mentors. It is completely up to the mentors and mentees once to discuss and agree the mentoring arrangement during the mentoring year such as mentoring duration (not less than 6 months), communication method, frequency of meetings, level of support, etc.  …

Construction Industry, Construction Law, Contract Administration, Project Management, Statutory Adjudication

The Mechanism of the Australian Statutory Adjudication in a Nutshell

By Samer Skaik

Many construction practitioners in Australia face difficulties in understanding the mechanism of the Statutory Adjudication and how it differs from a State to another. While it is important to point out that the Australian Acts are different, there are a number of common mechanisms. Typically, a person entitled to a progress payment for carrying out construction work (or supplying related goods and services) had to seek recovery of any unpaid amounts via lengthy legal proceedings in arbitration or court. As such, parliament enacted the Security of Payment (SoP) legislation to protect the rights of such persons and facilitate rapid recovery of due payment. The SoP legislation provides statutory rights enabling quick and inexpensive recovery of progress payment for any subcontractor or supplier performing construction works or supplying related goods and services. To facilitate these rights, the SoP introduced a rapid adjudication process to resolve payments disputes. …

Construction Law, Contract Administration, General Management, Project Management

Contractual disputes: how to resolve them

By MATTHEW SHOWLER and PARNIKA CHATURVEDI

The UAE is one of the fastest-growing economies, where the construction industry is the third-largest sector after oil and trade. More than 6,000 construction companies operate in the country, with most construction activities taking place in the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The emergence of the industry in the UAE dates back to the 1950s in Dubai when Sheikh Saaed bin Maktoum, together with his son Rashid, decided to transform the emirate into a ‘permanent haven for coastal shipping’ and launched the Dubai Creek improvement project. The construction industry’s growth rate is expected to remain positive, as a result of increased government expenditure on developing infrastructure and industrial construction in the country. …

Construction Law, Contract Administration, Procurement Management, Project Management

How will you benefit from 2016’s most comprehensive construction law advice?

If your team would benefit from detailed and intensive guidance on all the key aspects of international construction and engineering law then you might want to take a look at the annual Construction Law Summer School.

2016 sessions include:

FIDIC; NEC3; termination & insolvency; time & delay; global claims & disputes; dispute boards; international arbitration; EU procurement regime; tendering liabilities; civil code; ADR. See more topics on the agenda.

Construction Industry, Construction Law, Contract Administration, Project Management, Statutory Adjudication

CMGuide’s Director Highly Commended for Australian Brooking Prize in Construction Law

The Founder and Director of Construction Management Guide, Samer Skaik, was highly commended for his submission ‘Taking Statutory Adjudication to the Next Level: Legislative Review Mechanisms of Erroneous Determinations’  in the 2016 Australian Society of Construction Law Brooking Prize. The paper effectively summarizes the core merits of his PhD research in that area.

The criteria used for awarding commendations include originality of thoughts and contribution to the construction law or its application in the industry as well as the quality of analysis, the freshness of ideas and the value of the work.

A more detailed version of that paper will also appear in the upcoming edition of International Construction Law Review Journal. …

Construction Law, Contract Administration, General Management, Procurement Management, Project Management

Can alliancing work in the Gulf?

By STUART JORDAN

In the eyes of many people in our industry, the Middle East construction industry is old fashioned and not very open to new ideas. This view implies that new ideas are good ideas – which isn’t always the case.
Certainly, in the case of construction procurement models, the Gulf remains quite attached to single-stage competitive lowest price tender selection. Everyone knows where they stand and, as between employers and contractors, they stand quite far apart from each other! Relationships tend to be arm’s-length and driven by the formalities of the tender process. And the terms of the contracts formed in this way tend also to be tougher on contractors than we see in other parts of the world. …

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