CIVL3813: Contracts Formulation and Management (2013 - Semester 2)
| Unit: | CIVL3813: Contracts Formulation and Management (6 CP) |
| Mode: | Normal-Day |
| On Offer: | Yes |
| Level: | Senior |
| Faculty/School: | Civil Engineering |
| Unit Coordinator/s: |
Ms Wright, Julie
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| Session options: | Semester 2 |
| Versions for this Unit: |
| Campus: | Camperdown/Darlington |
| Pre-Requisites: | None. |
| Brief Handbook Description: | The objectives of this unit are to give students a fundamental knowledge of the legal system and contract terms under which projects are generally conducted. Emphasis will be on the principles of contract formulation, administration and finalisation, including prevention and/or settlement of disputes. At the end of this unit, students will have both legal and practical knowledge in the field of project management and contract administration, within a legal framework. The syllabus comprises brief overview of the legal system in Australia and comparison with other legal systems introduction to project delivery systems and the running of a typical project, introduction to contract law and the formation of contracts, the principles of standard form contracts as well as bespoke drafting, an understanding of the risks undertaken by the different contracting parties, a detailed review of a standard contract promoting an understanding of major project issues such as time, variations and payment; implementation and administration; potential liabilities associated with project participation; contract conditions and specifications; management of claims for variations and extensions of time; notification requirements including time bar, understanding the commercial significance of issues such as latent conditions, subcontracting, bank guarantees and security of payment legislation. |
| Assumed Knowledge: | CIVL3805. Students are expected to have grasped the concepts of basic legal and management principles and the understanding of construction and engineering terminologies. As there is no any prerequisite courses for this UoS, without prior knowledge student can perform exceptionally well with regular attendance and participation in course activities. |
| Lecturer/s: |
Ms Wright, Julie
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| Timetable: | CIVL3813 Timetable | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Time Commitment: |
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| T&L Activities: | Tutorial: Students will be given case studies to work through problems to reinforce the fundamentals of each weekly subject. |
Attributes listed here represent the key course goals (see Course Map tab) designated for this unit. The list below describes how these attributes are developed through practice in the unit. See Learning Outcomes and Assessment tabs for details of how these attributes are assessed.
| Attribute Development Method | Attribute Developed |
| An understanding of how to read and administer a contract, including the appropriate documentation required. | Information Seeking (Level 2) |
| An ability to communicate effectively, clearly and concisely a contractual position to the relevant audience. Appreciation of the importance of effective communication in a dispute forum. |
Communication (Level 3) |
| Fundamental knowledge of the law, especially the law of contracts, as it relates to managing engineering and construction contracts. | Professional Conduct (Level 2) |
For explanation of attributes and levels see Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table.
Learning outcomes are the key abilities and knowledge that will be assessed in this unit. They are listed according to the course goal supported by each. See Assessment Tab for details how each outcome is assessed.
Information Seeking (Level 2)
1. Be able to read and understand the basic requirements of an engineering or construction contract, including the rights and obligations of each party, the order of precedence of contract documents, and time restrictions.
2. Develop a working knowledge of the appropriate documentation required when administering contracts, giving/receiving notices, claims, applications for variations/extensions of time/payment.
Communication (Level 3)
3. Be able to communicate effectively, clearly and concisely a contractual position to the relevant audience.
4. Be able to recognise the importance of effective communication in a dispute forum, including principled negotiation.
Professional Conduct (Level 2)
5. Be able to identify the requirements for the formation of valid contracts.
6. Be able to understand how contract clauses deal with major issues such as time, claims, variations, and payment.
7. Be able to identify issues which may give rise to disputes, and appreciate how to minimise and manage disputes.
| Assessment Methods: |
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| Assessment Description: |
Mid-Sem Exam: Multiple-choice exam based on the first half of the semester lectures. Final Exam: Combined multiple-choice and long form problem question exam testing subjects taught throughout the semester |
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| Grading: |
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| Faculty Policies & Procedures: | Academic Honesty in Coursework. All students must submit a cover sheet for all assessment work that declares that the work is original and not plagiarised from the work of others. Coursework assessment and examination policy. The faculty policy is to use standards based assessment for units where grades are returned and criteria based assessment for Pass/Fail only units. Norm referenced assessment will only be used in exceptional circumstances and its use will need to be justified to the Undergraduate Studies Committee. Special consideration for illness or misadventure may be considered when an assessment component is severely affected. This policy gives the details of the information that is required to be submitted along with the appropriate procedures and forms. Special Arrangements for Examination and Assessment. In exceptional circumstances alternate arrangements for exams or assessment can be made. However concessions for outside work arrangements, holidays and travel, sporting and entertainment events will not normally be given. Student Appeals against Academic Decisions. Students have the right to appeal any academic decision made by a school or the faculty. The appeal must follow the appropriate procedure so that a fair hearing is obtained. Note that policies regarding assessment submission, penalties and assessment feedback depend upon the individual unit of study. Details of these policies, where applicable, will be found above with other assessment details in this unit outline. All university policies can be found at http://sydney.edu.au/policy Various request forms for the Faculty of Engineering and IT can be found at http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/forms/ |
| Prescribed Text/s: |
Note: Students are expected to have a personal copy of all books listed.
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Note that the "Weeks" referred to in this Schedule are those of the official university semester calendar https://web.timetable.usyd.edu.au/calendar.jsp
| Week | Description |
| Week 1 | Introduction to the subject, to engineering and construction projects, to Standard Form Contract AS 4300-1995, an outline of the Australian legal system; parliament and the courts. |
| Week 2 | Basics of contract formation; offer, acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, capacity. |
| Week 3 | Payment and security of payment, including the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW). |
| Week 4 | The terms of the contract and standard of performance, how to read contract documents, how terms are implied, rules of interpretation, qualtiy of work, defects. |
| Week 5 | Tenders and project delivery models. |
| Week 6 | Time part 1 - practical completion, extnesions of time, liquidated damages. |
| Assessment Due: Mid-Sem Exam | |
| Week 7 | Time part 2 - programming and float, acceleration, delay and disruption. |
| Week 8 | Variations, what are they, time and cost consequences. |
| Week 9 | The Superintendent and security for performance, injunctions. |
| Week 10 | Other legal and practical project issues including latent conditions, subcontracting, novation, insurance, indemnities. |
| Week 11 | Disputes part 1 - claims, notices, time bars, record keeping, pro-formas, checklists, suspension. |
| Week 12 | Disputes part 2 - breach of contract, essential terms, default and insolvencey, repudiation, termination. |
| Week 13 | Dispute resolution methods, litigation, arbitration, mediation, conciliation, expert determination, adjudication, negotiation. |
| STUVAC (Week 14) | Consolidate knowledge from first half of semester, note relevant clauses of standard form contract. |
| Exam Period | Review tutorial materials for long form problem question solving examples. |
| Assessment Due: Final Exam |
Course Relations
The following is a list of courses which have added this Unit to their structure.
Course Goals
This unit contributes to the achievement of the following course goals:
| Attribute | Practiced | Assessed |
| Information Seeking (Level 2) | Yes | 28.58% |
| Communication (Level 3) | Yes | 28.58% |
| Professional Conduct (Level 2) | Yes | 42.87% |
These goals are selected from Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table which defines overall goals for courses where this unit is primarily offered. See Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table for details of the attributes and levels to be developed in the course as a whole. Percentage figures alongside each course goal provide a rough indication of their relative weighting in assessment for this unit. Note that not all goals are necessarily part of assessment. Some may be more about practice activity. See Learning outcomes for details of what is assessed in relation to each goal and Assessment for details of how the outcome is assessed. See Attributes for details of practice provided for each goal.
