Legal Risk Management For Construction Projects

Scope of the Proposed Project

Discuss about the Legal Risk Management for Construction Projects.

Construction projects are the major and leading part of industries. These projects need proper care and support from the government as well as the organization, which is involved in the construction. In the proposed project, the organization O’RALLY ARCHITECTS have been appointed for the renovation of the building of the industry.

This report deals with the scope of the proposed construction project along with the legislations that have to be considered for the project. The two form contracts have also been explained in the assignment that can be adopted for the completion of the project. The risks associated with the contracts have also been discussed.

The construction team from the inception of the project tends to provide delivery effort and cohesive planning to act on the behalf of the owner (Porwal and Hewage 2013). The management services of construction are divided into two major tiers. They are the pre-construction phase/planning design phase and the construction or delivery phase. In the first phase, the construction team is considered as the sounding boards of providing analyzing alternatives and information for both the architect and the owner. At this point, the assistance provided by the construction management team indulges many procedures such as providing the value cost analysis to the architect and the engineer, advising the construction methods to the owner, cost estimation and budgeting and establishment of operational procedures. This phase also includes the bid qualifying and assessment, awarding of the contracts and the contact review and execution phase. The space used, design, energy efficiency, mechanical system, market value and structural integrity were evaluated in the first part itself. The second phase includes providing on-site administration, scheduling of the procedures, developing and maintaining the construction schedules and processing of the changes initiated by the owner. After these procedures, obtaining the building equipment of the owner, operating manuals and the warrant information are indulged. The zero punch lists is provided regarding the project. the reviewing was done in the second phase and it included cost vs. the budget, quality vs. workmanship review, change order summary and change order summary.

There are various legislations associated with the proposed project. the legislations involved are mentioned below-

• The “national construction code (NCC)”- the NCC is an initiative taken by the council of Australian governments in order to incorporate all the on-site plumbing and building requirements in a single code. The minimum requirements for all the designs, performance and construction are set by the NCC throughout the country. This legislation can be applied in the proposed project as the project deals with the renovation of the industrial building and thus, designs are required for the same. The law can be applied in the building requirements and the designing phase.
• The “Australian procurement and construction council”- it is the peak council of Australia which is responsible for the procurement, asset management policy and construction policy of the country. There are 11 members in the council who manage the procurement, design and management phase. This law can be applied in the proposed project as the project deals with the construction work being done in the industry. In order for the project to proceed, the project needs to be approved form the council.
• “Australian building codes board”- this council is responsible for managing and developing of the uniform, building standards through the national construction code (NCC) and the national approach to the building codes. It also deals with the development of effective regulatory system. This law deals with the uniformity maintained by the engineers, architects and the workers of the system. This needs to be maintained in order to maintain the safety in the organization.
• The “Australian Paint Approval Scheme (APAS) and Painting Contractor Certification Program (PCCP)”- this legislation is responsible for providing accreditation and listing schemes for the industries responsible for coating. APAS tests and certifies paints and PCCP and certifies paint accredits painting contractors. This law can be applied in the painting sector of the proposed project as it can highlight each area of the industry according to their prone to danger and other factors.
• The “Commercial Building disclosure”- this act is responsible for the construction projects as the energy efficiency required for the proposed project is approved. This law applied when the commercial space for the office is 2000 square metres and is offered for sale or lease. Under this act, the list of people or sectors who gets affected by the project are listed. This law is mandatory to follow for the proposed project as the site has public road on both the sides.

• The “Fair work building and construction”- this legislation regulates the relation laws of the workplace in the construction and building industry by the means of advice, education and compliance activities. This act can be applied on the proposed project as the education of the architects have to be taken into consideration as the safety of the workers and the site depends on the skills of the architects. The advices of other engineers needs to be taken into account as these can help the business to evolve and get done properly.
• The “Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme”- this legislation provides needed information about NatHERS scheme, which estimates the potential thermal performance of residential buildings and ranks them accordingly. The ranking is done throughout the nation. This law can be proposed in the proposed construction project as the project deals with the construction work being done in the industry. The site has public road on both the sides.
• The “your home”- this legislation is a guide for the buildings, renovating and buyinh of homes and other industries. It provides a guideline to create an industry with its impact on the environment. According to this law, the building must be economical to run, adaptable to the changes taking place and healthier to work. This law can be applied to the proposed project as the industry needs to be adaptable with the changes taking place in the environment. The industry does not have to pose any harm to the surrounding environment.
• “The competition and consumer act 2010”- this act covers most of the market area. The relation between the wholesalers, suppliers, consumers and retailers is dealt under this act. The purpose of this act is enhancing the welfare of all the people of Australia by promoting competition and fair-trading. Provision of consumer protection is also indulged in the process. This act covers product labeling and safety, unfair market price, price monitoring and industry regulation. This act can be applied in the project in order to maintain the budget.
• The “Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999”- this act deals with the maintenance of environmental sustainability. This act needs to be applied in the proposed project as the industry needs to be adaptable with the changes taking place in the environment. The industry does not have to pose any harm to the surrounding environment.

The Royal Australian Institute of Architects developed this contract. This contract is used for building the industries buildings. The variations associated with this contract are that maximum percentage of the contractor’s overhead and profit is nominated accordingly. The nominations are applied to the difference between the performance of the work and the provisional sum. If performance of the work cost exceeds the provisional sum, the percentage is added to the difference and the resultant is summed up with the contract sum.

Legislations Applicable to the Project

The contract can fail to pay if rate of interest to be applied to outstanding payments are nominated in schedule. This can pose fatal result to the site’s renovation as delay may be caused in the working procedure.

This act was issued by the Department of Administrative Services. Some of the public work department in all the states uses the conditions. Here, the variations are valued by application of bill or the scheduled rates. Percentage is not added here. Day work rates are applied and agreed charge to cover the overheads.

This contract fails if the rate of interest is not mentioned. This can pose fatal result to the site’s renovation as delay may be caused in the working procedure. Thus, the owner and the engineers may face certain problems.  

Conclusion

Hence, from the above discussion it can be concluded that Construction projects are the major and leading part of industries. These projects need proper care and support from the government as well as the organization, which is involved in the construction. Various legislations have to be taken in consideration while performing the proposed project.

References

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