Course Overview
This practical course provides participants with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage contract variations and handle supplier claims. It covers legal, commercial, and operational aspects of change management within contracts, ensuring compliance while maintaining project performance and supplier relations.
Participants will explore strategies for anticipating, preventing, evaluating, and resolving claims and variations. Real-world case studies and interactive exercises will help participants apply best practices and reduce disputes in contract execution.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the legal and commercial implications of contract variations and claims
- Identify, evaluate, and manage contract changes systematically
- Develop clear variation and claims procedures to minimize disputes
- Apply contract clauses effectively in managing supplier claims
- Conduct negotiations and dispute resolution related to variations
- Maintain documentation and records to support variation assessments and claims defense
- Protect the organization’s commercial interests while ensuring supplier collaboration
Who Should Attend
This course is ideal for:
- Contract managers and administrators
- Procurement and supply chain professionals
- Project and construction managers
- Legal and commercial officers
- Finance and risk professionals involved in contract oversight
- Engineers and technical staff involved in contract execution and variations
Course Outline
- Fundamentals of Contract Variations and Claims
- Definition and types of contract variations
- Common causes and consequences of variations
- Supplier claims: types and typical grounds
- Distinguishing between valid claims and contract breaches
- Contractual Rights and Obligations
- Key contract clauses related to variations and claims
- Variation orders, change requests, and change control mechanisms
- Roles and responsibilities of parties in managing changes
- Importance of timing, notice requirements, and documentation
- Managing Contract Variations
- Identifying when a change constitutes a variation
- Evaluating cost, time, and scope impact
- Steps to initiate, assess, and approve variations
- Risk-based approach to variation approvals
- Supplier Claims Management Process
- Typical causes of supplier claims: delay, disruption, unforeseen events
- Claims prevention strategies
- Preparing for claims: documentation, records, and baseline data
- Evaluating, challenging, and resolving claims
- Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
- Communication and relationship management with suppliers
- Claims negotiation techniques
- Avoiding escalation: mediation, conciliation, arbitration
- Resolving variations and claims fairly while minimizing cost
- Practical Tools and Techniques
- Contract variation and claim templates
- Root cause analysis for claims
- Cost control techniques and change registers
- Claims log and tracking tools
- Legal and Risk Considerations
- Legal standards and doctrines (e.g., force majeure, frustration, estoppel)
- Understanding jurisdictional differences in claims resolution
- Mitigating liability and enforcing entitlements
- Role of legal counsel and contract audits
- Case Studies and Best Practices
- Lessons learned from major project claims and disputes
- Interactive case analysis and group discussion
- Scenario-based role play: managing a complex variation
- Developing an action plan for improved contract and claims management