McMillan Associate’s commercial support has a two fold audience in that it provides for McMillan Associates own Claim and Dispute and programme services as well providing commercial and contractual specialist support to a wide range of clients.
Much of the demand arises in the merger and acquisition field, from clients seeking a better understanding of the effects of the contracts they would inherit should their bid be successful. McMillan Associates has been privileged to have been involved in the transfer of ownership of several major companies and Government Golden Shares.
Our commercial support has also been widely used in numerous PPP/PFI contracts by carrying out the due diligence examination of proposed contract conditions and their effect on forecast returns. The area of our involvement in such work stretches from Scandinavia to Southern Africa and from Europe to Southern Asia. Many of the international commissions have been on behalf of banks and other funders seeking reassurance over the viability of the proposed project and its future profitability. We have also been required to provide commentary on the resale of two different companies both at initial offering and again at subsequent resale several years later.
Even on projects where we have not had any pre-agreement involvement we have been commissioned to undertake the on-going monitoring of the project on behalf of the funders, who quite naturally demand continual knowledge of their investment, its progress and its adherence to its co-operate governance. This is work that is often supported by other specialist, such as designers, financial experts and legal teams.
The overall project long monitoring makes demands on each element of our commercial support from initial instruction to the final sign off, unless we are required to continue through the operation and maintenance stage.
Programme Management that achieves Results
Our programme management methodology sets out to ensure that the project is managed, progress is maintained and budgets met to ensure targets are achieved.
Planning sets the parameters for the construction period, the estimate details the expenditure but it is the project programme that fleshes them out and drives their success.
Taking everything into consideration
The programme manager must overcome the conflicting requirements of the; designers, the construction team and the various consultants in order to develop the environment for a focused approach, which must;
- Ensure Health and Safety is paramount in all decision making.
- Develop a Contract Administration policy that reflects correct contract and subcontract selection policy.
- Result in a far sighted Procurement regime capable of accommodating long lead items and integration of the special needs of all other suppliers.
Having acknowledged the need to incorporate the three primary disciplines to be observed the programme must at the same time acknowledge the disparate interests of the designers and the construction team by introducing a methodology focusing on the next level of essentials;
- Setting achievable milestones and developing a structured organisation.
- Labour availability, the right people in the right job at the right time.
- Resource loaded programme effectively integrating plant, labour and materials
- Stock control, delivery and adequate storage that does not interfere with other site activities
- Staff performance monitoring and the impact of third party or external authorities requirements
- Contractual programme development able to reflect progress and deal with changing circumstances.
Performance indicators to rely on
Adopting techniques such as regular End Cost Forecasting (EDF) provides estimates of the out-turn cost at any time during the progress of the works. By installing strict change control measures we can evaluate the impact of any proposed change in terms of time and cost before the change is implemented. Learning about the consequences of a change only after it has become essential or a done deal can be very expensive.
Performance monitoring as measured by accurate Key Performance Indicators (KPI) is essential. Detailed information harvested through regularly updated Cost Performance Indicators (CPI) and Schedule Performance Indicators (SPI) serve as the barometer of the efficiency of a project and its probability of meeting its initial targets. It allows critical changes highlighted by the KPIs to be challenged before progress is lost or additional costs incurred.
Strong contemporaneous reporting ensures that the interests of everyone associated with the development of the project are maximised and that the efforts of all those involved are rewarded. To do so it must be a holistic approach incorporating all elements of the working environment.
A feature of the McMillan Associates’ approach to providing a complete commercial service is the support we give to our clients in their relationship to their clients and other third parties. As well as regular Client Reports we provide tailored reports to interested associates such as; Worst Case Scenario assessments for insurance companies, Good Industry Practice comparisons for funders and Contractual Early Warnings for legal teams.
This structured form of complete support is backed by incorporating relevant specialist areas, including, health and safety, procurement management and contracts support.
The smaller projects
At a different level we provide support and assistance to contractors, subcontractors and a complete range of commercial and domestic clients. For these it is an explanation of contract terms and the full requirements of all clauses of pricing documents that is readily appreciated.
For the contractor or subcontractor we remind them of their precontract obligations, such as those under the Condam Regulations and Local Authority requirements including timely warnings for inspections. We also ensure that the are prepared to keep records up dated.
This work can be anything from a development of just a few units to the complete renovation of a number of listed buildings. It is often at a more personal level, leading to an interest throughout the construction phase.
