An Interactive 1-Day Training Course
Contract Management after the Pandemic : What should be the New Normal ?
Re-Building the Future with the Contractor Community
Course Overview
The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc globally, with the impacts felt throughout the economy. This is particularly the case in construction for the petroleum sector, where the combined effect of depressed oil prices and the public health emergency are leading to layoffs and project cancellations.
Contractors are particularly affected. Many of their expatriates or migrant workers have returned to their home countries - in some cases with no prospect of coming back. For the workers who remain in-country where the projects are located, new health and safety requirements for PPE and social distancing mean work is more expensive, more difficult and fewer workers are permitted on site. The knock-on effects will lead to project delays and cost escalation. In addition, supply chains for materials are disrupted, leading to shortages and price rises. If payments are linked to performance milestones, cash flow may also be very tight.
In these circumstances how should contract owners respond to the plight of the contractors? Should they adopt a classical contract management approach? This would mean pointing to the fixed price in a lump sum agreement and reminding the contractor that the risk of cost escalation falls on him, not on the contract owner. Should they trigger any available contract clauses for default, such as an entitlement to liquidated damages or penalties for late performance, withhold payments where specifications have not been strictly followed or resist claims for price escalation? Should contract owners be adopting a more collaborative, partnership-focused, way of working?
After all, this pandemic has touched everyone, although some have been more badly affected than others.
What is the role of government in all of this? In many cases, governments will be contract holders through the majority ownership of national oil companies. Do governments have a role to play in sustaining the health of contractors – perhaps by accelerating new projects, making advance payments, accepting changes to materials specifications or other techniques to keep contractors afloat? What policy responses should governments adopt?
Training Objectives
This GLOMACS online conference will consider the Contract Management implications of COVID-19 from a Contract Owner, Contractor, Legal Adviser and Government perspective and will include:
- The way contract owners are responding to the challenges faced by their contractors
- How contract owners and contractors are adapting to the new working environment?
- How the impacts of additional costs and time delays are being shared between contract owners and contractors?
- The legal disputes that are taking place as a result of the pandemic, and the related coronavirus government interventions
- What public policy response are governments taking to the pandemic and what these means for contractors?
- What experts believe should be the new ways of managing contracts in the future?
About Saudi Glomacs
At Saudi GLOMACS, we specialize in delivering world-class training courses in Saudi Arabia and across various international locations. Our training courses are tailored to meet the unique demands of Saudi Vision 2030 and the Human Capability Development Program, focusing on empowering Saudi citizens and enhancing workforce skills. We offer diverse courses spanning leadership, management, engineering, and technical disciplines to cultivate expertise and drive professional growth. Our flexible learning options—whether in-person, online, or in-house—ensure accessibility and convenience for individuals and organizations alike.
With over 30+ years of experience through the GLOMACS global network, we are committed to delivering innovative, results-driven training solutions. Our expert instructors combine industry knowledge with dynamic teaching methods, fostering practical skill development and long-term career success. By choosing Saudi GLOMACS, you're investing in personal excellence and contributing to the Kingdom’s sustainable economic growth and vision-driven transformation.
Training Outline
DAY 1: Managing our Main Contractors after the Pandemic
- Typical contractors working for us
- Nature of our relationships with strategic suppliers
- Our approach to selecting and managing contractors now, post pandemic
- What is different now? E.g. Shortages of skills, materials?
- How are we asking contractors to do things differently?
- What are we doing differently – e.g. making unsecured advance payments?
- How we review suppliers’ ongoing capacity and capability?
DAY 2: The Changing Nature of Contracting - Post-Pandemic
- The business we are in, and typical clients of ours
- What challenges have we faced from COVID-19?
- How opportunities for projects are changing – more, fewer or different?
- Impact of COVID-19 on existing work
- The competitor landscape now
- How client or employer attitudes changed since the pandemic: more demands or different demands, tougher Ts&Cs?
- How the extra costs and burdens of new PPE, social distancing being shared?
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