Contractors and engineers are among those who were trained to manage contracting claims and resolve disputes swiftly in a recent Inter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB) training programme.
The two-day training programme, sponsored by the IDB Country Office with the endorsement of the Ministry of Finance, was titled “The Manage-ment of Claims and Resolution Disputes Under the Multilateral Develop-ment Bank’s Har-monised Construction Contract 2010 Edition,” and concluded last Friday.
Participants were trained by Accredited FIDIC Trainer Robert Cochrane of the Ever Constant Venture Ltd (ECV) on how to resolve disputes under the International Federa-tion of Consulting Engi-neers (FIDIC) contracts.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s Permanent Secretary George Jervis told Stabroek News after receiving his certificate that he wished Permanent Secretaries of other ministries were present as the workshop gave practical insight into many areas that are problematic.
“We (Permanent Secretaries) make decisions on information or lack of. Now that I have an understanding of the processes and how contractors feel, it gives me that knowledge on how to deal with those ticklish areas because I can understand where they are coming from,” he said.
Participants were taught that all construction projects contain risks and that more risks passed to the contractor result in higher tender prices or no bids. There were thorough sessions on project risk management, selection of contracts, FIDIC risk allocation and causes of claims and legal issues, among other topics.
Jacquelyn Major, an engineer at SKRN Engineering at one of the large local firms responsible for major capital works projects, expressed gratitude at being able to participate in the workshop. “A lot of the areas were clarified on how to resolve disputes in a suitable timeframe,” she noted.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance Juan Edghill urged participants to share their knowledge and make positive use of the workshop. “It is my hope that after this training that you would be able to eliminate mistakes in the contracts,” he said. “It is my hope that we would have… where there are disputes, they will be settled immediately because you would have been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel… and that there is a reduction in claims and counter claims,” he added.
