Context:
A leading group in the renewable energy sector wanted, in connection with a major contract it had won, to professionalise contract management practice on that large project, in order to keep risks and opportunities properly under control throughout the project and ultimately to optimise its profitability.
Requirement:
To that end, the client needed a contract management consultant to support the Project Director in putting new contract management tools, methods and practices in place, but also in embedding these in a dedicated section of the project management plan (PMP) and in having them taken on board by the various project stakeholders (package managers, planners, project buyers, and so on).
Prime Conseil's engagement
The assignment, which ran over several weeks, began with a review of the existing situation, covering tools, documentation and contractual culture alike. Next, an analysis of the contract documents making up the award (the contract agreement, technical specification, particular administrative conditions, technical submission and appendices, and so on) and of the material received from the bidders shortlisted for the various packages made it possible to define a tailored contract management approach, suited to the resources and means available to the client company and to the project team's level of knowledge.
Once validated, this approach was translated into tools, processes and methods that were incorporated into the PMP, and even reused on other projects by the operations department. The assignment also had an operational component, since the Prime Conseil consultant deployed and implemented these tools and methods, supporting the Project Director for several months before handing over to an in-house contract manager who had been trained up.
Outcome:
Beyond putting tailored contract management tools and methods in place, the assignment also had a very practical and operational dimension, since these were implemented successfully, allowing close and continuous monitoring of contract performance, anticipating risks and opportunities while preserving the relationship with the various stakeholders (end client, inspection body, suppliers).
As provided for in the Prime Conseil methodology, a hand-over was then successfully completed to one of the client's employees.