Continuing on from the successful roll-out of the Southern and Technical Support Services Contracts, Auckland Transport (AT), in collaboration with Resolve Group, is moving ahead to procure the next round of Road Corridor Maintenance (RCM) Contracts for the Central and Western Area.

AT’s objective is to deliver a new collaborative framework for the future of RCM activities in Auckland, built around simplicity and consistency, a sustainable contracting environment, integrated and proactive maintenance activities, value for money, a new level of customer focus, safety, and collaborative partnerships.

The Central and Western Area contracts are predominantly physical works contracts for the supply of road maintenance, renewal activities and associated services, and form part of the second phase in the migration to the new framework. The contracts are currently in the Expression of Interest (EOI) phase, and Resolve Group has been assisting AT with the documentation development as well as the EOI Evaluation Process. The next stage will be the Request for Tender phase, to commence shortly, with the contract award planned for March 2013. These contracts form part of AT’s new Collaborative Model Contracts.

Resolve Group is always looking for opportunities to upskill staff, and on September 4th, five Resolve Group staff members attended a seminar on construction law, along with lawyers, developers, and building contractors.

Under contract formation, the presenter gave a “contracts 101” lesson on the need to understand the fundamental elements of offer, consideration, and acceptance. With respect to tendering, the two contract approach was clarified. A case study from South Waikato District Council was used to show how expensive getting it wrong can be – damages of over $300K having to be paid out by council. Both standard and new types of contract were looked at, and good explanations given of the pros and cons of each. Robert Finley from Hawkins presented a lively contractor’s perspective.