Good clients, who pay construction companies fairly and on time, who have recurring work, and are well organised, are like gold to construction companies and should be nurtured and looked after. I’ve done many multi-million dollar projects for the same customers, and in some cases projects have gone from a first phase to a second one and even onto a fifth phase. Many of these projects have been negotiated with the client avoiding the uncertainty of having to tender on the open market. When they were tendered we were sometimes awarded the project even though we didn’t have the lowest price.

So how do you keep a good client?

Of course you cannot keep competitors away from a client by price alone. There will always be someone who is prepared to undercut prices to get an opportunity to work for a good client. The only way to keep competitors out is by:

1. developing a relationship with the client

2. delivering a quality product, on time and without incident

3. being fair and honest with the client

4. acknowledging mistakes and rectifying the problems as soon as possible

5. managing the client’s expectations

6. not over-promising and under-delivering – if anything under-promise and over-deliver

7. senior management from the construction company being seen by the client on the project

8. project staff (in particular the contractor’s project manager) understanding the importance of building the relationship

This shouldn’t stop you from submitting construction claims and variations when you are entitled to do so. But, do ensure these are fair and that they are discussed with the client and that, where possible, you have assisted and forewarned the client to try and prevent the variation from occurring. In many cases, despite submitting and being paid large variation claims I have maintained good relationships with these client and have gone on to do further projects with them.

If a competitor’s price is cheaper than yours, explain to the client why your bid is more expensive. Remind your client of your past successes and achievements on their projects. Negotiate with the client, but don’t undertake a project at a price that will lose money.

Naturally, when a construction company does repeated work for a client there’s a danger they’ll become complacent and arrogant, and start to charge inflated prices for work. When a client discovers they’ve been taken advantage of they can be quite unforgiving.

Don't depend on only one client

Don’t become overly dependent on one client. Unfortunately clients also go through phases of spending and other times when they cut back on expenditure. Contractors who are largely dependent on work from one client can quickly run out of work when that client stops spending.

Stay in contact

When work finally runs out with a particular client due to another contractor winning the work, or the client not having further construction projects, stay in contact with them. This may entail a phone call every six months and as a minimum a greeting card at the end of the year. No matter how good the relationship was with the client you cannot depend on them remembering your company in a year’s time and inviting the company to tender for their next project. Regrettably clients have fairly short memories (except when it comes to remembering poor performance), so it’s essential to keep reminding them of the past relationship.

(Paul Netscher is the author of the acclaimed books ‘Successful Construction Project Management: The Practical Guide’ and ‘Building a Successful Construction Company: The Practical Guide’. Get your copies from Amazon or other retail outlets, in your choice of paperback or eBook. This article is an extract from ‘Building a Successful Construction Company’)

​In my last 3 posts ‘Construction project variations – have you included all your costs’ (Read more), ‘Understanding the real cost of delays on your construction project’ (Read more) and ‘Are you working for free on your construction project’ (Read more), I discussed the reasons for delay claims and scope changes and what costs could be included when construction companies submit their claims for these changes and variations.

However, a construction variation claim could be rejected by your client if it doesn’t include all the correct and required information.

​What to include

A properly drafted and well thought out claim will be hard for your client to refute and it’s likely to be successful.

To increase your chances of a successful claim here are some points to consider. Claims should have:

1. a description of the event

2. the cause of the event

3. the date of the event, where relevant

4. the impact of the event

5. steps taken to mitigate the impact

6. the cost and time impacts of the event

7. all supporting documentation attached, or should refer to supporting documentation correctly referencing the relevant  contract clause numbers, construction drawing numbers, schedule or program item numbers, correspondence, Bill of Quantity items or construction contract specifications as required

 It’s essential that this supporting documentation is relevant to the claim, supports the claim and is not contradictory (any contradictions must be explained as part of the claim).

As part of formulating the impact of the event all calculations and schedules should be included. The claim schedule should reference the approved contract schedule. Calculations should reference where the facts and figures came from and how they were put together. The calculations should be checked for arithmetical errors (which can occur all too frequently).

Remember to include all of your legitimate and claimable costs (as discussed in my previous articles). It’s usually difficult to add in extra forgotten costs after you have submitted your claim. It’s unprofessional and will annoy your client. It may even cast doubts on the legitimacy of your original claim.

​Notifying your client

The client must be notified of variations as soon as the contractor becomes aware of them, and certainly within the time specified in the contract. Failure to do so may mean the contractor loses their right to claim.

The claim must:

1. be lodged within the time-frame specified in the contract

2. be addressed to the correct person

3. be delivered to the correct address

​It’s often a good idea to discuss large or contentious claims with the client before submitting them. This not only forewarns the client the claim is coming, but also provides an opportunity to discuss the reasons and the merits of the variation.

Also ensure the client is aware that you are willing to discuss the claim and answer any questions they may have. I use the word ‘discuss’ and not ‘negotiate’. To indicate that you are willing to ‘negotiate’ gives the idea that you have built fat into your claim and that not all the costs are legitimate, which will immediately put your client on their guard and they will already doubt that your claim is legitimate or accurate.

​Construction variation claims that are clear and concise, and which have facts which are supported and can easily be justified are often agreed and settled with clients with little effort. Once contractors get a reputation of submitting inflated or bogus variation claims it can become difficult to convince the client when a reasonable and just construction variation claim is submitted.

Of course a variation claim can be more easily supported if the contractor has maintained accurate documentation during the course of the construction works (like Daily reports), communicating regularly with the client, and has taken all reasonable steps to prevent the claim from arising. Of course contractors must also understand their contract documents (your construction project contracts - why you need to understand them)

​#constructionvariations #constructionprojectmanagement #contractors

© 2022 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

Many construction projects lose money when construction companies pay their workers more than they are due. In other cases workers are paid less than they should and they become demoralised or demotivated, which impacts their productivity and can even lead to industrial action including work stoppages.

Project Managers must read and understand the industrial relations agreements governing their construction project. These may include the prevailing labour legislation and project, union and company agreements. Employees’ wages and conditions must be in accordance with the relevant agreements which often differ between projects.

Many construction projects incur additional costs because they don’t manage the hours and pay of personnel correctly which could be because:

1. the hours personnel work aren’t recorded correctly

2. people aren’t paid the correct overtime rate or the rate is applied incorrectly

3. people aren’t booked absent when they’re not at work

4. leave forms aren’t submitted (including annual and sick leave)

5. people are paid the incorrect rates

6. deductions for tax aren’t applied correctly and in accordance with the latest legislation

7. the incorrect deductions are made from their pay

8. people are paid allowances they aren’t entitled to

9. rates of pay or allowances aren’t adjusted when personnel are transferred to another project

10. people deliberately falsify their attendance

11. errors are made when completing time sheets

12. people leave work before their shift is complete, yet they are paid the full shift

(From the book ‘Building a Successful Construction Company: The Practical Guide’ by Paul Netscher. Available from Amazon and other retail outlets)

The construction Project Manager (site manager) should provide guidance as to the quality requirements and expectations on the construction project. Whenever they travel around the construction site they should be looking with a critical eye at both the completed work, and the work under construction, to ensure it conforms to the project’s quality requirements.

A top-to-bottom commitment is required for quality. A construction project will not achieve the required quality standards if individual workers are not committed to producing a quality product. At the same time, even if the workers are committed and well-trained, the project will not achieve the desired quality if the Supervisors, Quality Engineers and the Project Manager aren’t committed to producing a quality product.

All workers and staff must take responsibility for producing the best quality product possible. Often on projects I see people blaming their tools, materials, equipment, the schedule, the Supervisor, or fellow workers for a poor quality product. Each individual must understand that they are personally responsible for the quality of the product they produce, and they shouldn’t play the ‘blame game’.

In saying this, management must also be mindful of how they influence the quality of the workmanship on the project, and what they can do to improve the quality culture, like sending craftsmen or Supervisors on appropriate training courses. They should also continually look at the construction process with a critical eye, to see if changes would improve the quality of the end product. Maybe the construction materials or equipment are genuinely substandard making it difficult for the workers to achieve the desired quality.

On many construction projects I see completed quality work being damaged by follow-on trades and contractors. All workers on the project should not only take pride in their work, but also in the work done by the others, and they should respect each other’s work. Taking a little extra care while working around completed work, and protecting it, will ensure it’s not damaged.

There should be a clear delegation of the ultimate responsibility for the quality of a task. Often I’ve had Engineers, or Supervisors, tell me that they weren’t responsible for the poor quality of their section of works and that it was the Quality Manager who was responsible. Obviously this is rubbish! Each construction Supervisor is responsible for everything within their section of works, including the quality of work and the materials used. Every section Engineer should be responsible for the quality of their section of the works. The Quality Engineer, or Quality Manager, is appointed to assist the Supervisors and section Engineers to monitor and record the quality, and to ensure the required quality systems are implemented and followed.

Poor quality construction work should not be accepted, and construction Project Managers must not pass by substandard work without taking action. This action may be to simply chide the responsible party for minor defects, but with serious breaches of quality, consideration should be given to implementing disciplinary procedures against the parties responsible. 


(From the book 'Successful Construction Project Management; The Practical Guide' by Paul Netscher)