Overview

The increasing demand for energy has led to an intensification of competition – not only between organisations within the same sector (i.e. coal power generation), but also from the growing alternative energy markets. The rise of ‘clean’ energy generation has led to a concerted, yet diverse technological development within fields such as wind; tidal and solar power generation facilities.

Given these factors, organisations seek different ways in which to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage relevant to one another. One response to this has been to adopt a form of ‘risk transfer’ via outsourcing to make another party the ‘bearer’ of risk –i.e. appointing a contractor company that offers a ‘one-stop shop’ solution – to undertake the whole scope of a project by being the main contractor and subsequently managing the entire range of sub-contractor agreements to ensure that the deliverable in question is met in its entirety for the client/end user.

These types of contract are often referred to as EPC (Engineering; Procurement and Construction contracts), whilst another common name for them is ‘Turnkey’ contracts. If the contract can be executed successfully, the contractor stands to benefit, whilst if there are problems and delays, it is the contractor who may find themselves liable for bearing these costs.

Unfortunately, given the scale and scope of this species of commercial contract and the often complex project management challenges associated with them, there is a significant likelihood that most of the ambit of contractual and operational misfortune in terms of breach; delay; quality issues; HSE compliance and local content issues (to name but a few) will manifest at some point during the project’s lifetime. The course will furnish delegates with a thorough understanding of the key components and their interactions of an EPC contract and will provide focus on the key project management issues required for successful project delivery. Attention is on open dialogue and collective problem solving relative to case examples and class exercises. This course has been designed to provide an immersive, value adding experience to delegates who attend.

Who Should Attend

• Project managers
• Cost estimators
• Individuals involved with the contractual aspect of projects
• Project finance individuals
• Anyone who wished to gain a deeper understanding of the project cost management function

Key Learning Objectives

• Become familiar with the importance of ‘scoping’ an EPC project correctly both from the client/end user perspective and the contractor
• Have awareness of the key features and contractual provisions of an EPC contract
• Have a greater understanding of the dynamic nature of contractual provisions and some of the consequences that arise as a result of them within the commercial world
• Understand how an EPC contract is structured
• Grasp the fundamentally important aspects of managing risk in an EPC contract
• Become familiar with key procurement aspects associated with EPC contracts and projects
• Be competent in supplier selection and evaluation
• Know what to focus on for managing the commercial performance of an EPC contract
• Understand the importance of project change orders and how to efficiently manage change
• Be competent in managing critical interfaces in power projects such as access to grid; fuel specifications and the commissioning regime
• Understand the requirements and importance for EPC projects in efficiency of critical (long) lead items and their impacts, both positive and potentially negative

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