WHAT DOES A CONTRACT ENGINEER DO?

Published: August 14, 2024 - The Contract Engineer is responsible for assisting Quantity Surveyors in managing final accounts, addressing variations, and ensuring adherence to updated design requirements by closely liaising with foremen and other stakeholders. This role involves monitoring and reporting on project progress, updating cost sheets weekly, and coordinating plant and labor requirements to ensure smooth operations. The engineer also identifies, prepares, and negotiates claims while ensuring alignment with contract deliverables across various working groups.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Contract Engineer

1. Contract Engineer Roles

  • Compliance Management: Ensure compliance with JV partner and current contract process.
  • Contract Strategy Development: Develop contract strategy documents.
  • Documentation Presentation: Present approval documentation to the Contract Review Board and Ministry of Natural Resources.
  • Market Analysis: Take responsibility for market analysis for contracts.
  • Tender Document Review: Review existing tender documents and contracts.
  • Template Development: Develop objective technical and commercial tender templates.
  • Contract Management: Ensure all aspects of contracts (QaQc, HSE, Local Content, non-performance remedies, etc.).
  • Pre-qualification Support: Assist with Pre-qualification, RFI, RFQ, etc. activities.
  • Tender Document Issuance: Develop and issue tender documents.
  • Supplier Clarifications: Assist with supplier clarifications.
  • Evaluation and Negotiation: Conduct evaluation and negotiations.

2. Contract Engineer Overview

  • Tendering and Contracting: Perform the tendering and contracting process as assigned by the Team Lead Procurement Contracts, in line with approved procedures.
  • Supplier Selection: Select suppliers and conduct pre-qualifications and evaluation of potential suppliers.
  • Data Analysis and Structuring: Data analysis and data structuring in cooperation with the technical department.
  • Tender Package Preparation: Prepare/submit tender packages including draft frame agreements/contracts to selected suppliers.
  • Bid Evaluation: Prepare bid-evaluation sheets for internal review and approval.
  • Vendor Negotiation: Negotiate Terms and Conditions and pricing with vendors in liaison with the Legal Department.
  • Contract Portfolio Management: Manage the assigned portfolio of frame agreements/contracts.
  • Commercial Contract Support: Bidding commercial contract support.
  • Resource and Subcontractor Management: Undertake management of internal resources and subcontractors.
  • Site Dimensional Control: Manage site dimensional control ensuring that contractors have the facilities for setting out the works.

3. Contract Engineer Job Description

  • Data Compilation: Compiling data from market research of potential contractors.
  • Service Contract Administration: Administration of activities associated with service contracts.
  • Proposal Preparation: Participating in and conducting proposal preparation.
  • Contract Negotiation and Administration: Negotiate contracts and administrate contracts.
  • Customer Contact Management: Take responsibility for Customer Contact Activities.
  • Subcontracting Coordination (Pre-Award): Coordination of subcontracting activities pre-award for a project.
  • Bidder Sourcing and Qualification: Sourcing and qualifying bidders.
  • Subcontract Negotiation: Negotiation of subcontracts and any changes.
  • Subcontracting Coordination (Post-Award): Coordination of subcontracting activities post-award for projects.
  • Terms and Conditions Negotiation: Negotiation of Terms and Conditions.

4. Contract Engineer Accountabilities

  • Contract Compliance and Site Management: Ensure that contracts are carried out in line with company procedures and ensure that sites are managed safely and efficiently.
  • Client Communication and Budget Control: Keeping in contact with the client to ensure quality work and within budget.
  • Project On-site Management: On-site management of projects covering technical administration and commercial aspects of the project.
  • Cost and Damage Liaison: Liaising with plant yard over costs and damages.
  • Labor Coordination: Liaise with the labor coordinator to ensure that the sites have a sufficient labor force capable of carrying out tasks.
  • Budget Preparation: Prepare budgets to ensure that the job will return sufficient money and to ensure that there have been no shortfalls within the estimate.
  • Contract Plans and RAMs Preparation: Prepare job-specific contract plans/ITPs and RAMs.
  • Plant Requirement Liaison: Liaise with the plant yard to organize plant requirements.
  • Client Liaison: Liaise with clients keeping them up to date on site works and any changes in costs/extension of time/extra work.
  • Concrete Specification Monitoring: Monitor test cube results to ensure that concrete is within specification.

5. Contract Engineer Responsibilities

  • Quantity Surveying Assistance: Assist Quantity Surveyors on final accounts and weekly values, liaise with them to ensure all changes, variations, etc. are dealt with.
  • Design Requirement Discussion: Discuss with the foreman the design requirements ensuring that he fully understands the requirements.
  • Correspondence Management: Keep up to date with all correspondence ensuring that we are working from the most recent drawings/design.
  • Schedule Production: Produce schedules from information taken from engineer drawings.
  • Progress Monitoring and Reporting: Monitoring and reporting on progress of works.
  • Handover Information and Budgeting: Taking handover information from the Estimator, producing budget, and communicating plant and labor requirements to plant yard and labor resource manager.
  • Ground Condition Verification: Check that ground conditions are as assumed in the design calculations; if in any doubt, refer to the design department.
  • Cost Sheet Updating: Update weekly cost sheet and report underperformance immediately.
  • Prime Contract Coordination: Monitors and coordinates the deliverables of the prime contract with other working groups.
  • Claims Identification and Resolution: Works with related departments to identify and prepare claims as they arise and coordinates the efforts to negotiate and resolve claims.
Relevant Information
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