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Construction Law
Lecture 1
Basic Principles
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1
Construction Law
_________________________________
Lecturer :
Lim Lee Im
Email –
limleeim@hotmail.com
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ASSESSMENT SCHEME
Category
Component
Class
Class
participation participation
Description
Contribution &
preparation for
class
Understand
theory and Common
application Test
Test on
Units 1 to 7
Analysis,
and
Project
practical
assessment
application
Exam
G or I
Assessment Weightage
I
10%
I
20%
G
30%
I
40%
100% 3
TOTAL
What is construction law?
• basically the mutually agreed rules that all
parties in the construction industry need
to abide to ensure fairness
• built largely on contracts between
participating parties (e.g. owner,
consultants & main contractor etc.)
• law of torts (civil) – construction
negligence
• building acts, statutes and regulations
(government)
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What is construction law?
Construction
Law
Construction
Contracts
(between parties
in the project)
Law of Tort
(between parties
in the project and
with strangers)
Building Acts,
Statutes &
regulations
(Government)
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CONTRACT LAW
 deals with oral and written agreements
associated with exchange of goods and
services, money, and properties
 includes topics such as the nature of
contractual obligations, limitation of actions,
freedom of contract, termination of contract,
and covers also agency relationships
 a simple example would be a problem with
a phone contract, problem with your
tenancy agreement etc
.,
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LAW OF TORT
• tort means “wrong” in french.
• law of tort is one of the methods by which
people who have suffered from injuries could
use to claim for compensation.
• no need for a contract
• can be total strangers
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CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
As a Quantity Surveyor we need to have a
basic knowledge of the following :

how the construction industry operates;
 ii) the regulatory framework governing
construction;
 iii) the roles, responsibilities, rights and
obligations of parties; and
 iv) techniques to avoid, manage and
resolve construction disputes between
the parties
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Main Topics to be covered
 the type of construction – affects the
procurement and construction process
 the construction process – depends on
type and nature of construction
 the parties to the construction –
important to know the parties and tailor
their contractual relationships to the type
of construction and procurement method
 the procurement process – important to
have the procurement strategy mapped
out properly

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Types of Construction Projects
________________________________
There are basically 4 types of construction:


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building construction
infrastructure construction
industrial construction
others – such as A&A projects, retrofitting and
preservation work etc.
 each type of construction project requires a
unique team to plan, design, construct and
maintain the project
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Public Health & Education
Institute – Hospital,
polyclinics, schools,
universities, libraries etc
Public recreational places –
swimming pools, sports centres,
parks, community centres
Public housing
– HDB flats
Conservation projects
– preservation of
Chinatown, Little
India etc
Public sector
projects
Infrastructure – roads,
bridges, mrt, airport,
sewerage systems etc
Construction Projects
Industrial buildings –
factories, chemical
plant etc
Additions & alteration
works, retroffing works
upgrading etc
Private sector
projects
Commercial
buildings – shopping
malls, hotels, banks,
resturants etc
Residential buildings –
condominiums, bungalow,
highrise apartments
Religious buildings –
churches, mosques,
temples, crematorium etc
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Activity time – to hand up at end of lecture
1) Take out pen and paper
2) Look at the photos in the following slides of
different types of construction and then
categorise into the different category:
Photo no. Private/public
construction
1
Public
HDB flats
Type of
Residential-
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Parties to the Construction Process
_________________________________
 Owner/Client/Employer
 Consultants/Designers
 Builders/Contractors
 Suppliers
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Parties to the Construction Process
___________________________________________________________
 owners/developer/client
• public/government and private owners
 consultants/designers – who are they?
• architects, civil & structural engineers (C&S),
M&E engineers, quantity surveyors, interior
designers etc.
 builders/contractors – different types
• piling contractors, C&S, roofing contractors,
interior contractors, bricklayers, tilers,
landscape contractors etc.
 suppliers - examples?
• concrete, brick, tiles, labour and machinery
suppliers etc. Contruction Law - 2014
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 Developers/Client/Owners – the person or
entity who owns the project.
• basically 2 types of owners – public and
private owners or developers
• public owners are the government,
statutory board such as HDB, MOE,
SMRT etc.
• private owners – individuals, companies
etc.
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 Consultants/Designers – hired by the
owner to design and manage the
construction process
 Builders/Contractors – main contractors,
subcontractors, specialist contractors etc.
 Suppliers – service providers, material
suppliers, labour suppliers, machinery,
equipment suppliers etc.
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There are so many different parties in a
construction project.
 what are their relationship to each other?
 this relationship have to be properly
determined and structured before start of
project and properly managed during the
project
Following is the owner-consultant
relationship diagram
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Contractual Relationship between Owners and Consultants
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 the primary roles of the professional
consultants engaged by the employer
are to design, cost, manage and
administer the contracts and the project
 they also carry out services relevant to
statutory responsibilities, such as
obtaining planning consents for the
employer and ensuring compliance with
health and safety regulations
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Architect
 design the building/facility, advise on the
selection and appointment of other
consultants, manage the design, select and
appoint the main contractor, nominated
subcontractors, suppliers etc.
 review building codes, assist owner to obtain
development permit
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Structural, Mechanical & Electrical
Engineers/Consultants
 what is the difference between structural
engineer and M&E engineer?
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Mechanical & Electrical Consultants
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electrical systems
plumbing and sanitary systems
sewerage systems
air-conditioning and ventilation systems
lift installation
escalators installation
water tank, fire protection system
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Structural, M&E Consultants
Full service of a consulting Engineer comprises
of 4 main stages:
a) investigation and design stage
 soil investigation and report – soil report to
determine the foundation of the building
 structural and M&E detailed design based
on architect’s final design and according to
local design codes of practice
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b) Tender stage
 prepare tender drawings and
specifications for work and material
 attend tender interviews, prepare tender
report
c) Construction stage
 assess quality of workmanship, inspection
of works, approval of shop drawings
submitted by contractors
 attend design and site co-ordination
meetings, resolve site engineering
problems etc.
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d) Testing and Commissioning stage
 testing and commissioning of completed
services/systems, acceptance of works,
resolution of final account etc.
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Quantity Surveyors/Cost Consultants
 the name quantity surveyor is derived
from the role taken in quantifying the
various resources that it takes to
construct a given project, such as labour,
supervision, plant and materias
 their detailed responsibilities are:
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a) pre-construction
 preparation of feasibility studies
 cost estimation for budgetary purpose
 analysis of the effect design changes
has on the budget
 cost planning to redefine the budget
as the design develops
 preparation of bills of quantities and
tender documents for tendering
purpose
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b) during construction
 provide cashflow and cost control
services
 assess and certify contractors’ progress
claims
 evaluate variation and delay claims
 procurement of subcontractors &
suppliers to carry out specialist trade work
 negotiate and settle accounts with
contractors
 provide monthly forecasting and cost
reporting
 disputes arising from contractors
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c) post construction
 assess and determine the final
construction cost
 prepare final accounts statements
 resolve contractual disputes arising
from contractors
 assist in assessing the extension of
time or LD (liquidated damages) period
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Other consultants depending on the type of
construction
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interior designers
lighting designers
landscape designers/consultants
acoustics consultants
environmental impact consultants
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 once the architectural, structural, M&E,
interior designs and drawings are
completed, the owner will have to engage
builders to put the ‘paper’ designs into
reality via a procurement process
 procurement – process of finding,
acquiring goods and services or works
from an external source, often through a
competitive tendering process
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Traditional Method of Procurement
Owner/Developer
Engage Main Contractors to build the
building through tendering process.
Nominated
Subcontractors a
and suppliers
(spetcialist work eg
lift installation,
external cladding
Subcontractors –
piling, structural,
brickwork, M&E,
interior works, roof
works, etc.
Labour
suppliers
Engage
Consultant
team to:
design, cost,
manage and
administer
the contracts
and the
project.
Suppliers –
concrete, rebar,
bricks, tiles,
equipment etc.
Material &
equipment
suppliers
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 main contractor
• the principal contractor engaged by the
owner to build the project in
accordance to the plans, specification
and contract documents, and in
accordance to statutory regulations
• he has the overall responsibility of the
construction of the project compared to
sub-contractors
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 domestic subcontractors – the
subcontractor hired directly by the main
contractor to perform a specific portion of
the work, e.g. reinforced concrete work,
joinery work, roof work etc.
 nominated subcontractors (NSC) – the
company nominated by the client, they
are contractors who are usually
specialized in a particular element of the
work, e.g. aluminum cladding work that
the owner wishes to use for that particular
specialized element of work
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Consultants
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Master Planners
Architect
Structural Consultants
Interior Designers
Mechanical & Electrical consultants
Landscape Designers
Cost Consultants
Specialist Consultants – Acoustics etc.
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Builders
_____________________________
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Main Contractors
M&E Contractors
Nominated Subcontractors
Nominated Suppliers
Direct Suppliers
Landscape Contractors
External Works Contractors
Subcontractors
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Construction Law – Tutorial 1
Form a team of 4 students.
Your team is a project management consultant
Company tendering for the full Consultancy
Work of a proposed 3-storey bungalow in
Holland Road area.
You are to include the following in your tender
proposal:
a) Scope of work – detailed description of each
consultant – Architect, Structural Engineer,
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer and Quantity
Surveyor
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Tutorial 1
Each student will take up 1 role eg the architect
and write down in point form, his roles and
responsibility, his professional fees say in % of
the total construction cost or a fixed lump sum
etc and finally the fee structure i.e how he intend
to be paid eg monthly payment or in various
construction stages etc.
Please discuss among your teammates before
deciding on a common fee structure
During tutorial time 1 hour for preparation 1 hour
for presentation of your tender proposal.
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BCA Academy, Angie Han
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