Pre-contract meeting for construction contracts

The pre-contract meeting is an important meeting that takes place after the contractor has been appointed but before work commences on site. It is an opportunity for the project team to meet (perhaps for the first time) and to plan the construction stage.

The pre-contract meeting is chaired by the contract administrator and is an opportunity to:

• Make introductions and issue contact details (perhaps a project directory).
• Clarify roles, responsibilities and lines of communication.
• Agree meeting schedules, meeting structures and attendees.
• Hand over outstanding documents (such as insurance certificates and bonds) and issue outstanding information (which may including any variations made since the contract was awarded).
• Issue nomination instructions.
• Discuss the contractor's master programme, including incorporation of works outside of the main contract, inspections, commissioning and testing.
• Discuss the role of the project team members (including site inspectors).
• Agree procedures for monitoring, issuing, receiving and reviewing information (including the information release schedule if there is one, and its relationship with the contractor's master programme). This may include a distribution matrix.
• Agree site access procedures and issues.
• Agree site induction procedures and other health and safety issues.
• Agree procedures for dealing with queries.
• Agree procedures for issuing instructions.
• Hand over contractor's procurement schedule.
• Mobilisation schedule and status.

The meeting should be minuted so that there is a clear record of the procedures agreed and decisions made. These minutes may form part of the contract documents, subject to agreement by both parties.

See also: Consultant team start-up meeting and Specialist contractors start-up meeting.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Construction phase plan.
• Contract administrator.
• Contract documents.
• Contract negotiations.
• Contract strategy.
• Contractor's master programme.
• Handover to contractor.
• Health and safety.
• Information release schedule.
• Possession.
• Pre-contract management.
• Site inspectors.
• Site layout plan.
• Site waste management plan.