Control project variations policy

This outlines the policy which ensures variations to the scope of a project are identified, initiated, evaluated, implemented, controlled, and properly administered and reported.

Project variations

PEER Construction has a responsibility to its clients to systematically advise them of any developments which will materially affect the schedule or cost of the work being performed and to only perform work which has been properly authorised.

Project variations fall into two categories:

• Design/construction philosophy changes that affect existing contracts or changes requested by the client.
• Project oversights or internal changes that do not involve a change in design/construction philosophy or affect existing contracts.

PEER Construction’s project team also has a responsibility to PEER Construction management to advise on any internal developments which might affect overall project performance.

Changes initiated by the client can also include constructive changes resulting from acts of the client or failures of the client to perform required actions or client directions which are at variance with contract requirements.

Examples of changes

Some representative examples of constructive changes are:

• unjustified rejection of work requiring rework or additional work not required by contract
• requirements by the client of excessive tests or higher standards of performance than required by contractual specifications
• client insistence on interpretation of ambiguous requirements when satisfactory performance can otherwise be achieved
• alteration of the work sequence by direction of client representatives
• client refusal to recognise an excusable delay or insistence on adherence to the original contract schedule despite excusable delays, requiring acceleration, speed up or resequencing of work
• inconsistencies or errors in specifications or other contractual documents causing extra work
• technical or administrative direction, written or oral, requiring work not otherwise required by contract
• failure of client to cooperate or not to interfere
• failure of client to provide timely, accurate and complete information or to disclose superior knowledge.

Control of project variations

The key element and the prerequisite of a successful change control is a clear scope definition in contractual documents and its proper communication to the complete project team (refer to PEER Construction Communication policy).

For proper control of project variations, it is essential that the following are established on a project:

• A mechanism which allows all personnel working on the project to readily bring a (potential) variation to the notice of project management.
• A project management decision process which authorises holds or stops the implementation of any variation before commencement of work.
• A client decision process for authorising/holding/stopping implementation of any variation
• An efficient system for scoping, pricing and administering variations.
• A cost control and reporting procedure which systematically incorporates changes into project budgets and forecasts.
• An individual who has overall responsibility for ensuring that variations, once raised, are properly followed through, recorded and administered.
• Early identification and expeditious processing of project variations will significantly reduce conflicts over change orders.
• The client must provide a variation letter for any variation they request. Any other potential variation must be bought to the attention of the project manager.
• The project manager will decide whether the project variation is valid, whether to start the work and whether it is to be brought forward to the client.
• The project manager will develop cost and schedule impacts associated with the project variation.
• The project manager will email the client for their authorisation to proceed. Client approval of changes must be received before implementation.
• The client must email PEER Construction detailing the variation and their approval of changes.
• The project manager will check all client variations against specification to ensure currency of information.
• The variation date is to be added to the site plan under amendment dates.