CASE STUDY: Crossrail, London
Richard Hildrick
PROJECT: Crossrail, London [Contracts C610, C620, C660]
RJH CLIENT: Electrical Cable and CMS Installations Subcontractor - working for Main Contractor ATC (Alstom TSO Costain Joint Venture)
RJH CLIENT: Electrical Cable and CMS Installations Subcontractor - working for Main Contractor ATC (Alstom TSO Costain Joint Venture)
“RJH advice and recommendations have been invaluable throughout this contract. With their guidance we have achieved an excellent result with an amicable final account agreement with our client. We would have no hesitation recommending RJH and plan to engage them on other complex contracts.”
– John Taylor, Managing Director F.B.Taylor (Cable Contractors) Ltd.
Crossrail was the largest construction project in Europe, including a new London Underground line running from right across central London, from Westbourne Park in the West, to Pudding Mill Lane and Plumstead in the East.
In 2014, RJH helped F.B.Taylor (‘FBT’) to successfully negotiate the terms of a complex Subcontract Order for the installation of all cabling to the new Crossrail London Underground line, including the cabling interfaces with the many stations, shafts, and portals associated with this huge construction project.
In late 2015 and then in 2016 two further Subcontracts were negotiated and agreed by RJH on its Client’s behalf, for the installation of cable management systems (CMS) throughout the tunnels and associated overground sections of the Crossrail project.
RJH was directly responsible for advising on and negotiating the detail of the original terms of Sub-Contract for all 3 Orders, which were based upon the NEC3 Engineering and Construction Subcontract with Main Option B, with significant Crossrail and ATC amendments and bespoke conditions.
Between 2015 and 2019, RJH worked as a key and integral part of it’s Subcontractor Client FBT’s project team, with responsibility for all contractual and commercial matters and working very closely with FBT’s Managing Director and Project Managers to help to successfully manage the 3 separate Subcontracts, working for Main Contractor ATC
From an original Subcontract Value of £2.5 Million, the combination of substantial additional work scope, imposed prolongation of over 2 years in duration, and over 1,900 Compensation Events, was managed successfully to a final account value of over £18.5 Million.
This was achieved through proactive robust commercial and contractual management by RJH’s consultants, working closely with the Client’s Project Managers and Managing Director at all times as an integral part of their team, and ‘steering the ship’ in terms of robust Contractual Notices, Delay Analysis, Compensation Event Quotations, Payment Applications, and direct negotiations with the ATC Commercial Team and its Directors.
RJH ensured that the 3 accounts were progressively agreed over the course of the 4 years of ongoing work, including Compensation Events relating to extended preliminaries and prices for additional works, delays, disruption, acceleration, and inflationary costs. This ensured that any difference in the account was managed and proactively addressed, leading to the amicable and prompt negotiation of final accounts whilst the final elements of works on site were still ongoing.
Richard Hildrick - Founder
BSc(Hons) MSc MRICS MCIOB FCIArb
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