Our Future Skills Academy actively encourages collaboration across the business to help team members bolster their skills. As such, they regularly share their own expertise and insight to aid the development of others. These have taken the form of Future Skills Champions knowledge shares.
Mark Coburn, North West Regional Director, and Project Quantity Surveyor Lucy Farrer, have teamed up to produce a series of Case Law Updates for the wider Solomons team.
For the first, they homed in on three legal cases that have taken place during the last few months. For each, they delved into the background of each case and highlighted the key issues before moving onto the final judgement. They concluded by giving their expert reflections and what Quantity Surveyors should consider when faced with a similar scenario.
The duo also hosted an online launch event for the document which looked a little closer at the cases and paying particular attention to some of the subject areas that link to the areas of law that Quantity Surveyors deal with, such as Breach of Contracts, Collateral Warranties and Payment Notices, and Smash and Grab Adjudications.
Attendees were encouraged to bring their insights and questions to this open forum to increase their learning for current and future projects and contracts they are involved in. And while the forum was primarily aimed at those participating in our APC Accountability Club – a network for those taking a shot at RICS Chartership – it was open to team members at all stages in their career.
Marks says: “Ensuring that the quality of the service provided to clients is of the highest quality and improves on an ongoing basis is crucial to my role as both Director and Key Account Manager.
“An awareness of legislative changes and case law is a vital aspect for all professional surveyors. As such it is expected that we keep abreast of key decisions within our sphere of operation and that we are able to advise clients on the impact of such decisions on existing and future contracts.
“Working alongside Lucy on the Case Law Updates is a fantastic way to share our knowledge and help others to develop theirs ready for application in real life work scenarios.”
Lucy is a law graduate and worked in the legal profession for 5 years before changing careers and joining Solomons.
She says: “I’ve spent the last 3 years specialising in the nuclear sector, but I still hold a passion for law and have put this to good use in breaking down and applying the contractual frameworks inherent in the construction and engineering sectors.
“The Case Law Updates not only allow me to fulfil my own curiosity and tenacity when it comes to drilling into contracts and analysing the implications of legal case law, decisions, and disputes. It’s really rewarding to be able to pass it on to others in the business who can benefit from and apply it to their own work for clients, adding yet more value to the service they provide.”
Meanwhile, Project Quantity Surveyor Josh Brown tackled the weighty subject of the importance of having an Accepted Programme for his Future Skills Champion Knowledge Share piece.
‘Programmed for Success’ was Josh’s reflections on a recent NEC Programme workshop delivered by expert in this field, Glenn Hide of GMH Planning.
Referencing specifically the NEC3 Engineering & Construction Contract (ECC), the piece included the key points Josh took away from the workshop and draws on his own experience of just how much better life is working on a project with an Accepted Programme.
His work was peer reviewed by Senior Quantity Surveyor Matthew Dennis before it was shared to the wider team.
Josh says: “I took a huge amount from the workshop and wanted to try and distil it all into a piece that would not only help me going forward but be of benefit to people in the team. The culture of Solomons is really supportive. From the owners and directors to those in senior positions, everyone is eager to share their knowledge to help others be the best they can be. I was really proud to be able to play a part in that.”
Josh’s piece also appeared in the May edition of AcostE’s Project Control Professional magazine. You can download it at the bottom of this page.