CEM290: Construction Contract Law and Design Management

Module code: CEM290

Module provider: School of Construction Management and Engineering, School of Built Environment

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Ronan Champion, email: r.champion@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Professor John Connaughton, email: j.connaughton@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module covers Construction Contract Law and Design Management.

The module aims:

• to provide participants with an understanding and interpretation of contractual relationships in construction projects. Lessons from research and practice are used side-by-side with the teaching to provide robust explanations and help to develop a deep understanding of the consequences of how construction contracts are drafted, chosen and managed.
• to provide participants with an understanding of the design process in contemporary construction, and the tools and techniques used for its management in a wide range of project circumstances.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Make informed decisions about risk apportionment, procurement methods, contract strategies and dispute resolution strategy, and to explain the legislative context of contracts, and the impact that innovations and current policy development are having on construction procurement policy
2. Be familiarised with legal approaches to construction contracting, and will understand the diverse influences on contract policy and procurement
3. Appreciate the importance and complexity of design in the particular context of building construction
4. Understand the need for design management, and its relationship to risk management, and understand different modes of managing the design process, their underlying principles and contemporary practices, and to apply the principles and practices of design management to their own work circumstances

Module content

The module covers the following topics:  

Construction Contract Law: 

• Principles of the law of contract and recent developments 
• Relationship between procurement practice and contract law 
• Developments in procurement policy 
• Contract choice and procurement strategy 
• Claims management 
• Tort law in the construction context 
• Civil liability for building defects 
• Remedies for breach of contract 
• Project security: Insurance 
• Bonds and guarantees 
• Arbitration and litigation 
• Alternative dispute resolution 

Design Management: 

• The nature of building design 
• Design activities and processes 
• The design/business interface and in particular the relationship of design management to risk management  
• Clients and users as project stakeholders 
• Project briefing processes 
• Design team composition and management 
• Design planning: information flows; mapping design processes; systems and communication in design 
• Design management: management and control techniques; formal and informal approaches  
• Quality management for design 
• Change management 
• Building information modelling and its management in the context of design management 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be taught by lectures, tutorial discussions, case studies, individual and teamwork assignments, private study and seminars. To emphasise the current and practical relevance of the topics covered, subject contributors will include academics, specialist experts in aspects of construction law, and practitioners who specialise in briefing and design management in the construction sector. Self-administered on-line tests are used to help guide reading and learning.  

Study hours

At least 48 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The below information applies toall full time and flexible modularstudents on taught PGT programmes in SBE

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs