What Engineers need to know about Contracts.

I have had confirmed that the perennially popular course on what Engineers need to know about contracts (which could have the subtitle - but don't get taught on their Chem Eng courses) is being run online 29/30th November 2021.  Small group but going ahead, so if you fancy having a small and intimate course, here is your chance

Full details are here.

This is two half days on successive days, and assumes no previous knowledge or understanding of contracts or the law.  In fact that is rather the point.  Starts 10am UK time, finishes at 1pm UK time each day

The course is based on the contract law of England and Wales, but discusses other legal systems and so is (hopefully) more generally applicable around the world.

Hope to see you there.

Public Procurement in the UK - online 2021

 With a colleague we are looking at running a public procurement awareness course in March 2022, just ahead of the implementation of new public procurement rules (or so we are told).

Our current plans would be to look at doing one day as an Introduction, and a second day focusing on the new regulations.

A possible third day would be a course I have longed to do for years, which is to look at negotiation from both the sales and procurement points of view- at the same time.

If you are interested, it would be great if you would let me know  - no commitment.  What we want to know is whether it is of interest, and what topics people want covering.

Hope to see you then.

IChemE - What Engineers need to know about Contracts 29/30th November 2021

 The perennially popular course on what Engineers need to know about contracts (which could have the subtitle - but don't get taught on their Chem Eng courses) is being run online 29/30th November 2021.

Full details are here.

This is two half days on successive days, and assumes no previous knowledge or understanding of contracts or the law.  In fact that is rather the point.

The course is based on the contract law of England and Wales, but discusses other legal systems and so is (hopefully) more generally applicable around the world.

Hope to see you there.

Engineering Procurement - 9 & 12 November 2021

 We are restarting running the course on Engineering Procurement with IChemE. Details are here.

This is 2 half days with a few days in between to allow delegates to think and apply what we are discussing, and then bring it to the second session for more detailed discussion.

This is online, and based on the face to face one day course that we hope to one day return to running.

The topic is fairly self explanatory, but just in case we are looking at principles of procurement but related to the highly technically specified world of engineering (in general, but Chemical Engineering in particular).

Hope to see you there.

Rising above

 I am currently marking some assignments from Italy.  

Given the results of Euro 2020 and the Olympics 4x100m men's final I have revenge in my hands.... but I shall rise above.

Instead I shall have pizza for tea.  And might just put pineapple on it as my petty revenge.

They are pretty good actually (at football, running and writing assignments, and of course food).

Last call for IChemE - What Engineers Need to Know about Contracts 9/10 August 2021

This regularly popular course is being run again by IChemE on 9th/10th August 2021 as 2 half day sessions.  The course is live to allow for discussion and interaction.  And of course, delivered by me.

We have fewer than a dozen attendees at the moment so there will be a good chance to interact rather than be lectured at.

We are sticking with online courses for the time being.  No doubt we shall go back to face to face training when it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Full details are here.

We are in discussions about some other courses - face to face when allowed or online, and as downloadable webinars.  Full details if and when go ahead.  But it looks likely that they will be on the schedule for first run this year (2021)

IChemE - What Engineers need to know about Contracts - 9/10 August 2021

 This regularly popular course is being run again by IChemE on 9th/10th August 2021 as 2 half day sessions.  The course is live to allow for discussion and interaction.  And of course, delivered by me.

We are sticking with online courses for the time being.  No doubt we shall go back to face to face training when it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Full details are here.

We are in discussions about some other courses - face to face when allowed or online, and as downloadable webinars.  Full details if and when go ahead.

New UK government best practices in procurement - Sourcing Playbook May 2021

 We are still waiting to hear what the new UK public procurement regulations will be - the Green Paper consultation finished in March 2021, and though I don't know any more than anyone else, I will be surprised if new legislation is in place much before the end of the year.

What is new though is the updated guides to some practical applications of procurement in UK government.  The Outsourcing Playbook has now become the Sourcing Playbook in its 3rd annual revision.  There are also good documents on bid evaluation, Should Cost modelling, and Competitive Dialogue.

All are at the link here.  Lots of good stuff for both public sector buyers, and those selling to the public sector.  And general procurement too, come to that.

I am less enamored of the recent Procurement Policy Note 5/21, which I don't think says much that is not obvious (Public Procurement should support public priorities. Really.)  But, there is nothing to really disagree with.

Matt Hancock - acted unlawfully over contract transparency

 Second good article from Supply Management.

This time it is about the controversy over the failure of Matt Hancock (Health Secretary) to publish contract award notices within 30 days of award.

A few points about this.

Firstly, publishing late is not evidence of corruption, collusion, or "money for mates" as was suggested by some commentators.

Secondly, publishing late does raise eyebrows because if you were indulging in unethical/illegal behaviours in awarding contracts you would probably try to hide it (e.g. by publishing award notices either very late or not at all).  This is not saying there is no smoke without fire, but you can understand why people do say it.  This is why transparency has to be at the heart of public sector procurement - only if we can see what is going on can we be reassured that our taxpayer's money is being spent in the best way.  Late publishing of award notices may seem a minor issue, but it undermines public trust in government procurement.

Thirdly, there is no good reason for the late publication.  It is a relatively minor effort and should be undertaken as a matter of routine.  It is unconnected to the reasons why we may have gone for direct awards of contracts during the Covid-19 crisis (which may or may not be justified - it is a separate issue).  Personally, I suspect the hand of a well known provocateur at the heart of government who celebrated cocking a snook at the rule of law, standards and processes.  Thankfully he has gone (you know who I mean).

Finally, what is clearly wrong is that Matt Hancock authorised the use of government funds to fight a legal case it clearly had no chance of winning, and in which the government was unquestionably in the wrong.  This is an abuse of the legal system, and a waste of taxpayer's money.  The government's own legal team must have told the minister he had no chance of winning.  Instead Mr. Hancock decided to waste time and money during a health crisis.  

Whether the government was prudent or unwise in not having competitive tendering for PPE is something quite separate, and should be studied by an independent review.  It genuinely could be either case.

Procurement failure - Oxford

 Some good stuff in Supply Management.  

First, Oxford County Council reaching a settlement for £1.6m with a contractor.  The article is here.

A couple of points here, which I commonly raise with delegates.

Firstly, the cost to the council is significant and would pay the salaries of approximately 30 procurement staff.  Investing in high quality procurement staff can pay for itself - the problem is it pays for itself in cost avoidance, which is difficult to estimate.

Secondly, the council's legal team estimated chances of losing at 75% to 85%.  This may seem odd to people not used to legal cases, but the odds of winning or losing are rarely 100%.  You are never quite sure what the court will find.  (though see tomorrow's blog)  So a lot of decisions are made on a commercial basis rather than a legal basis - "we think we are right but the odds are not good so it is better to settle".

Another good article tomorrow.

IChemE - What Engineers Need to Know about Contracts - 3/4 March 2021

 The first 2021 running of What Engineers Need to know about Contracts is next week, and we still have spaces (the joy of running courses on line!).

Let's hope that we might even be able to have the second event as a face to face one!

Dates are 3/4 March 2021 (online - 2x 1/2 days)

and 9/10 August 2021 - which might (just might)  be face to face in Rugby.  But don't hold your breath.

Full details are here.

Transparency in public procurement

 As has been recently covered in the press, the government broke the law by not reporting details of its contracts for PPE in a timely manner.

A good analysis of the importance of this has been written by David Allen Green here.

All I will add is that the concept of transparency is really at the heart of public accountability, and is not merely some bureaucratic nicety as the government appears to have argued.  Hopefully, this was a hangover from the political adviser who seemed to take a perverse pleasure in demonstrating that the law, standards and social norms did not apply to him. (You know who I mean)  The effort and money spent in defending a case where the government was clearly and admittedly in the wrong, is not encouraging.

In a time of crisis it is important that the government and public sector keep the trust of the population.  Probably even more than in normal times.  I hope that is understood by the government.

Find a Tender Service (UK public sector tenders)

 The new Find a Tender Service is up and online - you can find it here.  This replaces the OJEU website for tenders with a value above the relevant threshold, i.e. the larger public sector tenders.  Note that any tender process that started on OJEU will be completed on OJEU and follow EU procurement rules.  Just a reminder - the threshold values themselves have not changed this year - the current levels apply for 2020/1.

They appear to be calling it FTS, not FATS (as I rather hoped).  It is not the easiest thing to find, but hopefully will be further up the listings on Google when it is bedded in a bit.

I have registered, and the process is fairly painless (not completely), and it IS linked to Contract Finder  - which makes a lot of sense but was not guaranteed.