Contractors
Appointing a Contractor
No matter how willing or enthusiastic you are there will almost certainly be some elements of your project that you cannot carry out yourselves, because of their complexity or the potential risks involved, this is when you will need to employ a contractor.
Finding a contractor
A contractor is an agent who agrees to supply goods or services for a named price.
When choosing a contractor to carry out some, or all of the works, it's a good idea to approach more than one in order to get a number of quotes. Try to use ones who have been recommended to you or who can provide references from previous clients. The best way is through recommendation from someone you know. Follow references through by speaking to the clients and by going to look at the work if at all possible. You might also wish to refer to the members' directory of the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) (www.bali.co.uk)*, which represents the contracting body of the landscape industry.
Writing a Brief
Once you have a shortlist of contractors, you should get a minimum of three quotes based on a brief. A brief is a detailed description of the work you want carried out, the materials you want used and the timescale in which you want the work carried out. It should also specify any special conditions such as:
- working practices - i.e. which areas are out of bounds, whether or not work will be constrained by other activities, storage of equipment and materials and site safety.
- removal of material prior to the construction materials being laid.
- a full list and description of all materials to be used.
- You need to be very clear and precise about what is being quoted for so both you and the contractor know exactly what work is being done and what is being paid for.
- Make sure the quote covers the full price of the works and removal of all waste, with agreed method of payment stated. Ask the contractor to add a 10% contingency sum to the quote to cover unexpected extras that might arise.
Once you have decided which contractor to use before you sign any agreement or agree to work starting you should ensure your contractor can provide you with all of the following:
- Insurance - the contractor should be able to provide you
with copies of insurance certificates in respect of;
Public Liability Insurance (minimum £5 million for any one claim)
Employees Liability (if the contractor employs others). - Health and Safety - you should request a copy of the contractors Health and Safety* policies and procedures.
- Risk Assessment - as part of their health and Safety requirements contractors should provide clients with a risk assessment before any work is undertaken.
- An agreed timetable of when they will start, carry out and complete the work.
- Guarantee - is there a guarantee on workmanship and materials (particularly important in respect of replacing plant materials which die within the first two years of planting).
- A guarantee that the contractor will repair any damage done on site.
- Inclusion of a maintenance clause to cover the first year after completion, this is particularly important with regard to areas of planting and other soft landscaping.
Do not be tempted to accept the lowest quotation purely on the grounds of cost, take note of the materials that the contractor will be using, previous experience and the overall value for money. There may be reasons such as timetable or a more local contractor that will affect which contractor you finally decide to use. Don't be afraid to seek advice.
Once you have selected a contractor you will need to write a letter of appointment to them which confirms the agreed price and when the works will take place. You should also confirm that you have been provided with a copy of their health and safety policy and procedures, a copy of their public liability insurance certificate and a risk assessment. This will form part of the contract between you. Remember the contract is a legal and binding agreement between you and the contractor. The contractor is bound to carry out the works agreed and the project group are bound to pay for those works on completion.
Supervising the job
Once the contractor has been appointed the group's involvement is not over. The contractor will need to be supervised whilst carrying out the work. This need not be constant, however it is important for one of the group to agree to be the main contact or project supervisor for the contractor. Ideally this person will have full knowledge of the project and will know exactly what work the contractor has been employed to do. The supervisor should try to make a daily visit to the site to ensure work is on schedule and to address any problems that have arisen.
If you are working with a local organisation you may already have an
agreement for them to provide a project management. If this is so they
should make regular reports back to the project group so that you are
kept informed of the progress of the work and are aware of any problems
that may occur.
If, through unforeseen circumstances, changes in the specification of
the work do occur it is important for these to be written down and for
both the project supervisor and the contractor to endorse these changes.
Signing Off
This is a semi-formal event where together with the contractor you inspect the
work that has been carried out. If the project group are satisfied with
the work you will then need to write a letter to the contractor in which
you state you are satisfied that the work has been completed according
to the specifications in the contract. Once the project group has signed
off the work and sent a letter of confirmation to the contractor, he
will then send an invoice for payment. This should be paid as soon as
possible.
If you have asked for the contractor to maintain the site, the maintenance
period will start from the date of completion. The guarantee period
will also start on the date of completion. This should also be confirmed in your letter to the contractor.
If the project group are not satisfied with the work or it has not been finished then you should not sign off the work. Instead the letter should state what parts of the work need to be amended or finished before the project will be signed off and arrangements made with the contractor to ensure that this takes place.
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