Week one
Kofi lists every notice the contract asks for: what, to whom, how and by when. It goes up beside the programme.
Kofi's journey · Commercial · Lesson 3
The notice that never arrived
Before you start
In the story
The ground was worse. The notice was late, and it went to someone who'd left.
Back to the story
The right way
Month two
Site finds the wet sand. The same day, Kofi's notice goes through the agreed route on the CDE to the named person, and the client acknowledges it.
Month six
The claim goes in with the notice attached. It's argued on cost, not on whether anyone was told.
"Ground conditions discussed"A late email to someone who'd left, and a claim that failed on a technicality.
Noticed, sent, acknowledgedThe right person, on time, through the agreed route, with proof.
Think like Kofi
A contract notice is information with a deadline and an address. Who has to be told, by when, how, and where's the proof they got it? If you're not sure it's needed, send it now and argue later.
Continue Kofi's journey
Story 4: The claim you can't prove
A delay claim hangs on when a drawing reached site. The proof is spread across six inboxes.
The right way, explained
Some letters in town only count if they're delivered to the right door before the post office shuts. Posting it next week to someone who's moved house doesn't count.
If you're the project manager
Keep the contract's notice list next to your programme. When site tells you about a problem, ask "does this need a notice?" before you ask anything else.
In the town See it in the town: the ground was worse. So why does the client owe nothing?
Kofi's view: the proper route leaves a trail. A word at a meeting doesn't.
Show:
The proper route. Every stop is recorded.
Back alley. Faster, but it leaves no trail.
The exchange map
Which line, which parcels, and when
Every project needs a map of its proper routes: who sends what, to whom, and when. Drawings come in on the design line, go out to site on the site line, and up to the client for acceptance. If it's on the map, everyone knows where to look. The back alley never is.
A contract notice needs a record too!
Something sent to a named person, through an agreed route, on time, with a record that it arrived.
Sam's Heads Up Your contract has its own words
InfoTown good practice: Send it through the agreed route to the named person, on time.
On your job: Your contract may call them early warnings, notices of delay or something else, each with its own deadline. Read yours; the deadline is the bit that bites.
For the audit What the auditor will ask
- Show me the notices sent on this job, and proof each one arrived.
- How does site know when something needs a notice?
For the audit What good evidence looks like
- A notice log with dates, recipients and acknowledgements.
- The contract's notice list, kept current with names.
ISO 19650 Agreed routes
ISO 19650 expects information to be exchanged through agreed routes, with a record of what was shared, by whom and when. Notices and their deadlines are set by your contract; treating them as information exchanges is InfoTown's advice.
Based on the ISO 19650 series: the ideas come from the standard; the plain-English wording, examples and advice are InfoTown's. ISO 19650 is © ISO and BSI. You'll hear the same language across the industry. Read more for free in the Information Management Initiative (IMI) Framework guidance from BSI and nima. For the full requirements, use the standard itself.