ABSTRACT
Construction covers many technical types of work with great variation of scale and where parties seek different risk distributions. They are affected by many factors, including the desired speed, timing of design and information communication, and the extent and nature of subcontracting. Firm bills of quantities remain the most common way of arranging the financial sides of the larger contracts, which was intended to mean over about £150,000 or rather more for simple works. The contractor gives a contract price which is fixed even though the design is incomplete, although the price will be amended to accommodate the client's later changes. All work is carried out by a series of separate contractors in a direct relationship with the contractor or in direct relationship with the client, as under the construction management system, but coordinated by the management contractor or construction manager.
