Cross-cutting • Specialist course • 7-14 CPD hours depending on format

Commercial Fundamentals for Engineers

For engineers and project managers who are commercially aware but have never been taught the underlying mechanics.

About the course

Two-day foundation course on the commercial mechanics that sit underneath any construction project: CVR reporting, change control, programme as a contract document, payment cycles, and dispute mechanics. Aimed at engineers and PMs, not QSs.

Who it’s for

◆Engineers moving into project management
◆Project managers wanting to read CVRs and challenge their commercial teams
◆Discipline leads at consulting engineers
◆Graduate engineer cohorts as an onboarding module

What attendees can do afterwards

Outcomes.

01 Read a Monthly CVR and understand the commercial position of a project
02 Spot when a project's commercial position is drifting before the QS team raises it
03 Understand what a Compensation Event or Variation actually is, contractually
04 Speak the commercial language fluently enough to challenge it

Agenda

What the course covers.

Modules below cover the full content; shorter formats cover a subset agreed at scoping. Live drafting workshops and case-study sessions are included on the longer formats.

Module 1: Project commercial fundamentals

·Income, cost, margin: how a project earns money
·The CVR: what it shows and what it hides
·Cost-to-complete and forecast-to-complete in practice

Module 2: Change control

·Variation orders, instructions, and the contract baseline
·NEC compensation events and FIDIC variation regime, high level
·Why change control fails and what good looks like

Module 3: Programme as a contract document

·Programme baselines, updates, and the role of the planner
·Why "we'll work to the latest programme" is a commercial decision
·EoT in plain language

Module 4: Payment, retention, final account (2-day only)

·The payment cycle and the assessment day
·Retention and the moments that matter
·Practical and substantial completion
·Final account in plain language

Module 5: Disputes (2-day only)

·How disputes actually unfold on a project
·The escalation path: project, project board, formal
·What a notice is and why engineers should care

Format

How it’s delivered.

1-day overview

approx 7 hours
2-day foundation

approx 14 hours

Take-aways

What attendees leave with.

◆ Attendee workbook (PDF). 12-25 pages covering every module, with exercises, model answers, key clause references, glossary, and a CPD record page.
◆The Monthly CVR workbook with annotated commentary
◆Glossary of commercial terms for engineers
◆CPD certificate