Engineering Professional Programs

Course Faculty: Geoffrey L. Baillie

In this class, you will learn consultant contract management methods that will enable you to handle common problems associated with consultant use. These problems include progress submittals that are late and substandard; inaccurate and incomplete progress reports; unverifiable schedule status information; lack of communication between the owner and the consultant; unauthorized work performed by the consultant; work done incorrectly necessitating that it be done again; and inaccurate time and cost projections. Course participants will learn effective management techniques that will help avoid or minimize many of these problem situations.

You will learn how to manage large and small consultant contracts on pubic and private projects. This course expands on topics covered in other TRANSPEED courses including Managing Scope, Schedule, and Budget; Managing Consultants; Measuring Project Performance; and Administering Consultant Contracts.

Course Topics

Managing consultants through contract wording

How to write a scope of work that prevents problems and anticipates change

How to effectively use milestones to plan, track, report, and help verify progress

How interim deliverables and informal progress reviews add quality to the final project

Using progress and cost reporting to track and manage performance

How to avoid doing the consultants' work for them

When and how to use performance evaluations to enhance consultant performance and responsiveness

Use an issue management system to manage change and prevent problems

Using an action item management system to prioritize consultant's work

Getting consultant invoices that are accurate, timely, and useful

Class participants will learn how to use these methods to manage large and small consultant contracts on public and private projects. This course expands on topics covered in other TRANSPEED courses including Managing Scope, Schedule, and Budget; Managing Consultants; and Measuring Project Performance

Who Should Attend

Project managers, owners, project principals, developers, engineers, architects, department heads, discipline managers, marketing managers, task leaders, consultants, project administrators, and all others that manage or work with consultants will benefit from this course.

Continuing Education Units and Professional Development Hours

Course participants will earn 0.7 CEUs/7 PDHs upon successful completion of this course. The CEU is a nationally recognized measure of participation in a noncredit continuing education program that meets established criteria for increasing knowledge and competency.