Covid-19 variation reminder
In May 2020 we released guidance on the treatment of variations. In July, contingency funding to pay for the variations were announced as part of Budget 2020. When these announcements were made, the expectation was that many of the resulting impacts wouldn’t be seen for some months.
The COVID-19 variations team strongly recommend all Ministry and school-led projects complete a project ‘health check’ to:
- Establish the completion date under the contract and establish the contractors programme timeline from the tender
- Establish the programme completed activities status as of February 2020
- Establish the programme completed activities status as of February 2021
- Deduct any EoT agreed as part of any earlier COVID-19 claims – and identify any difference.
These matters should also be discussed in detail with project teams for all projects. Main contractors and consultants should be encouraged to submit a claim for any of applicable costs, as soon as practicable. Follow up calms may be submitted where project circumstances have changed, subsequent to initial claims.
Full details on all claimable items can be found here: Guidelines for valuing COVID-19 project variation claims
If you have any questions please email our COVID-19 variations team, COVID19Variations@education.govt.nz.
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Changes to health and safety incident reporting for Ministry-led construction projects
Further to our notification in the December 2020 Infrastructure News regarding changes to incident reporting for Ministry-led construction projects.
A reminder that these changes are:
1. Incident Reporting
From 1 January 2021, all incident, accident, and near-miss reports from main site contractors (including subcontractors), should be sent directly to the Ministry’s Education Infrastructure Service health and safety mailbox: EIS.healthandsafety@education.govt.nz.
Please note; incident reports must be sent to EIS Health & Safety within one week of the incident. Incident reports should also be copied to the Project Manager and Ministry’s project Delivery Manager.
2. Monthly Health and Safety Reports
From January 2021, a Monthly Health and Safety Report was implemented, for Major Works projects (projects over $3M in value or which are large and complex). The monthly report is required to provide in-depth health and safety data for the project and where no incidents have occurred in the month, a confirmation through completing a ‘Nil Return’.
If you are working on a project within our Major Works programme, you will be sent a request to complete the Monthly Health & Safety Report shortly, with further instructions.
We appreciate everyone’s cooperation to ensure that Ministry of Education construction projects continue to be safe places to work.
If you have any questions, please contact your Ministry of Education Delivery Manager in the first instance or email EIS.HealthandSafety@education.govt.nz.
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Ministry commences annual review of construction contracts
Being one of the Government’s largest buyers of construction services and as a signatory to the Construction Sector Accord, we are committed to continuously improving our contracts to ensure they continue to be fit-for-purpose and meet the needs of both the Ministry and our suppliers through our annual review.
Our annual review of construction contracts is an opportunity for us to work with the industry to develop better, fairer contracts and build stronger commercial relationships to support a thriving and sustainable construction sector. It also aligns with the Construction Sector Accord’s principle of building trusting relationships, by acting with empathy and respect, being transparent on the value and allocation of risk, and working collaboratively and inclusively through the review process.
Last week we released a survey to our Construction Directory members, seeking their input on the areas we should focus on in this year's review. We look forward to receiving the results, after the survey closes on 26 March 2021.
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Updated Designing Quality Learning Spaces (DQLS) documents released
We have updated our DQLS requirements for acoustics and lighting.
While these documents specify requirements architects and designers must meet when designing and constructing school buildings, it is also important for those who lead and co-ordinate school design work, such as project managers, boards.
The updated requirements are mandatory for projects entering the preliminary design phase from 1 January 2021, and apply to:
- All ‘new-build’ structures including extensions and prefabricated buildings
- Any new contracts for modular buildings
- Refurbishments of existing school buildings, including significant alterations
- Temporary learning spaces
These updates align the DQLS with industry best practice, the latest research, feedback we have received from design reviews and responses to a wide range of technical queries.
We will be releasing our DQLS document on indoor air quality and thermal comfort in April 2021.
You can find the new DQLS documents on our website.
If you have any questions, please email school.design@education.govt.nz.
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Latest from the Construction Sector Accord
Over the last year we’ve continued our work as a Construction Sector Accord signatory.
We have been working with our Construction Sector Accord partners, the Registered Master Builders (RMBA), and the Vertical Construction Leaders Group (VCLG) to improve performance and good business practice in the construction sector.
Our procurement team has been working on a financial assessment tool, suppliers can use to identify a contract value limit for each supplier to ensure risks of over-exposure are mitigated.
Ultimately this will encourage them to improve their finance and business practices and bolsters our commitment to improving the sector as part of the Accord. You can read more about it in the Construction Sector Accord newsletter.
We’re continuing to review our contracts annually, which has allowed for stronger relationships with our suppliers and fairer contracts in terms of the balance of risk which means we are a more attractive client in the eyes of industry.
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The Ministry of Education is proud to be part of the Construction Sector Accord. Together the Construction Sector Accord Steering Group has taken an immediate leadership role in developing the Construction Sector Covid-19 Response Plan. Government Ministers support the Accord leadership and direction of the response plan and are regularly engaging with the Steering Group to access information and advice on what the construction recovery should look like.
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You can find out about important updates to property policies, processes and systems on the Information for Suppliers section on our website: www.education.govt.nz/suppliers
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