Practical Practical Completion
under the PAM Forms of Contract
_______________________________________________
Joseph Tan Meng Hooi, Jul. 2025
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Foreword
The following presentation is based on a trilogy of Practice Notes (as also prepared by this writer) which at the time of preparation of this presentation, are still awaiting final editing and approval by the PAM Practice Committee's Working Group on Practice Notes.
It is hoped that these Practice Notes shall made available to
all in the forseeable future.
ALSO, A WARNING AND APOLOGY; this presentation is not graphic or picture based filled with stock photos, graphs, arrows, animations or videos based around a presentation template.
It is unfortunately, all based on text, JUST AS YOU WOULD FIND IN THE PAM FORM OF CONTRACT.
Joseph Tan Meng Hooi Jul.2025
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Introduction.
A QUESTION ; WHY IS IT MORE DIFFICULT TO COMPLETE A PROJECT
AS COMPARED TO STARTING ONE?
As projects get larger and more complex, will
completion always be more difficult than
commencement?
This presentation seeks to provide a bit of a historical context as to how Practical Completion appears in the PAM Form and provide some thoughts for consideration when attempting to complete your own projects.
Although this presentation is based on the PAM Forms of Contract (namely the 2006 and 2018 editions), it is hoped that some of the topics covered will also apply to other building contracts which you all may encounter.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Introduction,...cont.,
For easier digestion, this presentation is divided into the following parts;
1. PRACTICAL COMPLETION; what is it and why do most of us
like it?
2. A mystery; is COMPLETION and PRACTICAL COMPLETION the
same?
3. A bit of HISTORY; Practical Completion last century and
now.
4. Practical Completion; Some ISSUES under PAM 2006
and PAM 2018
5. What needs to happen to get your CPC?
6. Some CONSIDERATIONS when dealing with Practical Completion.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
PRACTICAL COMPLETION;
what is it and
why do most of us
like it?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
PRACTICAL COMPLETION; what is it and why do most of us like it?
Clients (Employers).
Clients generally like it because it means;
- they have the building they want/require; if it's a
commercial building, they can start making money off it;
if it's a developer, they now have a building with which they
can deliver vacant possession to purchasers; and
if it's a residence, they will now have a roof over their
heads which they can occupy.
BUT, their enthusiasm may be tempered because;
- they would by now, have had to pay for almost the total cost
of the building and
- the responsibility of looking after/securing, insuring and
maintaining the building now rests with them.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
PRACTICAL COMPLETION; what is it and why do most of us like it?
Cont.,...
Architects.
Architects generally like it because it means;
- they will have completed MOST of the work required; no more
design work to carry out; no more regular site meetings.
If an Architect were to be engaged to provide Basic Services
as per the Architects Scale of Minimum Fees (SoMF), Practical
Completion should mean completion of their work up to the
Contract Management and Implementation Phase;
- this in turn, should translate into being paid up to 95% of
their professional fee.
It also does mean though that;
- there are still the tedious tasks like assessing and
processing defects arising within the Defects Liability
Period and;
- there are even more tedious tasks such as sorting out the
Final Account before they can deem the project completed,
issue their final Bill and close the file.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
PRACTICAL COMPLETION; what is it and why do most of us like it?
Cont.,...
Contractors.
a) Contractors like it as it normally signifies that they have
completed (almost all of) their job. There should be no more
looking for workers, materials and plant, etc.,.. .
b) Contractors should also have demobilized most (if not all)
of their resources on site; there should be NO MORE
PRELIMINARIES to pay for.
c) As possession of the Site passes back to the Employer, the
Contractor no longer has to be responsible to look
after, secure and clean the site.
d) Unless issued under Cl. 11.3, there should be no more AI
requiring Variations. If anything, unless, required under
Cl. 15.5, THERE SHOULD BE NO MORE AIs.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
PRACTICAL COMPLETION; what is it and why do most of us like it?
Cont.,...
Contractors, Cont.
e) As the Architect is obliged to issue within 14 Days of the
CPC,a Certificate for the release of the 1st half of the
Retention Fund to the Contractor, MORE MONEY is due to
the Contractor.
f) The Defects Liability Period commences and the only work on
site expected from the Contractor is the rectification of
defects discovered within this period.
g) Apart from the defect rectification, the only other major
task is the compilation and submission of documents for the
Final Account.
h) Most importantly for the Contractor, there can be NO FURTHER
LIQUIDATED DAMAGES (LD) imposed from the date of the CPC;
i.e. his LD (if any) is now capped
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
COMPLETION
and PRACTICAL COMPLETION;
Are they the same?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
COMPLETION and PRACTICAL COMPLETION; Are they the same?
When we start a project, it is interesting to note that the PAM Forms always refer to “Completion”.
As an example, let us look at what Article 1 says;
”For the consideration hereinfter mentioned the Contractor will
upon and subject to the Contract carry out and complete
the Works shown upon and described by or referred to in the
Contract.”
Carrying on,Clause 21.1 tells us that;
“On the Date of Commencement, possession of the Site shall be
given to the Contractor who shall commence the execution of
the Works regularly and diligently proceed with and complete
the same on or before the Completion Date.”
Please note that in both the above, the PAM Forms never look to
the Contractor to “practically complete the works” NOR do they
ever refer to a “Practical Completion Date”.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
COMPLETION and PRACTICAL COMPLETION; Are they the same?
Cont.,...
BUT, as we head towards finishing the Works though, something MYSTERIOUS happens, all references now morph from “Completion” to “Practical Completion” (Please refer to the WHOLE of Clause 15.0).
ARE COMPLETION AND PRACTICAL COMPLETION THE SAME?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
COMPLETION and PRACTICAL COMPLETION; Are they the same?
Cont.,...
When a task has been completed, there should be nothing left to do relative to the task.
When a task is practically completed though, the implication is that there are still things left to do to achieve FULL completion.
So, in terms of language, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME; please remember that there is a difference between BEING PREGNANT and BEING PRACTICALLY PREGNANT.
Nevertheless (and this is where the mystery starts), for the purposes of the PAM Form (and most building contracts), PRACTICAL COMPLETION IS DEEMED AS THE SAME AS COMPLETION; i.e. if the Contractor achieves practical completion before the Completion Date, we deem the Works as being completed and starting from this date, Architects are not empowered to issue Certificates of Non-Completion nor are Employers empowered to impose Liquidated Damages.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
COMPLETION and PRACTICAL COMPLETION; Are they the same?
Cont.,...
Imagine if you as a parent, tell your children that they need to COMPLETE their homework before they can go out and play.
Now, further imagine if your children reply that they have PRACTICALY COMPLETED their homework; they has completed all the maths problems set as their homework and they only need to check it and as such, they demand to be allowed the privilege of going out to play.
As in the above case of the unfortunate parent, there is unfortunately a price to be paid by having COMPLETION AND PRACTICAL COMPLETION (for all intent and purposes) to be intercheangeble; IS YOUR CONTRACTOR'S VIEW OF PRACTICAL COMPLETION ALIGNED WITH THE ARCHITECT'S OR EMPLOYER'S VIEW OF COMPLETION?
Let us now take a very short historical trip to see how the
PAM Forms dealt with this issue.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
A bit of history;
Practical Completion
“last” century and now.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – a short history under the PAM Forms.
Let us start by looking at Clause 15.1 of the PAM Contract 1998
which had this to say;
“When the Architect is of the opinion that the Works are
practically completed, meaning that the Contractor has
performed and completed all the necessary Works specified in
the Contract and the patent defects existing in such Works are
“de minimis”,the Architect shall forthwith issue a Certificate
of Practical Completion.”
Just as any parent would tell their child that decisions as to
when homework is finished are to be made only by the parent,
PAM 1998 made clear that a decision as to when the Contractor
has “performed and completed all the necessary Works” with any
patent defects being “de minimis”; resulting in the Works being
deemed as practically completed, is also SOLELY up to the
ARCHITECT.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – a short history under the PAM Forms.
Cont.,...
For this writer, DEFECTS can generally be put into 2
Categories;
a) PATENT DEFECTS – these are defects which you can see at the time of inspection and if they are so obvious, they should be rectified BEFORE Practical Completion.
b) LATENT DEFECTS – these are defects which CANNOT be seen (or detected) at the time of inspection. If we can't see or are unaware of them, how can anyone be expected to rectify them?
PAM 1998 in it's wisdom though, now also gave us PATENT DEFECTS
which are “de minimis” (and which it would seem, NEED NOT be
rectified prior to Practical Completion).
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – a short history under the PAM Forms.
Cont.,...
WHAT IS “DE MINIMIS” AND WOULD YOUR
CONTRACTOR OR EMPLOYER KNOW?
“See de minimis in her miniskirt. get in her minicar,
oh she looks standing there, just like a mini-movie-star,
but when she's driven very, very far, will we ever miss de minimis?”
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – a short history under the PAM Forms.
Cont.,...
This writer used to MISTAKENLY ASSUME that de minimis meant
“at a minimum” but based on quick checks with a Latin to
English Dictionary,it actually means “TRIVIAL”.
This also in itself, DOES NOT HELP; what is trivial to you may
be important to others.
The term makes better sense if we look at it through the dictum
“DE MINIMIS NON CURAT LEX” which loosely translated means
“so trivial that the law would not even bother with it”;
i.e., something so trivial that no court of law would ever even
want to admit and adjudicate over it.
So, patent defects which are de minimis are those that a JUDGE
would not want to even waste time looking into.
Do I as an architect, know what is important (or trivial) to a
Judge? Is a loose door handle de minimis? What if the door
handle is for an escape door?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – a short history under the PAM Forms.
Cont.,...
Based on all the above ambiguity, we now get to PAM Contract
2006 which set Practical Completion as;
“15.1(a) when in the opinion of the Architect, the Employer can
have full use of the Works for their intended
purposes, notwithstanding that there may be works and
defects of a minor nature still to be executed and the
Contractor has given to the Architect a written
undertaking to make good and complete such works and
defects within a reasonable time specified by the
Architect; and
15.1(b) other requirements expressly stated in the Contract
Documents as a pre-requisite for the issuance of the
Certificate of Practical Completion have been complied
with.”
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – a short history under the PAM Forms.
Cont.,...
As a quick comparison between PAM 1998 and PAM 2006, we can see
that;
a) BOTH still leave it to the Architect to exercise his
opinion; i.e., the Architect is still in control of
determining when Practical Completion is achieved;
b) PAM 2006 is now a bit more OBJECTIVE, Practical Completion
is based on whether the Employer can have full use of the
Works for their intended purposes; and
c) with PAM 2006, there is no longer any need for an Architect
to agonise over whether a defect is de minimis or not; as
long as the defect is minor and the Contractor has given a
written undertaking to rectify it within a reasonable time
of the Architect's choosing, the defect can be accepted for
Practical Completion.
Between PAM 1998 and PAM 2006, WHICH HAS THE MORE PRACTICAL
PRACTICAL COMPLETION? WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – a short history under the PAM Forms.
Cont.,...
To help us decide, let's take an example; imagine you are the
Architect for a luxurious bungalow and during the final
inspection, everyone agrees that everything has been completed
except for a clogged toilet in the powder room and some light
points that don't work.
Clogged toilets and light points that don't work can hardly be
considered de minimis but they are probably minor enough for a
Contractor to be able to return and rectify them within a day
or 2 and more importantly, they are also minor enough for the
Employer to be able to move in and use the Works for their
intended purpose.
If the Employer is desperate to move in; the Contractor is
desperate to complete the Works and you are not so keen on
arranging another final inspection, which form of the PAM
Contract works better for you?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – a short history under the PAM Forms.
Cont.,...
For this presenter,it is quite obvious that between PAM 1998
and PAM 2006, the latter does seem to offer a much more
PRACTICAL approach to Practical Completion.
Given the practicality of these provisions in PAM 2006, it is
worth noting that these provisions were also replicated for
PAM 2018.
Nevertheless, as in life, nothing comes without a cost and
there are other possibly contentious issues which Architects
need to consider and cater for when using either the PAM 2006
or 2018.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion;
Some ISSUES under
PAM 2006 & PAM 2018
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
A. Full Use for their Intended Purpose.
For this presenter, the 1st issue would be the part of Clause
15.1 that lets an Architect deem practical completion when
“the Employer can have full use of the Works for their intended
Purposes,...”.
If the Works are for a house/residence, full use for their
intended purpose should mean the end users being able to live
in the house. IS IT AS SIMPLE AS THIS THOUGH?
1. The PAM Forms are GENERAL Contracts; they may be used to
build a whole house OR they may be used to construct the
various parts that make up the house; i.e., they may be used
just for the piled foundations or for the construction of a
shell upon which others may finish the house.
“Full use for their intended purpose” for each of the above
would be different.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
Cont.,...
A. Full Use for their Intended Purpose, Cont.
2. Even if a Contractor was entrusted with the WHOLE Works, it
must still be remembered that final and full use for their
intended purpose may be dependent upon others; i.e., to
fully use a house and occupy it, the Architect may have to
issue a Certificate of Completion & Compliance (CCC)with
issuance of such a certificate not being under the
Contractor's control or scope of works.
Similarly, full use may require the application for and
connection of utilities which are in turn, also dependent
on the Employer applying/signing for such supplies as well
as paying the necessary Contributions or deposits.
So, in the case of a house, is a Contractor's job to complete the Works so that the Employer can use the house as a home OR should it be completing the Works to a stage where necessary inspections and/or statutory certification may be carried out?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
Cont.,...
A. Full Use for their Intended Purpose, Cont.
3. This presentation has primarily looked at Practical
Completion through the eyes of the contractual parties but
as Architects, it must also be remembered that there are
3rd parties to whom we owe a duty of care.
An Employer may tell you that his “intended purpose” is to
quickly deliver vacant possession of his building to
purchasers so that he can collect more money or not have to
pay damages for late delivery.
This is in itself, a legitimate purpose BUT do Architects
also need to consider the “intended purposes” of 3rd parties
such as purchasers too?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
Cont.,...
A. Full Use for their Intended Purpose, Cont.
The defintion of what constitutes “Full Use” and “Intended
Purpose” is as such, very dependent on the context and what has
to happen next before the ULTIMATE Intended Purpose is reached.
In an ideal world, Architects should actually spell out what
exactly is required in the Contract Documents; i.e. Completion
of the Works ready for inspection by others OR Completion of
works for installation of machinery by others, etc.,... .
In the event that this spelling out is left out of the Contract
Documents, it may be advisable for the Architect to then
discuss and agree with the Contractor and Employer, just what
is exactly required for Practical Completion in advance of the
expected completion of the Works.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
Cont.,...
B. Works and Defects of a Minor Nature still to be executed.
1. Cl. 15.1(a) of PAM 2006 & 2018 says;”when in the opinion of
the Architect, the Employer can have full use of the Works
for their intended purposes,notwithstanding that there may
be works and defects of a minor nature still to be executed
and the Contractor has given to the Architect a written
undertaking to make good and complete such works and defects
within a reasonable time specified by the Architect;”.
If we are to stay true to the spirit and intent of the
clause, should the clause actually read;”when in the opinion
Of the Architect, the Employer can have full use of the
Works for their intended purposes,notwithstanding that there
may be works of a minor nature still to be executed along
with defects of a minor nature still to be rectified and the
Contractor has given to the Architect a written undertaking
to complete such works and make good such defects within a
reasonable time specified by the Architect;”?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
Cont.,...
B. Works and Defects of a Minor Nature still to be executed.
2. What may be of a “minor nature” to a Contractor may not be
minor to the the Employer or the Architect. Whilst the
empowerment to decide on what is or is not of a minor nature
lies solely with the Architect, the Architect should not
expect his decisions to remain unchallenged.
To minimise any disputes, this presenter takes the stand
that works or defects of only of a minor nature if they can
be executed or rectified without ANY DISRUPTION to the
Employer's full use of the Works for their intended purpose.
A further consideration should be that the outstanding works
or defects should be minor enough that in the event of a
Contractor failing to either complete these works or rectify
these defects, there should be more than sufficient funds in
the Retention Fund to employ others to do so.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
Cont.,...
B. Works and Defects of a Minor Nature still to be executed.
Cont.,...
Going back to the example of a house/residence, outstanding
works/defects would/should only be considered as being of a
minor nature if their completion/rectification can be
carried out with the Employer still being able to continue
living there without any disturbance or disruption to his
normal routine; a defect would NOT be of a minor nature if
it's rectification means telling the Employer he cannot cook
in his kitchen for 2 days
It is in the interest of all Architects that qualifications
such as these are made known and clear to ALL parties, way
before any practical completion is even reached.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
Cont.,...
C. “Within a reasonable time specified by the Architect”
1. As seen above, Architects are allowed to accept outstanding
works or unrectified defects for Practical completion
subject to also obtaining the Contractor's written
undertaking to complete the outstanding works and or rectify
these defects within a reasonable time specified by the
Architect”; i.e. it is solely up to the Architect to decide
on what it a “reasonable time”.
In the interest of again, minimizing disputes, the presenter
takes the stand that “reasonable time” should mean, the
shortest, feasible time for carrying out the work in a
timely manner that does not affect the Employer's full use
of the Works for their intended purpose nor the Employer's
other rights such as those found under the Defects Liability
Period.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
Cont.,...
C. “Within a reasonable time specified by the Architect”, Cont.
As with most things related to Practical Completion,
interpretation is very often related to context.
If you have a have a factory with a leaking roof, closing
off of that part of the factory for even half a Day may NOT
be a “reasonable time” BUT if the just recently completed
factory is still awaiting delivery of machinery which is
still on the high seas and scheduled for delivery only a
further 2 weeks away, closing off of that part for 3 Days
may be throughly reasonable.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion – ISSUES under PAM 2006 & 2018
Cont.,...
C. “Within a reasonable time specified by the Architect”, Cont.
Similarly, if in the same factory, you have an unplastered
and unpainted wall that does not affect the factory floor,
the machinery inside it or the operations of the factory,
would a Contractor saying that he can plaster and paint it
6 months from now sound acceptable or reasonable?
It must be remembered that with each Date of Practical
Completion, there is also only ONE Date for the Expiry of
the Defects Liability Period.
Would agreeing to the plastering and painting of this one
wall 6 months later still give the Employer a Total Building
with the benefit of a FULL Defects Liability Period OR does
a small part of the building now have a reduced DLP?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion;
What needs to happen
to get your CPC?
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion What's the process under PAM 2006 & 2018?
Now that we have some understanding of the concept of
Practical Completion, how do we go about getting it certified?
Under the PAM Forms, the process is seemingly VERY SIMPLE;
a) If a Contractor thinks he has practically completed the work to the satisfaction of the Architect, Cl. 15.2 requires him to first give written notice of such practical completion to the Architect.
b) Upon receipt of such notice, the Architect then has 14 Days to either;
i) DISAGREE with the Contractor's opinion by giving written
notice along with the his reasons for his disagreement
OR
ii) AGREE with the Contractor's opinion.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion What's the process under PAM 2006 & 2018?
….Cont.
c) If the Architect agrees that the Works are practically
complete without any defects or outstanding works, the
date of the CPC shall be the Date of the Contractor's
Notice.
d) If the Architect agrees that the Works are practically
complete but with defects or outstanding works for which
the Contractor has given his written undertaking to
complete within a deadline set by the Architect, the date
of the CPC shall be the Date of the Contractor's Written
Undertaking.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion What's the process under PAM 2006 & 2018?
….Cont.
To either disagree OR agree, it pre-supposes that Architects
need to have physically INSPECTED the Works in the first place.
In this instance, the “Works” cannot be just confined to a
physical site BUT should also include for the submission and
approval of documents such as as-built plans, warranties, etc..
The PAM Forms are silent on this but in PRACTICE, this means
that apart from setting the deadline for rectifying defects or
completing outstanding work, it should also be the Architect
who prepares this very list of defects and outstanding work for
the Contractor to agree upon and prepare the written
undertaking.
Architects as such, may want to consider standardised operating
procedures (SOPs) for their inspections along with a
standardised Form/Format which upon being filled in, may be
signed by the Contractor.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion What's the process under PAM 2006 & 2018?
….Cont.
The process of Practical Completion though is far from over;
a) Upon issuance of the CPC, the Architect is required to also
issues copies of the CPC to the Employer and ALL Nominated
Sub-Contractors(NSC).
b) Upon issuance of the CPC, the Architect also needs to ensure
that the Site is returned by the Contractor and that the
Employer takes back possession of the Site along with all
the attendant responsibilities.
c) Within 14 Days of the date of the CPC, the Architect is also
required to issue a certificate for the release of the 1st
half of the Retention Fund from the Employer to the
Contractor (Cl.30.6(c)).
As with ALL payment certificates, the Architect also needs
to direct the Contractor as to the amounts under this
portion of the Retention Fund which are to be
correspondingly released to the NSCs.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Practical Completion What's the process under PAM 2006 & 2018?
….Cont.
d) With the issuance of the CPC, the clock has started ticking
for the Defects Liability Period and the Architect would now
be required to monitor the discovery and recording of any
defects which appear as well as act accordingly.
e) With the issuance of the CPC a further clock has also
started ticking for the submission of all documentation
required for the preparation of the Final Account as well as
the actual preparation of the Final Account (Cl. 30.10).
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Some Considerations
for a Practical ,
Practical Completion.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Some Considerations for a practical, Practical Completion.
1) Set out clear criteria for what would be deemed as “Practical Completion”, ideally (but unlikely) within the
tender documents or failing that, at the start of the
construction works.
The criteria should include;
a) definitions of what “full use for intended purpose”
Means; i.e., ready for an Employer to move in or ready
for an Employer to arrange for statutory inspections,
etc.;
b) other deliverables which may be needed for using the
building for it's intended purpose such as
specifications, as-built plans, operations manuals,
warranties, etc.;
c) definition of what are patent defects which need to be
rectified before Practical Completion and dirt or grime
which can be cleaned after Practical Completion;
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Some Considerations for a practical, Practical Completion.
Cont.,...
d) definition of what are minor defects or outstanding
works which may be accepted for Practical Completion;
e) definition of what would constitute a “reasonable time”
for a Contractor to rectify the defects or complete the
minor works as per the above item c).
f) The criteria for Practical Completion may also include
physical examples of the quality which is deemed
acceptable; for apartments, this may take the form of an
approved sample unit for the establishment of all the
standards of finishing which are required.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Some Considerations for a practical, Practical Completion.
Cont.,...
2) Plan and allocate sufficient time and resources for the
inspection process leading up to Practical Completion.
Steps that may be taken include;
a) instructing the Contractor to plan and indicate in his
Works Programme, when inspections (and the type of
inspections)can take place;
b) try and set up systems for inspections and the recording of defects. This may mean preparing blank forms or
specially prepared plans for the recording of comments
or defects;
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Some Considerations for a practical, Practical Completion.
Cont.,...
2) c) for where completion and inspections may be carried out
in stages; work out a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
for the inspection and subsequent securing of the works
under the relevant stage; i.e., the locking of apartment
units which have been completed and inspected; this set
of procedures may also include standardised methods of
recording the defects back to the Employer and
Contractor;
d) ensure that there are sufficient resources for the
inspections; this may mean having additional Inspectors
of Works, site supervisors, architectural or engineering
staff temporarily for the inspections;
e) for inspections which are dependent on other
Consultants, also advise them to standardise their
inspection procedures and requirements along with any
documentation that may arise from such inspections.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Some Considerations for a practical, Practical Completion.
Cont.,...
3) Prepare Employers for the handover of the Works upon
attaining Practical Completion.
This may mean having briefing sessions on the M & E Systems
in the building such as the HT or LV Power Supply, Swimming
Pool Plant, Security Systems, etc.;
4) Forewarn the Employer of any forthcoming Practical
Completion in order for them to prepare; Employers may need
to employ security or cleaning staff, train the staff,
purchase and deliver their own equipment, ensure that the
building is insured, etc.;
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
Some Considerations for a practical, Practical Completion.
Cont.,...
5) Run through with all other consultants, the requirements for
practical completion for the works under their scope.
It must be remembered that for most architects, convention
requires that they also obtain confirmation from their
fellow consultants on the practical completion of the works
under their scope before a Certificate of Practical
Completion is finally issued.
6) Document the actual handover upon reaching Practical
Completion. Record what documents (such as electricity or
water bills, instruction manuals, warranties, etc.,) are
actually handed over along with any other items (such as
keys, access cards, loose building fixtures, spare building
materials).
Other useful, additional items would be a list of emergency
contact nos.
Practical Practical Completion under the PAM Forms of Contract
CONCLUSION.
When this presenter first started working, practical completion
was in all honesty, a totally unplanned process; he would turn
up on to site unprepared and just assume that an inspection
would take place and that practical completion would be deemed
to materialise.
Real life/professional practice unfortunately, is never as easy
as envisaged and it is hoped that all architects do take the
time to consider how we can work towards a less stressful and
contentious practical completion.
As a parting note, does Practical Completion come only in ONE
flavour? Like as for ice cream, do we only get vanilla or are
there further flavours available? This shall be a topic for
another day,....
THANK YOU.