This typically includes information concerning the work: what is included, and what isn’t; the project location; lists of documents; participants; and general requirements concerning method, sequence, timing, submittals and so on. It is also the place where ‘client’ requirements for temporary works are listed (in addition to any that the contractor provides for their own purposes).
The Uniclass 2015 Preliminaries for Australia are made up of eight sections. All sections are general and can be used with any contract. They are as follows:
- PM_10: ‘Project information’.
- PM_30: ‘Site ground and environment information’.
- PM_40: ‘Design and approvals information’.
- PM_50: ‘Financial and commercial information’.
- PM_60: ‘Construction management information’.
- PM_70: ‘Testing, commissioning and completion information’.
- PM_80: ‘Asset management information’.
- ‘Roles’, including information and contact details of project personnel.
Figure 1: Australia – Uniclass 2015 Preliminaries content set now available
PM_10: Project information
This section consists of two parts:
- Information about the project: location, description, information about buildings on site and adjoining buildings, surrounding land use, etc.
- Specific client requirements, e.g. brief outline of the environmental policy, requirements for exchange of information, nominated subcontractors, etc.
PM_30: Site ground and environment information
This section consists of information available to the contractor:
- Site information, e.g. site survey, survey of utilities and services, etc.
- Ground conditions, e.g. geotechnical information, contaminated land report, etc.
- Environmental information, e.g. environmental impact statement/ report, waste management plan, etc.
- Hazardous substances, e.g. asbestos survey report, lead survey report, etc.
It outlines the type, format and status of information available. It also outlines the personnel responsible for providing the information and whether the information has been included in the tender documents.
PM_40: Design and approvals information
This section deals with information about the design and the formal approvals for the project. It also deals with project information management for the project. It is divided into three sections:
- Design information, e.g. design philosophy statement, energy targets, etc.
- Approvals information, e.g. planning permissions, etc.
- Project information management, e.g. BIM execution plan, electronic data interchange, etc.
PM_50: Financial and commercial information
This section covers the tender process; it includes information about tender enquiry, tender documents, acceptance criteria, etc. It also outlines the advance procurement details of items before tendering, e.g. site signage.
PM_60: Construction management information
This section covers all information required for commencement and completion of the project on site. It is divided into eight sections:
- Site information, e.g. site access, site safety, set-up information, site security, etc.
- Project requirements, e.g. nominated subcontractor details, set-out methodology, provisional sum details, prime cost details, etc.
- Contract programme and progress, e.g. details about commissioning, contract administration, contract programme, progress report, any limitations, etc.
- Meetings and records, e.g. requirements for progress meetings, progress photographs, labour record, etc.
- Contract cost management, e.g. budget, cash flow forecast.
- Contract support information, e.g. contacts list, insurance policies, site records, etc.
- Construction risk management, e.g. construction phase health and safety plan, demolition hazard report, etc.
- Contract quality standards information, e.g. quality control and management plan.
PM_70: Testing, commissioning and completion information
This section covers all compliance certificates, commissioning requirements and record information. It consists of four sections:
- Compliance and certificate documents, e.g. BMS commissioning certificate, CCTV commissioning certificate.
- Commissioning information, e.g. fire system commissioning report, emergency lighting commissioning report, etc.
- Completion information, e.g. building manual, final inspection report.
- Record drawings, e.g. architectural record drawings, setting out records, etc.
PM_80 Asset management information
This section covers all requirements of asset management, including strategy, planning and implementation. It covers information required for maintenance of plant and equipment once the project has been completed.
Figure 2: Typical example of a project management clause
Roles
This section contains information about all the various personnel involved during the various stages of the project, from inception to delivery and beyond. The Roles section is divided into several parts defined by the specialist’s discipline:
- Asset management roles.
- Operation management roles.
- Delivery team roles.
- Building design roles.
- Engineering design roles.
- Environmental design roles.
- Surveyor and planner roles.
- Environmental and geological roles.
The Roles section allows the specifier to include details for professional accreditation, and membership details of professional associations where applicable. This information can be used to verify the accreditation of all personnel involved with the project, in line with the new piece of legislation, ‘Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW)’. This is specific to New South Wales, but similar requirements are likely to be verified with legislation in other states and territories across Australia, as per recommendation 2 of the Shergold Weir ‘Building Confidence’ report. See also the ‘Jurisdictional Update’ for more information on how the states and territories are responding to the Building Confidence report.
Preliminaries and general conditions are very important parts of a contract. They set out the rights and responsibilities of involved parties, and also the rules and methodologies that are required to be followed throughout the construction phase of a project. A good set of Preliminaries goes a long way in reducing and/ or avoiding dispute and conflict on a project.
The Uniclass 2015 Preliminaries for Australia are a comprehensive set of documents that, in conjunction with the work sections, can help the specifier produce a high-quality specification for any building project.
Future updates of the Australian Preliminaries content set will incorporate:
- PM_35: ‘Project performance requirements’.
- PM_55: ‘Contract information’.
Project performance requirements will allow the specifier to outline high-level performance requirements for the project as a whole in relation to structure, fire, acoustics, environment, etc. Contract information will allow the specifier to describe the form of contract to be used for the project.
The complete set of Uniclass 2015 classification tables, including the Project Management and Roles tables, can be viewed and downloaded from the Uniclass 2015 webpage.
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