Traditional contracting meaning

This table reviews the parties that are likely to receive a collateral warranty under design and build, traditional, construction management, and management contracting procurement routes...

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Why is defining performance metrics and customer requirements more challenging for AI systems? AI’s intricacy and dependence on extensive datasets make it tougher to pin down clear success measures than in traditional IT projects. Key reasons include: non-deterministic behaviour. Numerous AI models, especially those built on machine learning or deep learning, may return different answers to the same inputs at different times. Whereas conventional software tends to be consistent, shifting model parameters blur simple pass/fail judgements. One test run can vary in outcome, so it’s wiser to define performance thresholds than fixed, single-shot checks. dynamic training data. Many AI solutions continue learning after deployment, risking ‘model drift’. As data or the surrounding context changes, accuracy and reliability can move unexpectedly. Contracts should recognise this and call for periodic evaluations or ‘recalibration’ to remedy any slide in performance. opaque processes. Deep neural networks often act like ‘black boxes’, producing outputs without an easy account of how they were derived. Where contracts demand ‘explainability’ or ‘interpretability’,...

Introduction This Practice Note explains how construction contracts are ordinarily managed on projects. It concentrates on the contract administrator’s role and how administration varies with the chosen procurement route and contract form, with particular emphasis on the JCT, NEC ECC and FIDIC suites. What is contract administration? In essence, contract administration is the supervision and tracking of a construction project to ensure successful delivery. It covers both hands-on oversight as the works get under way (eg inspecting the works, monitoring progress and conducting tests) and the handling, issuing and reviewing of the documents required by the contract (including payment notices and the evaluation of claims). In this Practice Note, ‘contract administrator’ is used as a generic label; however, different standard forms adopt different titles for the person performing this function-this is considered further in Who is responsible for the administration of building contracts? A summary of the contract administrator’s tasks appears in What does the contract administrator do? Who is responsible for the administration of building...

Background The term ‘MMC’ The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s specialist sub-group has produced a definition framework for MMC, setting out seven categories: Category 1-Pre-Manufacturing-3D primary structural systems Category 2-Pre-Manufacturing-2D primary structural systems Category 3-Pre-Manufacturing-Non systemised structural components Category 4-Pre-Manufacturing-Additive Manufacturing Category 5-Pre-Manufacturing-Non-structural assemblies and sub-assemblies Category 6-Traditional building product led site labour reduction/productivity improvements Category 7-Site process led labour reduction/productivity improvements The framework seeks to standardise and clarify how MMC is described, capturing the wide array of innovative construction approaches now used across the market. Further details can be found here. For practitioners, establishing whether your scheme uses MMC and how extensively it influences delivery is valuable-particularly for key contractual risks such as structuring payments, title or insolvency exposure, programme, design responsibility, addressing climate change, and handling issues like materials shortages or fire safety. Construction Sector trends The construction industry has witnessed marked progress in off-site delivery, reflecting MMC’s increasing...

This Practice Note outlines the principal cybersecurity ramifications posed by artificial intelligence (AI) in relation to duties under UK law, including those arising from the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (UK GDPR). It further sets out practical guidance on embedding AI as a relevant factor within existing cybersecurity compliance frameworks already in place. Advances in AI prompt concerns about the implications for cybersecurity and, as adoption grows, so too do related cybersecurity concerns. In January 2024, the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the UK’s technical authority on cyber threats, warned that AI will almost certainly render cyberattacks on UK organisations more effective and widespread. In April 2026, DSIT and the Cabinet Office published an open letter to businesses on AI cyber threats, warning that the development of AI models is dramatically expanding the speed and scale at which cyber attacks are being carried out, and that organisations must adjust the way they manage cyber risk accordingly in response (see: LNB News 16/04/2026 14)....