This month Jon Sanderson and Matthew Schofield, Quantum Associate Directors, pick up the proverbial batten and continue to run with the how sport has more in common with the construction industry than you might think.
You may recall that we (Jon Sanderson and Matthew Schofield) have been drafted in after Steve Beaumont’s multi-million dollar transfer to Dubai! Matthew and I have decided that a joint article is a worthy prospect and we have opted to follow a sporting theme for our construction articles for the next year based upon the current sporting events in Qatar.
As you may know the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Tennis has recently been held at the wonderful Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex and we hope you managed to see some matches during the tournament. In life, sport follows a very similar path and that set us thinking that to some degree construction can be aligned to sport and more specifically to this month’s sporting event in Qatar, Tennis.
Now, if before we consider the main players of a tennis game and establish who is similar to each other in this situation, it may be best to first consider that the tennis court itself is somewhat akin to the contract between the parties of a construction contract, it is the arena where the event will take place and where the “battle” commences. As you may realise not all contracts are battles, however this entirely depends upon the quality of the players and a whole host of other matters that will come together and influence the outcome and ultimately the result.
“It may be best to first consider that the tennis court itself is somewhat akin to the contract between the parties of a construction contract, it is the arena where the event will take place and where the “battle” commences”
Let us now consider the parties to the contract; they in our review represent the players, the employer versus the contractor so to speak. Both with potentially different objectives, one to have a nice shiny new building or structure built for the lowest cost possible and the other who wants the same thing but wants to arrive at this result being as lean and cost effective as possible to earn a profit and thus providing a good result. Both players need to use the contract (the tennis court) and stay within its boundaries in order to achieve their “win”. If the truth be told, in most instances neither will ultimately feel completely satisfied with the outcome and feel they could have played the game better by the end, however the result will stand.
The game also relies upon the rules as set out and known by the players and these rules are enforced by the umpire who we shall consider as the engineer. The umpire is impartial and should reach his decisions based on the information to hand and arrive at a fair determination you would hope … and not give another player the “advantage!!” Let us now consider the ball which is being played back and forth by the players. It is fast and furious and can be likened to correspondence in an escalating situation under a construction contract. The umpire needs to watch the details of the correspondence and decide upon whom, in all likelihood, is correct. Relevant correspondence directed correctly and timeously, like an “ace” can help in winning the point or even the game, sometimes it is better to play a slower stroke and achieve a lob rather than a long rally of correspondence, which ultimately leads to fatigue!
What about the ball boys I hear you cry! Consider these as the quantity surveyors / commercial teams collecting the balls (correspondence) and throwing them back for use in the game. Ultimately without the balls the game cannot be played and both sides will fail in their attempts to be successful in the match. As we know correspondence plays a key role in the success of construction projects and the use of correspondence coupled with the correct record keeping can ultimately mean success or failure for either party, and bring the score to “deuce”.
So we reach the end of the game, a result is arrived at. One winner and one loser, but we always have the possibility of a rematch! In any sport certain players fair better against certain others and prefer to play against certain opposition, however the key is to learn the lessons that arise from the game , dust yourself off, train harder, learn the lesson and do it better next time. It has been said that life is like a sport, sometimes ‘it is game, set and match” you win, sometimes you lose, but the game always goes on!
“The use of correspondence coupled with the correct record keeping can ultimately mean success or failure for either party, and bring the score to deuce”
Jonathan Sanderson and Matthew Schofield, Associate Directors
Jonathan Sanderson and Matthew Schofield are Associate Directors at Quantum Global Solutions (QGS) and members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Chartered Management Institute (CMI) respectively. Collectively, Jon and Matt have over forty years of practical experience working on major local, regional and international construction projects including project management and dispute resolution.