What do you think?
Rate this book
Contract Strategies for Major Projects: Mastering the Most Difficult Element of Project Management
Major Projects are Delayed by Months or Years, and Cost Millions More Than Budgeted, Because of Common Mistakes Made at the Contracting Stage
Organizations that invest huge amounts of capital in major building/industrial projects almost never do the engineering and building themselves. They hire engineering and construction contractors to do it for them. Unfortunately, selecting contractors and negotiating the terms of a major project is one of the most difficult aspects of project management...and organizations waste billions of dollars and "bake in" months or years of delay by doing it wrong. Contracting is also the area of project management that is most prone to firmly held opinions unencumbered by any facts. We intend to remedy that situation with this book. Drawing on a properietary detailed database of over 1100 major projects, the world's leading industrial engineering project consultant, Ed Merrow Key Principles of Contracting for Major Merrow also The strategic advice in this book is designed for owners and contractor project managers, team members and supply chain, executives, and other business leaders involved in major projects. It's also an indispensable resource for engineers, leaders of industrial firms, bankers, and academics studying the messy realities of the construction and engineering industries.
Organizations that invest huge amounts of capital in major building/industrial projects almost never do the engineering and building themselves. They hire engineering and construction contractors to do it for them. Unfortunately, selecting contractors and negotiating the terms of a major project is one of the most difficult aspects of project management...and organizations waste billions of dollars and "bake in" months or years of delay by doing it wrong. Contracting is also the area of project management that is most prone to firmly held opinions unencumbered by any facts. We intend to remedy that situation with this book. Drawing on a properietary detailed database of over 1100 major projects, the world's leading industrial engineering project consultant, Ed Merrow Key Principles of Contracting for Major Merrow also The strategic advice in this book is designed for owners and contractor project managers, team members and supply chain, executives, and other business leaders involved in major projects. It's also an indispensable resource for engineers, leaders of industrial firms, bankers, and academics studying the messy realities of the construction and engineering industries.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published December 13, 2022
22 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 12, 2022
There are many texts on contracting, but none, as far as I know, that offer what this book does. It is a concise (300 pages w/glossary in hard copy-I read the Kindle-its many figures come across fine in that format), non-legalistic summary of and guide to contracting strategies including recommendations based on extensive research. It is unparalleled in regards to having an empirical basis (albeit with a few opinions added by the author). I am not surprised by what I found; I worked under Mr. Merrow a couple decades ago and so I had a good idea of what the book might say. And, I have read his other books which, like this one, are clear, easy to follow and insightful. In short, the book is as good as I hoped.
I recommend it for anyone working on major industrial projects; it’s a good companion to his leadership and Industrial Megaprojects texts (“major” in this case is about $15 million and up). Those in non-industrial sectors will benefit as well. My specialties are estimating, risk and project control and it offered a lot of useful information for anyone in those practice areas. For those in risk for example, he stresses the importance of risk allocation, but not in the simple-minded (and often wrong-headed) way that most approach it. Those in cost estimating will appreciate the discussion of estimate bias and challenge of validation as well as business’s common fixation on strategies that reduce overruns with little regard for how much that costs. Project controls and planning/schedulers will gain insights to their practice areas as well. But the main audience is likely business, project and procurement managers; there is a lot about their respective roles.
The book introduction notes that two goals of the book were to bring facts to the discussion and insights as to why different strategies produce different outcomes; goals supported by IPA’s empirically-based benchmarking. A third goal was to share “what works and what does not” for reforming the “sorry state” of owner/contractor relationships (increasingly transactional). The intro also sets the context of elements of contracting strategy. It goes from there to share “10 principles of contracting”; if a strategy violates a principle, it is unlikely to succeed. If you read nothing else, check those out.
After that, the book describes the various contracting strategies and begins dissecting them from different perspectives with an eye on why they behave the way they do; why they work or don’t work in various situations. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to share that the book stresses that project fundamentals rule (e.g., FEL, teams, etc.) As the book title points out, contract strategy is difficult-there is no magic bullet; what many are doing is often wrong for various reasons and this guide should help. The acronyms for the strategies can be a bit confusing at first, but soon become familiar. In most chapters, research-based practices are recommended such as about the hows and whys of pre-qualification, risk allocation, incentives, and so on. The book closes with a nice summary of suggestions for owners and contractors on ways to achieve fair, balanced and “smart” strategies.
I could list many of the great facts and suggestions to be found, but I don’t want to spoil the read. While I already knew a fair amount about what IPA research has found, I discovered new tidbits that will influence my own consulting. A good read.
I recommend it for anyone working on major industrial projects; it’s a good companion to his leadership and Industrial Megaprojects texts (“major” in this case is about $15 million and up). Those in non-industrial sectors will benefit as well. My specialties are estimating, risk and project control and it offered a lot of useful information for anyone in those practice areas. For those in risk for example, he stresses the importance of risk allocation, but not in the simple-minded (and often wrong-headed) way that most approach it. Those in cost estimating will appreciate the discussion of estimate bias and challenge of validation as well as business’s common fixation on strategies that reduce overruns with little regard for how much that costs. Project controls and planning/schedulers will gain insights to their practice areas as well. But the main audience is likely business, project and procurement managers; there is a lot about their respective roles.
The book introduction notes that two goals of the book were to bring facts to the discussion and insights as to why different strategies produce different outcomes; goals supported by IPA’s empirically-based benchmarking. A third goal was to share “what works and what does not” for reforming the “sorry state” of owner/contractor relationships (increasingly transactional). The intro also sets the context of elements of contracting strategy. It goes from there to share “10 principles of contracting”; if a strategy violates a principle, it is unlikely to succeed. If you read nothing else, check those out.
After that, the book describes the various contracting strategies and begins dissecting them from different perspectives with an eye on why they behave the way they do; why they work or don’t work in various situations. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to share that the book stresses that project fundamentals rule (e.g., FEL, teams, etc.) As the book title points out, contract strategy is difficult-there is no magic bullet; what many are doing is often wrong for various reasons and this guide should help. The acronyms for the strategies can be a bit confusing at first, but soon become familiar. In most chapters, research-based practices are recommended such as about the hows and whys of pre-qualification, risk allocation, incentives, and so on. The book closes with a nice summary of suggestions for owners and contractors on ways to achieve fair, balanced and “smart” strategies.
I could list many of the great facts and suggestions to be found, but I don’t want to spoil the read. While I already knew a fair amount about what IPA research has found, I discovered new tidbits that will influence my own consulting. A good read.
December 16, 2023
As the title implies, this book does a great job capturing top contract strategies for major capital projects. Merrow does a great job outlining the various contracting types (EPC, Lump Sum, Reimbursable, etc.); however I greatly appreciated how he also incorporated items to consider from both the contractor and the owner (company) side.
The consistent theme that was found throughout the book was the evaluation and balancing of risk. I read this book with my team and we'd discuss a chapter each month. Having a group discussion on this topic was fun and engaging since each person would have a different take on what themes and topics were presented in each chapter.
Pros: helpful and of interest for anyone that works in supply chain, contracts, or project management.
Cons: many of the graphs and data sets bogged down much of the reading throughout the book.
Bottom line: this book was easy to read and understand - highly recommend for anyone interested in contracting and/or project management.
The consistent theme that was found throughout the book was the evaluation and balancing of risk. I read this book with my team and we'd discuss a chapter each month. Having a group discussion on this topic was fun and engaging since each person would have a different take on what themes and topics were presented in each chapter.
Pros: helpful and of interest for anyone that works in supply chain, contracts, or project management.
Cons: many of the graphs and data sets bogged down much of the reading throughout the book.
Bottom line: this book was easy to read and understand - highly recommend for anyone interested in contracting and/or project management.
September 30, 2025
Great book for practical advice on how to improve
Very good examples
Good stories
Good explanations of the contract types.
Engineering, Procurement and Legal should have a book club and read it!
Very good examples
Good stories
Good explanations of the contract types.
Engineering, Procurement and Legal should have a book club and read it!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews