News
Hewitt Decipher Partnership evolves to Decipher, A DeSimone company.
We are excited to announce that Hewitt Decipher Partnership will now operate under a new name: Decipher, a DeSimone Company.
Director, Andy Hewitt will be stepping down from the day to day running of the business as he transitions to semi-retirement. The Decipher management team will be picking up the reigns.
Established in 2001, Decipher is a dedicated team of construction experts and consultants based in the UK. It offers services including quantum and project advisory, quantity surveying, project planning, dispute resolution, expert testimony and training.
Decipher was recently acquired by DeSimone Consulting Engineers and now operates as Decipher, A DeSimone company. You can read about the acquisition here.
The evolution puts the company in a stronger position to serve our existing clients in the UAE and brings exciting opportunities for both you and us.
What this means for our clients
Rest assured, you can still expect the very best level of skill and expertise from the team. Little will change day-to-day for our existing clients and we will still provide the high-quality services you expect.
Stay in touch
As we formally transition to Decipher, you’ll no longer hear from us on this account. However, we would like to stay in touch.
If you would like to continue hearing from us with news, advice, events and webinars, you can sign up to the Decipher database here.
Claims Class
The training side of our business, Claims Class, has also joined the DeSimone family but will continue to operate as usual. Andy Hewitt is still involved as a course developer and tutor to our hundreds of students across the globe. Following 12 years of success, we also plan to expand and diversify the course portfolio. You can expect some exciting new courses in the coming months.
Stay up to date with training courses, and receive free advice on preparing construction claims. Sign up to the Claims Class mailing list here.
Looking to the future
Paul Gibbons, CEO at Decipher, comments: “it is exciting news that Decipher has joined DeSimone. Not only will this allow us to service clients on a global stage, it also means that we can raise the profile of our training offering, Claims Class, ensuring that the future professionals of tomorrow are trained and developed”.
Andy Hewitt also commented on the change: “whilst I am stepping away from the consultancy and management side of the business, my passion for training and education remains. I will, therefore, still be working as a tutor and educator under the Claims Class banner to help people increase their knowledge and enhance their careers. I am sure that Claims Class will continue to thrive under the management of Paul, Nina and the broader DeSimone team”.
If you have any comments, questions or would just like to get in touch, please contact Nina on nina.hewitt@decipher-group.com
The Decipher Podcast: The Future of Construction
An Interview with Bill Bordill
In the episode of the Decipher podcast series, Bill Bordill discusses his time at Hewitt Decipher Partnership and his thoughts on the future of the construction industry.
Bill heads the Quantum team at the firm and has been with the business for over 11 years. He talks to Annie about the importance of developing people, some of the great team members at Hewitt Decipher Partnership, and the criticality of ensuring the future of construction’s skillset. Bill also picks up on some career highlights.
Alternatively you can find the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
A Tribute to Roger Knowles
It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing away of Roger Knowles.
Many people will know Roger by reputation through his books and training courses or in a professional capacity and it is without doubt that Roger was an expert in his chosen field as well as an astute businessman. Most people will not, however, know much about Roger, the person. Although I worked for JR Knowles in the Middle East and I only met him on a few occasions, we kept in touch, and he became something of a mentor to me and a great influence on my life.
When I was contemplating writing a practical book on claims, he not only encouraged me, but introduced me to his publishers and wrote the foreword to the book. I am currently working on my sixth book, so Roger helped to kick-start all these publications.
When I was not happy with my current employment, he suggested that going it alone might be an option. This eventually culminated in me being a director and partner of a consultancy practice offering similar services to JR Knowles.
After my first book was published, several readers contacted me wanting to know if I could recommend any training courses on the subject of construction claims. When I contacted Roger to see if he knew of anything available, he not only suggested that I create a course, but also volunteered to share the presentation of the first course to be delivered in London.
On one occasion, we were enjoying lunch by a hotel pool in Dubai when we started talking idly about the fact that claims had become a specialist sector of the industry and consequently deserved some sort of professional recognition. A year or so later, the Institute of Construction Claims Practitioners was born with Roger as the first president. The ICCP now has many members throughout the World and teaches best practice and sets standards for the management of claims.
In his book, Someone Up There Likes Us, Roger tells of the time in the 1970’s when he had decided to offer a one-stop dispute resolution service and says that he considered ‘that my client’s entitlements, whether in respect of time and/or money, should be encapsulated in one fully comprehensive document headed “Construction Claim”. The Claim would tell the story of the events relating to the dispute which could be understood by anybody unconnected with the project, without having to refer to any other documents or person.” This simple goal set the standard for the compilation of claims and is something that we are still observing in our consultancy work and teaching on training courses almost 50 years later.
Thank you, Roger, for your mentorship, inspiration, and support - you have left a great legacy.
My condolences go out to Roger’s family.
FIDIC 1999 Notices - Andy Hewitt's Latest Book
At the end of 2019, I was working with a contractor-client on several extensions of time and additional cost claims. As is necessary for any claim, I needed to demonstrate that the contractor had complied with the contractual notice provisions.
This client had sent some notices. In most cases though, these didn't comply with the contract requirements and were completely meaningless as notices.
The Proposed Solution
It was clear that those responsible for contract administration on the projects were unclear about what a notice should contain. As well as, how to compose them. I suggested to our client that it would be a good idea for me to prepare drafts of the most common notices so that their contract administrators would have a starting place when composing notices on their projects. Our client liked the idea and agreed. A couple of weeks later, a Notice Manual was distributed to all the projects.
An Idea Was Born
It then occurred to me that this client isn’t alone in their lack of understanding of notice provisions of FIDIC. During my considerable time working as a claims consultant, I notice that failure to provide notices in the correct format is one of the biggest mistakes parties make and those appointed to administer a FIDIC contract.
And that was the lightbulb moment.
I decided to write a book on the subject: FIDIC 1999 Notices: A Guide to the Requirements Content and Composition of Notices Under the Red, Yellow and Silver Books.
The book examines each clause of the FIDIC Red, Yellow and Silver forms of contract that require the Contractor, the Employer and the Engineer to give notices. It contains explanations of why, and under what circumstances, you may require each notice. It also provides real-world, written examples of typical notices for each clause.
This is what Dr. Cyril Chern, (Barrister, Chartered Architect, Chartered Arbitrator, Adjudicator, Accredited Mediator, Dispute Board Expert) had to say about it in the foreword:
FIDIC contracts are the basis for most of the world’s major infrastructure projects and also for most of the litigation that arises from these projects. For example, a typical FIDIC notice provision states that notice must be given within 28 days of any event the result of which is that the date for completion ‘is or will be delayed’. What does this mean? What is the notice to look like and what is it to say? And this is where the problem starts.
In my role as both an adjudicator and arbitrator of FIDIC matters, what is most common is the lack of proper notice, timely notice, and intelligent notice but nowhere does FIDIC set out how these are to look and what they are to contain. There are no exact standards to guide the Contractor (nor the Employer or Engineer) and as a result, large amounts of time and money are lost in litigating these issues after the fact, rather than having clear standards to rely upon and prevent problems in the first place.
FIDIC 1999 Notices: A Guide to the Requirements, Content and Composition of Notices Under the Red, Yellow and Silver Books by Andy Hewitt provides both the Contractor and Employer/Engineer as well as their advisors with the needed information and clarity for each of the steps in the construction process under FIDIC contracts (1999 versions) and generally and most importantly doesn’t just ‘talk’ about the issue but gives actual examples which can be used and/or modified for use on any FIDIC project worldwide for maximum benefit.
The book covers first the administration of notices and what is involved and then moves into the necessary Contractor’s notices which form the bulk of claims seen both in a dispute board setting as well as in arbitration—was notice given, what did the notice contain, was it sufficient, why yes and/or why not, and all the needed information for every situation and for every sub-clause of the standard FIDIC contract. Then it delves into the Notices required by both the Employer and its Engineer, thus covering all aspects of any project.
This is a ‘must-have’ and ‘go-to’ book for any Contractor, solicitor, barrister, Engineer and Employer who uses FIDIC contracts, and its information will save time and money for all those who use it. I highly recommend this book.’
If this sounds like something that might be helpful to you or your company, get your copy from Amazon UK or Amazon.com.
Hewitt Decipher Partnership’s expert consultants have been preparing and responding to claims for many years. We know how to comply with good practice to ensure that you do not lose your entitlement. Moreover, if you have entitlement, we ensure that your claims suceed. Can we help you? To find out how, get in touch.
From 2018 to 2019
the Beginnings of HDP...
The past twelve months have seen many changes in the Gulf region and some interesting events. In the following we look back and then ahead to what might come in 2019.