Like any law firm we know the law and we know the pitfalls that construction projects can fall into — but at Seán Bradley Consulting, we’re more accustomed to being on-site than in suits and you won’t find us running frantically around an office.
The delivery of projects within the construction industry consist of many layers and many different players — but there are people and organisations behind the scenes who are key to its success — whether recognised or not.
Whenever an issue, query or complication arises, to us, there is only one answer and it’s found in the details of the contract. We’re experts at translating and understanding contracts and this allows us to provide honest and reliable advice — even when the outlook is not looking so good.
Seán is a highly motivated and results driven Engineer / Quantity Surveyor / Commercial Director / Party Representative with a proven ability to develop and strengthen management teams in order to maximise company profitability and efficiency with over 30 yrs experience in Civils & Building construction.
Seán joined the Construction Industry in 1989 as a Site Engineer. He progressed to Project Manager roles in Civils Projects before moving in a Commercial Management role in 2005, becoming Commercial Director in 2008, responsible for the commercial management of £250m of Civils & Building projects per year.
Chartered Quantity Surveyor
FRICS
25 years experience as Chartered Engineer
Fellow Engineers Ireland, CEng FIEI
Fellow ICE, CEng FICE
Over 30 years project & commercial management experience on major Civils & Building projects
Position
Contract & Commercial Consultant
Qualifications
MEng Civil Engineering, QUB, July 1989
LLM Construction Law & Adjudication, RGU, July 2018
CEDR Accredited Mediator 2019
Engineers Ireland Panel Mediator
Accredited Adjudicator
ICE Law & Contract Administration Exams Papers 1 & 3
ICE Adjudicator Exam Paper 1
NVQ BIT, Lean Construction, June 2012
Fellow & Chartered Engineer — Engineers Ireland 1994
Fellow & Chartered Quantity Surveyor- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors 2015
Fellow & Chartered Engineer — Institution of Civil Engineers 1995
Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors — Member 2010
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators — Member 2016
Key Skills
Contract Administration & Dispute Resolution
Senior Level Reporting
Commercial / Cost Controls
Business Development
Performance Monitoring
Administrative Management
Analytical Thinking
Programme Management / Monitoring
Cost Analysis & Audit
Procurement
Risk Management
Value Management
Project Management
Contract Management.
Governance Management
Key Attributes
Seán has 30 yrs first-hand experience in dealing with disputes & claims (values from £10k to £10m) on Civils projects & Building projects ranging in value from £15k to £150m. In his role as Commercial Director, he would have been responsible for identifying, compiling, negotiating and settling all claims. Settlement would encompass negotiation, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, arbitration and court proceedings.
Seán’s claims management role would include interfacing with clients, client’s representatives, designers and sub-contractors. He was responsible for deciding on the resources needed for each claim, such as lawyers, quantum experts, expert reports (such as geotechnical consultants), etc. Seán would ultimately decide on claim tactics, which is key to successful dispute resolution.
As part of this claims management role, Seán would first determine the strategy and assess the merit of claims, reviewing claims/allegations and establishing facts, undertaking risk assessment of claims and deciding on the best approach to be adopted to ensure the best possible outcome for such claims. That could mean, dropping them all-together, negotiating, mediating rather than adjudicating, etc.
Seán used his experience of claims to establish claims and contract management processes and procedures in order to reduce the risk of claims arising in the first place. For example, he developed and implemented a Programming Policy and sub-contract documents.
Seán’s experience includes independently valuing main contractor and sub-contractor claims and playing Devils Advocate to inform and justify the rational for the chosen strategy. This would not just involve standalone claims but also main contract and sub-contractor final accounts.
In managing all of the above, Seán was involved in many adjudications which required working to tight deadlines and speedily getting to the crux of issues in order to maximise the chances of a successful outcome for his clients.
Seán possesses excellent negotiation and communication skills with the ability to develop and maintain successful, long term, relationships. He has experience of traditional and bespoke procurement environments, partnering, early contractor involvement and integrated delivery teams.
As a Commercial Director, Seán has gained a wealth of experience reviewing organisational level programmes and reviewing project management processes.
Seán is a Chartered Civil Engineer and this, coupled with his hands-on Civils experience, allows him to understand practical construction related issues. Seán uses this skill in order to pre-empt and mitigate site issues before they develop into claims and disputes.