Quote:
Originally Posted by Tmac1720
You are never cheeky Tom, pain in the ars* but NEVER cheeky  Only kidding my friend 
Most of the overspend was down to simple bad management in costing and approving changes to the specification during the build phase. Our finance department took their eye off the ball as regards obtaining contract variation cost approval and put simplistically didn't monitor the costs piling up against the contract. As for the shipyard side it could be put down to acquessing with requests for changes or additional work without first obtaining approval from the owner in accepting the cost implications and additional time required. The situation rapidly deteriorated into one where the contract simply ran out of control and it was only when the final reckoning was established was the full horror revealed. Obviously the first reaction of the ship owner was to denly any and all liability for the situation and simply demand proof of agreement to the contract changes which were not available because they were never documented to any official extent. All in all an object lesson in how NOT to manage a contract  |
Tmac, thanks for the reply mate, what a dreadful state of affairs, sounds like H&W were in turmoil - do you think the causes were due to inexperience by the finance and design teams, or just ineptitude by those in control?
A similar situation happened at Swan Hunters after they were bought out by the late Jap Kroese, they had won 'lead ship' building contract of 2 bay class ASLS ships for the RFA, the contract competition was won while Swans still had a fully manned yard with significant warship building experience and an award winning in house design team, however when the yard was bought, most of that experience voted with thier feet and moved over to Barrow, leaving Swans full of inexperienced contractors, who then made a total hash of the build, eventually - millions over budget and months late, the ship was ignominiously towed away incomplete as I recall, and the yard never recovered, with its once fine reputation shot to sh1t, it was the last shipbuilder on the Tyne and is now an offshore technology park. My grandfather and old man (both engineers in the yard) would be turning in thier graves!