DA4030 - Introduction to Procurement & Contracts

Most of your learning on this Degree Apprenticeship module will be in your workplace. You will gain a theoretical understanding of the topics through live (online or face-to-face) university sessions and online resources such as recorded lectures, videocasts, podcasts, electronic books, journal articles and websites. Your involvement in construction quantity surveying tasks will enable you to put the theory into context, thereby cementing your understanding. You will agree with your Workplace Mentor a Module Learning Plan (MLP) designed to achieve the Module Learning Outcomes via a series of directed workplace learning activities, such as shadowing a colleague, visiting a site or producing a poster.

The module will typically span 11 weeks, with scheduled or directed activities each week, and one piece of summative assessment submitted in week 12 or 13. This may also be supplemented with up to one day of face-to-face interaction, if appropriate, at Northumbria University or a regional hub. The module will include around 11 hours of ‘Seminars’ (synchronous classroom and online delivery via Blackboard Collaborate), 7 hours of ‘Lectures’ (asynchronous online delivery via Blackboard or Blackboard Collaborate), 2 hours of ‘Tutorials’ (1-to-1 support from Workplace Mentor and Workplace Coach), and 40 hours of workplace learning activities. The remaining hours in the Notional Student Workload for the module are attributed to independent learning, with the estimated ratio of tutor-guided to student independent learning at 1:1, as appropriate for a Level 4 module.

Your Module Tutor(s) will deliver an online module induction session and lead live sessions that enable you to interact with your tutor and peers. They will provide and direct you to essential and recommended online resources available via the University’s eLearning Portal and University Library. Outside of live sessions, they will provide advice and respond to questions via the eLearning Portal.

Your Workplace Mentor will support you in developing your Module Learning Plan. You will be provided with a guidance document that outlines the principles of workplace learning and provides examples of a large and diverse range of potential workplace learning activities. You may also discuss your Module Learning Plan with your Workplace Coach.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
MLO1: Demonstrate an understanding of the different types of procurement process and negotiation requirements

MLO2: Demonstrate an understanding of different forms of contracts used in construction and why they are applied in different situations

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
MLO3: Contribute to the selection of and negotiation with specialist contractors for a construction project

MLO4: Apply different types of contracts to different situations

MLO5: Assist in the collation and storage of relevant data and its analysis

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

None

You will be formatively assessed by the completion of the workplace learning activities identified in your Module Learning Plan. You will receive informal, often verbal, formative feedback from your Workplace Mentor, and sometimes from other colleagues and your Workplace Coach. You will also have the opportunity for formative feedback from your module tutor(s), particularly during the assessment guidance sessions.

Your summative assessment will provide you with the opportunity to translate your workplace learning into a coherent output that demonstrates that you have achieved the module learning outcomes.

This will be in the form of a 3000-word report of a case study project. The case study should address the project contract type, key administrative requirements and an overview of supply chain procurement requirements.

N/A

N/A

This module is an integral part of your Degree Apprenticeship programme, designed in collaboration with employers to meet the requirements of the Construction Quantity Surveyor Apprenticeship Standard and provide a solid skills base for career progression and professional qualification in the construction industry.

You will learn about the types of procurement process and negotiation requirements, the forms of contracts used in construction and why they are applied in different situations. You will learn about the selection of and negotiation with specialist contractors for a construction project, applying different types of contracts to different situations and the collation and storage of relevant data and its analysis.

You will gain theoretical understanding through university sessions and online resources but as a Degree Apprentice, you will do most of your learning in the context of your role in the construction industry via a series of workplace learning activities agreed with your Workplace Mentor.