Course-PM

 

 

TEK141 Construction contract relationships lp2 HT24 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Architecture and Civil Engineering

 Welcome to TEK141!

Team

Examiner and teacher: Martine Buser associate professor, ACE, buser@chalmers.se

Teachers

Annakarin Skogsberg, lawyer, MAQS, annakarin.skogsberg@maqs.com

Anna Kadefors, Professor, KTH, anna.kadefors@abe.kth.se

Daniella Troje, PhD, Senior lecturer, ACE Chalmers, daniella.troje@chalmers.se

Dimosthenis Kifokeris, Associate professor, ACE, dimkif@chalmers.se

Marli Swanepoel,  PhD student, ACE,   marlis@chalmers.se

Mats Karlsson, Trafikverket, Professor of the practice at the division of structural engineering ACE, mats@infratech.nu

Sean Elliot Wisse,  PhD student, ACE Chalmers, wisse@chalmers.se

Stefan Gottlieb, Associate professor, Dep. of technology and Innovation, University of Southern Denmark, sgot@iti.sdu.dk

 

Course purpose

Aim

The contract is probably the most fundamental institution of private law. A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties that defines the conditions surrounding the exchange of goods and services. Construction projects are carried out in collaboration between several firms and other organizations. Because of interdependencies and needs for information exchange between the parties, managing the inter-organizational relationships requires attention to both risks and responsibilities as defined in the formal contract, and also to softer relational and ethical issues. This course aims to provide students with the knowledge to understand the role of contracts in project work in the construction industry. Moreover, The course will provide students with knowledge on formal and informal bases of social order in construction - whether contractually defined or not. Finally, the course will introduce the students to issues related to procurement and legislation as these interact with contracts and influence the successful management of contractual relationships in construction.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course, the student should be able to)

Knowledge

• Understand what a contract is in different theoretical perspectives
• Understand basic principles of general contract law
• Identify and describe aspects of public regulations, including principles for sustainable procurement

Skills

• Describe and analyze differences between legal systems, traditions and phases
• Apply knowledge of contract law in an analysis of cases
• Analyze and compare formal and informal basis of relationships in construction
• Analyze activities to support trust, cooperation and innovation in project relationships

Competences

• Evaluate contractual and procurement arrangements suitable for a specific project
• Define, formulate and solve contractual issues through process-based pedagogy
• Critically reflect on the role of contracts in construction (project) relationships

Content

• Organization of the construction industry: types of firms and roles.
• The nature of contracts.
• Principles of construction law, standard contracts and their roles.
• Formal and informal bases of social order.
• Regulation and quasi-regulation.
• Transactional and relational contracting.
• Transaction costs.
• Procurement principles, including award criteria, risk allocation in contracts, public procurement, EU directives, sustainability.
• Partnerships, partnering and collaboration: types, systems, second-order contracts, trust and communication.

Organisation

The course includes the following learning activities:

• lectures, including guest speakers from industry and academia
• literature seminars
• workshops
• group assignment
• individual assignment
• oral presentations 
• supervisions

The primary purpose of the lectures is to provide an overview of the relevant theories, concepts, and practices within the topic in conjunction with the course literature. However, lectures themselves are not sufficient for acquiring theoretical knowledge, and students are expected to take significant responsibility for reading the literature.

Supervision is offered on two occasions and should be scheduled by groups with their respective supervisors. Guidance for the project is only provided during the sessions. It is advisable to come well-prepared for these sessions.

 

Schedule

Session	Dates	Type of session	Teachers
Formal aspects of contracts
1	Tuesday 04/11   13.15-15.45  SB-H3
	Lecture 1 ·        What is a contract ·        Introduction to the course		Stefan, Martine
2	Wednesday 05/11 09.00-11.45  SB-500
	Lecture 2 ·        Procurement routes/ strategies: ·        Contract, payment principles and tendering		Mats
3	Thursday  06/11   10.00-11.45  SB-H4
	Workshop 1 ·        The contract content		Dimos, Martine
4	Thursday 6/11   13.15-17.00 SB-H3 Mandatory
	Literature seminar ·        Presentation of the group assignment		Martine
5	Tuesday 11/11   09.00-11.45 SB-H3
	Lecture 3 ·        Legal framework 1		Annakarin
6	Tuesday 11/11   13.15-16.00  SB-H3
	Lecture 4 ·        Contract economy transaction costs		Stefan
7	Wednesday 12/11   09.00-11.45 SB-H6
	Lecture 5 ·        Collaboration and trust		Stefan
Contracts in practice
8	Friday 14/11   09.00-11.45 SB-H5
	Lecture 6 ·        Public-private procurements		Mats
9	Tuesday 18/11   09.00-11.45 SB-H3 !! Mandatory
	Test on the vocabulary and principles, mandatory in class! Lecture 7 ·        Managing the construction and sub-contractors’ relationships		Martine Dimos
10	Friday 21/11.  09.00-11.45 SB-H3  Mandatory
	Workshop 2 ·       Forms of contract		Martine
11	Tuesday 25/11   09.00-11.45  SB-H3
	Lecture 8 ·        Closing the contract  ·        Handling of Change requests ·        Handling of Non-conformances		Mats
12	Wenesday 26/11   09.00-11.45  SB-H6
	Lecture 9 ·        Legal framework 2		Annakarin
13	Thursday 27-28/11 to be organized with your supervisor
PM	·        Supervision 1		Daniella, Dimos, Sean, Stefan, Martine
New developments on contracts
14	Wednesday   03/12 13.15-16.00 SB-H3
	Lecture 10 ·        Sustainable procurement		Daniella
15	Friday 05/12   09.00-11.45 SB-H3
	Workshop 3 ·        Contract case		Martine, Sean, Dimos
16	Tuesday /Wednesday 10/12 organized with your supervisor
	Supervision 2		Daniella, Dimos, Sean, Stefan, Martine
17	Tuesday 9/12   09.00-11.45  SB-H3
	08.15-08.45 Test second chance Lecture 12 ·        QA  ·        Claim and disputes		Martine   Mats
18	Tuesday 16/12 08.00-12.00  in SB-L216    13.00-16.15 in  SB-L216     Mandatory
	Class is divided in 3 groups Presentation group 1, session in the morning Presentation group 2, session in the afternoon ·        30 minutes per group		Martine, Sean
18 bis	Wednesday 17/12 08.45-12.00 SB-L316
	Presentation group 3 session in the morning ·        30 minutes per group		Dimos, Martine, Sean
	Glögg !
	Final hand in for two assignments  Friday January 16th 2026

TimeEdit

The course is composed of 19 sessions:

• 12 lectures
• 3 workshops
• 1 literature seminar
• 1 and half-day presentation
• 1 test 
• and 2 supervision sessions

Course literature

The literature will be provided during the course with 10-15 main articles.
Course literature also includes handouts from lectures (including slides).
Selected readings for the group assignment.

Changes made since the last occasion

Following the students' assessment, a second session presented by Annakarin, lawyer at Maqs, has been added to the schedule.The BIM session has been cancelled and replaced by a case study workshop. 

As a result of the development of AI,  the test will be taken in class, on paper. Please let us know if you have problem concentrating in such a situation.

Assignments et examination for TEK 141 Construction contract relationship

The grading of TEK 141 is composed of three elements

1. In class  exams on vocabulary and concepts, 20 % of the total grade
2. Individual assignment: a reflection on 4 of the 12 lectures, 20% of the total grade
3. Written assignment and presentation in group 60% of the total grade (report 40%, presentation 20%)

Active participation in seminars and workshops can affect the final grading.

Vocabulary test mandatory event Tuesday 18/11

A multiple-choice questionnaire with a few open questions. The test is taken in class and the time is limited! The purpose of the test is to ensure that students have learned the vocabulary and main concepts related to contracts

Individual assignment

The individual assignment consists of reflection of 4 out of the 12 lectures of the course.

• Reflection of around 800-1000 words per lecture.
• 3 parts, (2 shorts, the last longer ).
  1. A recap of the key concepts and theories presented during the session
  2. A description of 1-2 issues that made you react during the class and why
  3. Key issue/message that you will take with you from the lecture and why.

All 4 reflections  should be compiled into one document

This assignment is graded 5, 4, 3 or fail and constitutes 20 % of the final grade

Hand-in: 16 January 2026. Word file. Each summary starts on a new page, and the title and date of lecture are clearly stated.

Call the file TEK140+lectures+your name, remember your name on the document and upload on Canvas

Project assignment

Project assignment process

The project assignment builds on a literature study and an interview study. The assignment is carried out in groups of 3-4 students. The group will be formed by the teachers and announced at the project assignment introduction on November 6^th. A list of topics for the project assignment will be presented during the session.  The topic selection must be done no later than 15.00 on November 12^th.  The literature study aims to provide a deeper theoretical understanding of a topic related to the course. You will search for literature sources on a specific topic in this assignment. These can be books, articles, and web pages. Thus, you will train skills in searching for information and writing academic texts with formally correct references.

A minimum of 8 different academic references should be used.

Use the ATA or Harvard model for references (see ACE120).

The purpose of the interview study is that students should develop a deeper understanding of practitioners’ perspectives on contracts and relationships in construction projects. The group is responsible for finding 2-3 interviewees and organizing the interviews. The interviews will have two parts. One with general interview  questions that concern the interviewees’ perceptions, preferences and experiences of various procurement routes and contracts (traditional, design-build, partnering, management, etc.), and one part that focuses on the topic chosen for the project assignment.

For the first part a general guideline will be provided on Canvas and adapted by  each group to fit the interviewees’ organizational belonging. The second part of the interviews each group will develop depending on chosen topic.

Supervision

The group will be assigned a supervisor after the selection of a topic. Each supervisor will make separate arrangements for her/his groups. Two supervision sessions are organised. Dates for each session are recommended in the schedule above. Still, arrangements are made with each supervisor and can be held outside of these dates if better suited for the groups and supervisor. General questions and advice, for example, concerning topic choice, will be handled in connection with lectures and/or by email.

Compulsory presentation and opposition

Oral presentation (compulsory) will occur on Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 December. The class will be divided into three sessions, two on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. You will need to attend the whole session where you present your assignment

Please be on time for the presentation since the schedule is tight.

Opposition (compulsory): Before the presentation (formal deadline 17.00 on  December 12th ), submit a draft of your assignment paper on Canvas to make it available for opponents and teachers. You will oppose two other works as the main opponent and as the second opponent. As an opponent group, you provide oral feedback and written comments (1-2 pages) to these two groups. The teacher will provide a list of peer groups.

Paper: Groups should upload their finished assignment paper on Canvas not later than 16 January 2026. The paper is checked for plagiarism in Urkund. The file should be named Group_X project_assignment.

The paper must follow the Paper Template TEK141 provided on Canvas.

The text should be within the range of 3000-4000 words excl. reference list.

The assignment is graded 5, 4, 3 or fail and constitutes 60 % of the final grade

Requirements and grading

Examination requirements are:

• A test for 20%
• The individual reflection on the course lectures for 20%
• The completed project assignment, including paper and oral presentation for 60%
• Attendance to the mandatory seminars and 80% of the sessions

To successfully complete the course, you are required to pass the online test, participate in the mandatory sessions, and have an attendance rate of at least 80% of the sessions.

Grades Individual grades will be used according to the scale; U (Fail), 3 (Pass), 4, and 5. 

The following grade criteria are used to determine how well the student demonstrates these abilities and meets the course learning objectives. A higher grade level assumes abilities at lower levels.

5 (Excellent) The student demonstrates the ability to critically reflect from a holistic perspective on the various theoretical perspectives included in the course, as well as transfer and apply insights in new meaningful contexts.

4 (Very Good) The student demonstrates the ability to understand and use concepts to explain how the various dimensions of the course relate to each other, are interconnected, and become meaningful from a higher and coherent subject perspective.

3 (Pass) The student demonstrates the ability to address the content, tasks, and problem complexes of the course from several different, well-developed but mainly independent perspectives.

U (Fail) The student's knowledge, abilities, and skills in the course area show deficiencies in whole or in substantial part.

Special Needs 

Information on studying with functional variation/disability:

https://www.chalmers.se/en/education/student-support/disability-study-support/