Contract Risk Control Training Course: Registers, Reviews and Remedies

Programme Summary

Contract risk control is the subject of this one-week training course for contract managers, procurement leads and compliance owners, ending in a contract risk control file for one live contract. Many contracts are well drafted yet poorly run: duties are missed, notices lapse and remedies are lost. The programme moves from reading a contract as a set of exposures, through registers and reviews, to remedies and escalation. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on contract risk control to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

Contracts in construction, energy, health and public services carry exposure long after signature. Losses usually arise in delivery, when a deadline passes unnoticed, a supplier drifts from the agreed standard or a change is made without authority. Contract risk control gives the owner a routine for seeing these events early and responding in time, with evidence that stands up to audit or dispute.

• Disputed Cost: Falls when notices, records and remedies are handled within contract time limits.
• Supplier Performance: Improves when duties are tracked against agreed measures and reviewed on a fixed calendar.
• Compliance Exposure: Narrows when each duty has an owner, a control and a record.

Principles and Evidence Base

• ISO 31000: Provides the risk management process, applied in Sessions 1 and 3 to identify, rate and monitor contract exposure.
• ISO 37301: Sets out compliance management practice, applied in Session 2 to the obligations register, controls and evidence.
• Likelihood and Impact Rating: Ranks exposures on a common scale, applied in Session 1 to a contract risk map.
• Root Cause Analysis: Traces a breach to its source, applied in Session 4 to choose the remedy.

Intended Participants

• Contract managers who administer signed contracts and answer for their performance.
• Procurement leads who oversee suppliers and approve changes.
• Compliance and legal owners who must show that duties are met.
• Project and programme leaders who depend on contractors to deliver.

Typical settings include construction, energy, healthcare and public administration.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to evaluate where a live contract exposes the organisation.
2. Participants will be able to construct an obligations register with owners and time limits.
3. Participants will be able to design a review calendar that supports contract compliance.
4. Participants will be able to diagnose early signs of supplier drift from performance records.
5. Participants will be able to prioritise breach remedies by cost, time and relationship.
6. Participants will be able to justify an escalation route to an executive sponsor.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Contract Risk Control and Exposure Mapping

Where does a contract expose the organisation, and who owns each exposure?

• Exposure Map Template
• Likelihood and Impact Rating
• ISO 31000 Process Walkthrough
• Risk Allocation Clause Review
• Contract Risk Appetite Statement

Day 2: Building the Obligations Register

Which duties sit in the contract, and who must act on each, by when?

• Obligations Register Layout
• Duty Owner Assignment Sheet
• Notice and Time Limit Tracker
• ISO 37301 Obligations Mapping
• Evidence Log Design

Day 3: Reviews and Monitoring in Delivery

How is performance checked often enough to catch drift?

• Review Calendar
• Supplier Performance Scorecard
• Early Warning Indicator Set
• Compliance Check Sample Plan
• Variation Control Log

Day 4: Remedies, Escalation and Recovery

What action follows when a breach or loss event appears?

• Breach Notice Template
• Remedy Options Matrix
• Escalation Ladder
• Root Cause Analysis Sheet
• Settlement and Recovery Note

Day 5: Contract Risk Control File for One Live Contract

Do the earlier tools join into one file an owner can run?

• Applying the Session 1 Exposure Map Template
• Testing the Session 2 Obligations Register Layout
• Checking the Session 3 Review Calendar
• Rehearsing the Session 4 Escalation Ladder
• Completing the Contract Risk Control File

Methodology

The programme uses structured exercises on prepared case material for two contracts, a facilities services agreement and a plant supply agreement, each with clauses, progress reports, notices and correspondence. Participants work in groups, challenge each other's ratings and defend their file to peers acting as a sponsor.

• Suggested activity: Finding the missed notice in a set of project letters and costing its effect.
• Suggested activity: Rebuilding a supplier scorecard that hides a slow decline.
• Suggested activity: Practising a breach conversation with a supplier.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a contract risk control file for one live contract. It holds an exposure map, an obligations register, a review calendar, a remedy matrix and an escalation ladder. The file is used at work to brief a sponsor, to run monthly reviews and to show auditors how duties are tracked.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a programme on contract risk control suitable for managers new to contract administration?

Yes. Contract risk control is taught through prepared cases and templates. The programme assumes you look after at least one signed contract, but needs no earlier risk training.

Which standards does contract risk control rest on?

Contract risk control rests on ISO 31000 for the risk process and ISO 37301 for compliance practice, supported by likelihood and impact rating and root cause analysis.

How is the file from contract risk control used at work?

You use the contract risk control file to brief your sponsor, run regular reviews, assign duty owners and show evidence to auditors.

How does contract risk control differ from a programme on contract drafting?

Contract risk control concentrates on running and protecting a signed contract, while a drafting programme concentrates on writing terms before signature.