On a capital project, the parts rarely fail. The joins do. The designer hands over to the equipment vendor, the vendor to the installation contractor, the contractor to your operations team, and every handover is a place where scope can fall between two parties. If nobody owns the joins, the client owns them by default – usually a project engineer who already has a full-time job keeping the plant running.

An EPCM arrangement puts one accountable team across engineering, procurement and construction management, so the interfaces are ours to manage rather than yours. You keep ownership of the project, the budget and the decisions. We carry the coordination: getting designs issued, getting equipment specified and bought, getting contractors on site in the right order, and getting the result tested, documented and handed over. It is worth being clear about the model. Projex Solutions manages construction rather than building the works directly, so the trades remain accountable through contracts you can see.

What the work involves

Engineering comes first and sets everything downstream. We develop the design to the level the project needs, from concept and layouts to detailed specifications, across process, mechanical, civil, structural and EC&I, so the disciplines are coordinated before anything is priced. That design then drives procurement: enquiry packages, tendering, technical evaluation of suppliers as well as price, order placement and administration, and delivery tracking against the construction sequence rather than a vendor’s own optimism.

On site, construction management means coordinating contractors, sequencing installation around your production requirements, answering technical queries so work is not held up waiting for a drawing, and checking that what is built matches what was designed. Running underneath is project control: cost, schedule, risk and change, reported in a form your board can act on. We also carry regulatory compliance, stakeholder communication and quality assurance, and our work is delivered under a quality management system certified to ISO 9001:2015.

The commercial arrangement flexes to suit the work. Projects up to around £20 million are managed as full EPCM appointments with a dedicated team, and smaller or awkward one-off contracts are taken on as well. Where you have a continuing need, a framework agreement with pre-agreed rates, response times and call-off scopes lets you start work without tendering each time. Where several related projects must land together, programme management support gives you a master schedule, visible interdependencies and one governance forum instead of several.

What you get

  • A single accountable point of contact from design through to handover
  • Engineering deliverables to the agreed level of detail, coordinated across disciplines
  • Tender packages, bid evaluations, purchase orders and expediting
  • Construction management on site: contractor coordination, technical query resolution and progress verification
  • Cost, schedule and risk reporting to suit your governance, with a change process so scope movement is priced and approved rather than absorbed
  • Commissioning support and a structured handover pack, including test records and operating documentation
  • Framework or call-off arrangements for ongoing engineering support

When clients typically call us

  • A project has been sanctioned but there is no internal resource to run it without pulling engineers off the plant
  • You want to retain control rather than hand everything to a turnkey contractor
  • A live project is slipping at the interfaces between designer, vendors and installers
  • Several linked projects need sequencing and nobody is holding the master schedule
  • A site needs regular engineering support and repeated tendering has become the bottleneck
  • An investment case needs a realistic cost and programme behind it before sanction

Frequently asked questions

Do you build the works yourselves?

No. Under EPCM we manage construction rather than carry it out. Installation is done by contractors, and our role is to select, coordinate, supervise and verify that work on your behalf. Where the project needs it, we can also take the Principal Contractor role under CDM.

Who holds the contracts with suppliers and contractors?

Usually you do, which is the point of the model. You keep the commercial relationships and the audit trail, while we run the tendering, evaluation and administration. Other arrangements are agreed at the outset so there is no ambiguity later.

Is there a minimum project size?

No. We manage projects up to around £20 million, and we also take on small or awkward one-off contracts. The team is scaled to the work rather than the other way round.

Can you pick up a project that has already started?

Yes, and it is a common starting point. We begin with a review of the current scope, cost, programme and open risks, tell you plainly what we find, and agree a recovery plan before taking on delivery.

Related: Part of our engineering consultancy services. See also FEED studies and project management and execution.

Whether you are sanctioning a new project, resourcing a live one or looking for a longer-term partner, we can take the coordination off your desk. Talk to us about your project. Request a call