Lonneke Cheung
Employee portrait
Lonneke Cheung
‘Clear and measurable requirements avoid discussion’
Lonneke Cheung has worked as a contract manager at Witteveen+Bos for around ten years. For a long time she did this on a variety of projects, but nowadays she is kept busy by a complex and ambitious project in Belgium: the preparation and implementation of a contract to build a tunnel underneath the Albert Canal in Antwerp.
Clear and measurable
‘While studying building engineering and architecture at TU Delft, I quickly realised that architecture was too vague and subjective for me. But I completed my degree and followed it up with a second master’s in construction management. That really suited me. I like clear structures and I’m very precise. So I chose to major in contract management and now I’m a contract manager.
Together with the project manager and those responsible for engineering, community and environment, and project control, I draw up the invitation to tender. This details exactly what needs to be built. A contract is a combination of the invitation to tender and the accepted tender. I make sure a clear tendering procedure takes place so that, for each project, we choose the contractor with the right expertise who will do what is stipulated in the contract. This is coupled with clear and measurable requirements that can’t be misinterpreted, leaving no room for discussion.’
Pain-gain
‘I’ve been working on the Oosterweel Link in Antwerp for over five years now. It’s a complex and ambitious project by the Flemish government to improve the accessibility and liveability of the Antwerp region. I’m contract manager for a component involving a tunnel under the Albert Canal. Much of the Oosterweel Link is being built using NEC4 contracts. That stands for ‘new engineering contract, fourth edition’.
This contract form is being applied in Belgium for the first time. For me, it’s extremely interesting and educational. My graduation thesis was about construction management using NEC contracts, and now I’m experiencing their application in practice. An NEC contract promotes collaboration and utilises a pain-gain approach. That means the client and contractor work on the basis of an agreed target price. They bear the risks together and share the pain if costs increase, but they also share the profit if, through effective collaboration, they stay below the target price.’
Sharing risks
‘Much of the old infrastructure from the previous century is being renovated now or will be in the future. You’re never sure what you’ll discover, so it’s appealing for clients and contractors to share the risks and pay the actual costs. This development has meant that the interest in pain-gain contracts is increasing. These contracts are suited to complex projects with lots of uncertainties. I find that hugely fascinating and challenging. It’s why I know contract management will absolutely continue to be my field in the future.’
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