EBB_6_060 Contract Administration Group Coursework Brief 2026/27: Digital Tools, Dispute Avoidance and Blockchain in Retrofit Projects | LSBU

EBB_6_060 Contract Administration – Group Coursework Brief (2026/27)

This Contract Administration coursework puts your team inside a contractor’s new Contracts, Tendering and Disputes department. You research how digital technology is reshaping contract administration and write a five-chapter report covering the administrator’s changing role in retrofit work, drones, digital twins and IoT, dispute avoidance, JCT On Demand and digital platforms, and blockchain for public projects.

Scenario

You have secured employment at a major contracting firm that is looking to implement improved ways of managing its projects and to digitise its processes. You have been deployed to the newly formed ‘Contracts, Tendering & Disputes’ department alongside four other new employees, making a team of five. Your team has been tasked with researching innovative ways that digital technologies can improve contract administration, and must produce a 5,000-word report with the chapters below.

Chapter 1: Reimagining the Contract Administrator’s Role in Retrofit Projects (1,000 words – 8 marks)

Using referenced literature and sources, critically examine how the traditional role of a contract administrator is changing in modern retrofit projects, considering recent developments such as:

• The Hackitt Report and the Golden Thread of Information;
• The Building Safety Act 2022 and its role in building safety for retrofit projects;
• New responsibilities in sustainability compliance, digital tools and collaborative working;
• The differences between NEC4 and the JCT Standard Building Contract (SBC) in retrofit contexts.

Chapter 2: Digital Tools for Monitoring Retrofit Project Progress and Compliance (1,000 words – 8 marks)

Critically explore and evaluate how tools such as drones, digital twins and IoT sensors (for site monitoring, worker performance, etc.) can be integrated into contract administration tasks. With valid references, analyse:

• How these tools might influence site inspections and payment certification;
• How these technologies support delay reporting, and how this benefits the contract administrator;
• The data risks and liability concerns, and to what extent current standard forms of contract address them;
• The privacy issues and how they might be overcome contractually.

Chapter 3: Avoiding Disputes in Construction Projects – Early Warning and Collaborative Contracting (1,000 words – 8 marks)

Critically discuss, using reliable and up-to-date sources, how dispute avoidance can be built into construction projects through:

• Early warning systems (NEC4);
• Partnering and collaborative contracting approaches (PPC2000, FAC-1);
• Risk-sharing strategies among key project partners and their subcontractors;
• The types of AI tools that flag risk signals and how they can be integrated into construction workflows and contracts.

Chapter 4: JCT Contract Suite – Going Beyond Paper with E-tendering, Smart Contracts and JCT On Demand (1,000 words – 8 marks)

Using reliable and verifiable sources, discuss how JCT On Demand and digital contract platforms (such as DocuSign, Oracle Aconex or Autodesk Construction Cloud) can:

• Improve transparency and access to information for all parties while protecting critical information and intellectual property from unauthorised project members;
• Be tailored to small retrofit projects;
• Facilitate alternative dispute resolution (ADR), using two examples of ADR methods;
• Be used as a tool for de-risking construction projects.

Chapter 5: Blockchain for Public Sector Construction – Hype or Hope? (1,000 words – 8 marks)

Critically explore, based on research and reliable sources, how blockchain could realistically be applied to public projects to manage:

• Quality assurance for products and materials brought on site;
• Timely milestone payments without compromising verifiability of works;
• Validation of variations and delay claims, with examples of real-life applications;
• Retention release and post-handover quality compliance.

Provide real or hypothetical examples of blockchain-based smart contracts in UK public works.

Report Presentation, Summary and Referencing (10 marks)

• Executive Summary summarising key findings from all five chapters (2.5 marks)
• Contents page and clear chapter structure (2.5 marks)
• Correct Harvard referencing (2.5 marks)
• Reference list at the end, with a minimum of 10 sources per chapter including academic, legal and technical sources (2.5 marks)

Submission Requirements

• Group report of no more than 5,000 words (excluding table of contents, references and appendices), A4 PDF or Word.
• Title page with the assignment title, names and student numbers of all group members, and the students’ peer assessment.
• Moodle upload only (no printed copies) by Friday 18 December 2026, 5:00 pm.
• No separate conclusion section is required. The coursework counts for half of the module; the other half is an open-book online timed assignment.

Answer

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