Maintenance Contracting and Outsourcing: Contract Models, Pricing and Contractor Performance – Paris, 11–15 Oct 2027

Programme overview

Introduction:

Maintenance contracting and outsourcing go wrong when organisations hand plant and building upkeep to contractors without a clear make-or-buy case, a measurable scope or a pricing model that rewards the right behaviour. Rates escalate, reactive call-outs multiply, contractor crews work unsafely and nobody can prove whether the service is worth its cost. This Core Concept course equips maintenance and facility service owners to decide what to outsource, choose a contract model, price it, tender it, mobilise the contractor and manage performance through to exit. Participants produce a Maintenance Contracting Strategy and Contractor Performance Pack.

Course Objectives:

• Conduct a make-or-buy analysis for maintenance and facility services using cost, capability, risk and asset criticality evidence
• Select an outsourcing model, from labour supply and term service to performance-based, total FM and framework agreements, and justify the choice
• Draft a maintenance scope of work, service specification, SLA schedule and KPI set that a contractor can price and be measured against
• Compare lump sum, schedule of rates, cost-plus and gain-share pricing and run a tender with weighted technical and commercial evaluation
• Plan contractor mobilisation, transition, HSE control, performance audits, service credits and incentive payments
• Prepare exit, handback and re-tendering arrangements that protect service continuity and asset knowledge

Target Audience:

• Maintenance managers responsible for deciding which plant, building and utility services are delivered by contractors
• Facility service owners accountable for outsourced hard and soft service contracts across sites
• Procurement and contracts managers responsible for tendering, awarding and renewing maintenance and FM service agreements
• Contract owners who approve contractor invoices, variations, deductions and incentive payments
• HSE and asset managers responsible for contractor safety performance and the condition of assets handed to service providers

Course Outline:

Day 1: Make-or-Buy Decisions for Maintenance and Facility Services

• Maintenance and Facility Service Portfolio Map: Hard, Soft and Specialist Services
• Make-or-Buy Scoring Matrix: Cost, Core Capability, Asset Criticality and Market Depth
• In-House Maintenance Cost Baseline: Labour, Materials, Overheads and Downtime
• Contractor Market Sounding and Supplier Capacity Assessment
• Outsourcing Risk Register: Knowledge Loss, Dependency and Step-In Needs

Day 2: Maintenance Outsourcing Models and Contract Forms

• Labour Supply and Manpower Contracts: Control, Supervision and Liability Split
• Term Maintenance Contracts and the NEC Term Service Contract Structure
• Performance-Based Maintenance Contracts Tied to Availability and Condition Outcomes
• Total FM, Bundled Service and Single-Service Contracts Compared for Maintenance Scope
• Framework Agreements and Call-Off Orders for Specialist and Ad-Hoc Maintenance Work

Day 3: Scope, Service Levels, Pricing and Contractor Tendering

• Maintenance Scope of Work Template: Asset Lists, Task Frequencies and Exclusions
• SLA Schedule for Planned, Reactive and Emergency Maintenance Tasks
• Pricing Models: Lump Sum, Schedule of Rates, Cost-Plus and Gain-Share Mechanisms
• Maintenance Contractor Prequalification Questionnaire and Technical Capability Checks
• Weighted Tender Evaluation Model and Abnormally Low Bid Review

Day 4: Mobilisation, Contractor Performance, HSE and Exit

• Mobilisation Plan: Asset Handover Survey, Staff Transfer and Contractor Onboarding
• Contractor Performance Audit Procedure and Monthly Scorecard Review
• Service Credits, Liquidated Deductions and Incentive Payment Rules
• Contractor HSE Controls: Permit to Work, Method Statements and Safety Performance Indicators
• Exit Plan, Asset Condition Handback and Re-Tendering Timeline

Day 5: Case Work: Maintenance Contracting Strategy and Performance Pack

• Case: Petrochemical Plant Moving from Labour Supply to a Performance-Based Contract
• Case: Hospital Estate Re-Tendering a Failing Building Maintenance Contract
• Case: University Campus Pricing Review of a Schedule of Rates Contract
• Maintenance Contracting Strategy Drafting for an Own Service Portfolio
• Contractor Performance Pack Build and Peer Challenge Panel

Skills You Will Gain:

• Make-or-Buy Analysis
• Outsourcing Model Selection
• Maintenance Scope Writing
• Contract Pricing Analysis
• Contractor Tender Evaluation
• Contractor Mobilisation Planning
• Contractor HSE Oversight
• Contract Exit Planning

Why Attend This Course:

• Return with a Maintenance Contracting Strategy and Contractor Performance Pack for a service portfolio in your own organisation
• Stop paying for call-outs and rate escalation that a better pricing model and scope would have prevented
• Hold maintenance contractors to measurable service levels, audit findings and safety indicators instead of opinion
• Compare contracting practice with peers from oil and gas, healthcare, education, utilities and commercial property

Conclusion:

Outsourced maintenance delivers value only when the decision to contract out is evidenced, the model and price reward reliable service, and the contractor is managed from mobilisation to exit. The course moves from make-or-buy analysis, through outsourcing models and contract forms, to scope, service levels, pricing and tendering, and then to mobilisation, performance audits, deductions, incentives, HSE and exit. The final day applies these steps to plant, hospital and campus cases and produces a Maintenance Contracting Strategy and Contractor Performance Pack.