-75%
Solution
Table of Contents
1.1 Qatar Railways Company Background. 3
3.0 Terms and Conditions for QRC Secondment Services Contract. 5
3.1 Risks of the Poor Quality. 5
3.2 Risk of the Extension of Time. 8
3.3 Risk of Increased Costs. 9
3.4 Risk of Unethical Practices. 9
4.0 Performance Measures Monitoring and Management. 10
5.1 Implementing a common agreement under terms and conditions of a buyer. 14
6.0 Conclusion and Recommendations. 14
Appendix 1: Selected Terms and Conditions Summary. 20
Figure 1:Summary of QRC Projects in Qatar. 4
Figure 2:Kraljic Matrix Analysis. 5
Figure 3:Classifications of conditions and warranty. 7
Figure 4:Mendelow Matrix Analysis. 12
Table 1:Risk Register of Quality factors summary. 7
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Qatar Railways Company Background
Qatar Rail Company (QRC) is an organisation established in 2011 for supporting and coordinating growth in Qatar Rail Industry (QRC, 2024). The ownership of the company is by Qatar Railways Development Company (QRDC) working as a joint venture with Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company. Over the years, the company has been involved in development of the $35bn Qatar Integrated Rail Program. A summary of the projects executed by the company are as illustrated in the following;
Figure 1:Summary of QRC Projects in Qatar
Source: Summarised from MEED (2013)
The outcome of the identified projects have been assisting in achievement of Qatar National Vision of having an integrated railway system which is affordable, reliable and convenient. This is while at the same time assisting in building and supporting Qatar economic growth and prosperity (QRC, 2024).
2.0 Terms and Conditions
In this assessment, the terms and conditions for QRC in sourcing secondment services has been used (see appendix 1). The secondment services are used in QRC with an intention of improving the employees capabilities in terms of acquired skills and continuous development (Waterman aspen, 2024). This is informed by the increased demand of engaging both expatriates and international labour in the operations of Qatar railway industry. In 2018, QRC initiated a long-term program intended to engage an upward of 18,000 foreign employees to the Qatar Railway operations (Consunji et al., 2020). The relationship of QRC and their recruits is attained through secondment initiatives. These are sourced by the application of terms and conditions. Secondments are cost-intensive and sensitive spend category hence need for embracing appropriate terms and conditions.
To identify scope of the contract terms and conditions essential for QRC, the Kraljic Matrix is applicable (CIPS, 2024). This evidence a strategic tool embraced in Procurement and Supply and Management (PS&M) to note and reduce the supply chain risks. Also, risks management are used to ensure they are appropriately managed in their entire supply chain;
Figure 2:Kraljic Matrix Analysis
Source: Sourced from CIPS Module Notes
Leverage- Having low risks, this has buyer dominance and inclusive of logistics, staff uniforms and technology systems having many alternatives from their suppliers. QRC stipulates the terms and conditions to be followed in areas of tenders issuance, targeted costs and substitutes management.
Strategic-Considering QRC sourcing secondment initiatives, they are instrumental and hence characterised by balanced relations with their suppliers. An effective risk management is characterised with power balance in sourcing and supply.
Bottleneck- In regard to QRC sourcing of different services (technical and expertise), they have immense risks of costs increase with less suppliers in place.
Non-critical– Also routine, the terms and conditions are lenient owing to their criticality in enhancing the organisation performance. The e-Procurement is actively engaged for managing suppliers risks in sourcing.
From the findings of Kraljic Matrix analysis, the seconding services sourced by QRC are classified in the critical classification. The outcome of this is ensuring existence of standardised initiatives with effective management.
3.0 Terms and Conditions for QRC Secondment Services Contract
3.1 Risks of the Poor Quality
As defined in CIPS (2024a), quality entail “technical contracts demand associated with products/services quality and ensure they conform with contract demands”. For secondment services in QRC, the quality indicators include scheduled workload, resolution of operational issues, monitoring of quality of work generated. Ain summary, the terms and conditions note;
The different terms and conditions evidence a warrant as opposed to being a contract (Law Teacher, 2023). Therefore, for the contractor, failing in offering secondment services in tandem with essential quality devoid of any interaction can contribute to terminating the contract. In CIPS module notes, the conditions and warranty are classified as following;
Figure 3:Classifications of conditions and warranty
Source: CIPS Module Notes
For monitoring of the risks, risk register can be utilised in identifying risk impact and likelihood of their occurrence as summarised in the following;
Table 1:Risk Register of Quality factors summary
Source: Summarised from QRC Internal documents
| # | Dates | Explanation | Likelihood | Impact | Severity | Owner | Mitigation Action |
| A | April 2024 | Secondment number required insufficient in details | High | Medium | Low | PS&M department | Existence of an elaborate metrics for performance in executing the contract |
| B | June 2024 | The secondments design inappropriate for all stakeholders satisfaction | Medium | High | High | Finance department | Ensuring costs management effectively for all stakeholders satisfaction |
| C | August 2024 | The players in secondments management terms and conditions insufficient in detailing contractor functions | Medium | High | High | People practice functions | Using workshops with an intention of improving functions of contractors |
| D | Nov 2024 | Lack of alignment of secondment strategies and QRC main objectives | High | Medium | High | PS&M teams | Expansion of terms and conditions to integrate the need for a full alignment with organisation objectives |
The risk register in table 1 include recent secondments services sourced by QRC targeting to expand their operations to the North of Qatar. The risk register evidence need for embracing change in their terms and conditions for effective risks management. For managing the quality challenges, the terms and conditions further highlight;
Hence, for QRC PS&M, they work in collaboration with people practice department for ensuring that the secondment services meet the required levels, care and diligence from the professional consultant/secondee. This can be further be aligned with Qatar legislations to be aligned with services or works for World’s best railways.
3.2 Risk of the Extension of Time
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