Major Projects are Delayed by Months or Years, and Cost Millions More Than Budgeted, Because of Common Mistakes Made at the Contracting Stage Organizations that invest huge amounts of capital in major building/industrial projects almost never do the engineering and building themselves. They hire engineering and construction contractors to do it for them. Unfortunately, selecting contractors and negotiating the terms of a major project is one of the most difficult aspects of project management...and organizations waste billions of dollars and 'bake in' months or years of delay by doing it wrong. Contracting is also the area of project management that is most prone to firmly held opinions unencumbered by any facts. We intend to remedy that situation with this book. Drawing on a properietary detailed database of over 1100 major projects, the world's leading industrial engineering project consultant, Ed Merrow explains: Key Principles of Contracting for Major Projects: * Owners are from