Own The Build
Own the Build is the podcast for Quantity Surveyors and Commercial Directors who want to sharpen their commercial edge and lead with confidence.
Hosted by Paul Heming, former Commercial leader and now co-founder of C-Link, each week’s conversation dives into the realities of modern commercial management — from procurement and contracts to digital transformation and leadership in construction.
Through honest discussions with industry leaders, forensic planners, and forward-thinking QSs, Paul explores how the best commercial teams deliver profit, performance, and project certainty in a changing industry.
If you’re serious about mastering the commercial side of construction — this is where you build your advantage.
Own The Build
Why Standard Contracts Fail on Data Centres (And What Needs to Change) (EP 269)
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In this episode, Paul is joined by Alex Kozikowska, solicitor at Vinci, to explore a fast-growing but often misunderstood area of construction:
Why data centre projects break traditional contract thinking.
With experience across contractors, consultants and in-house legal teams, Alex brings a practical perspective on how these highly complex, MEP-driven projects are exposing the limitations of standard forms like JCT, NEC and even FIDIC.
The conversation unpacks what actually makes data centres different:
- why they are engineering-led, not building-led, with MEP dominating the scope;
- how design never truly stops evolving, driven by fast-moving technology;
- the impact of global procurement on programme, risk and delivery; and
- why traditional assumptions around fixed scope, price and responsibility simply don’t hold.
Paul and Alex also explore the consequences of getting it wrong — from endless variations and programme delays to misallocated risk that no party can realistically control.
Most importantly, the episode looks forward:
- how contracts must adapt to allow for design evolution and uncertainty;
- why commissioning should sit at the centre of contract structure; and
- the growing need for new, fit-for-purpose contract models tailored to data centre delivery.
The message is clear:
data centres aren’t just bigger projects — they’re fundamentally different projects, and the contracts need to catch up.
A timely and insightful episode for QSs, Commercial Directors and anyone involved in complex, high-value infrastructure — particularly as demand for data centres continues to accelerate globally.
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📥 Plus: Grab Paul’s free new eBook Mastering Construction Procurement — link below:
Want to connect with Paul?
Paul is on Linkedin here and would love to talk. You can also connect with Paul at paul@c-link.com or through, C-Link.
C-Link is software built by Quantity Surveyors for Quantity Surveyors. We save 600 hours of Quantity Surveying time per project in automation. We can make your QS’ so much more efficient.
Watch the Video to learn more; you can book a demo by clicking here.
