BRC Academy is the free teaching library of Benjamin R. Consulting: practical lessons on construction contracts, claims, project delivery, the PMBOK® Guide, the PMP® exam, Microsoft Project and Oracle Primavera P6, written from the owner's side.
Every lesson uses one fictional case study, the Northgate Distribution Centre, a 12,000 m² tilt-up warehouse in Vaughan, Ontario. Each lesson has learning outcomes, original diagrams, a worked example, a short quiz and dated references. New lessons are added every day.
Contracts
How owners use contracts to control risk, from Canada's standard forms to the clauses that decide disputes.
- Lesson 1
Why the contract is the owner's #1 risk tool
How a construction contract allocates risk between owner and contractor, how CCDC 2-2020 splits common risks, and why owners must act before tender.
Beginner - Lesson 2
Canada's standard forms: CCDC, CCA, OAA and RAIC
Who publishes Canada's standard construction and consulting contracts, which form governs each relationship, and why the editions must match.
Beginner - Lesson 3
Delivery methods compared: DBB, CM, DB, PDB, IPD and P3
Six construction delivery methods compared for Canadian owners: who designs, who builds, when the price is firm, and which CCDC form fits each.
Beginner - Lesson 4
Pricing models: stipulated, unit, cost-plus, GMP, target cost
How stipulated price, unit price, cost-plus, GMP and target cost contracts pay the contractor, who carries cost growth, and how owners choose.
Beginner - Lesson 5
Anatomy of a CCDC contract
The parts of a CCDC contract, using CCDC 2-2020: Agreement, Definitions, General Conditions, Supplementary Conditions and order of priority.
Beginner - Lesson 6
CCDC 2-2020 walkthrough: what changed from 2008
A part-by-part walkthrough of what CCDC 2-2020 changed from the 2008 edition, and which owner Supplementary Conditions need rewriting as a result.
Beginner - Lesson 7
Ready-for-Takeover vs Substantial Performance
How Ontario's Construction Act tests and publishes substantial performance, how CCDC 2-2020 Ready-for-Takeover differs, and what each one starts.
Beginner - Lesson 8
CCDC 3 cost-plus: controlling the Cost of the Work
How CCDC 3-2016 pays the Cost of the Work plus a fee, what is reimbursable, how the GMP and target options work, and the controls owners need.
Beginner - Lesson 9
CCDC 4 unit price: quantities and remeasurement
How CCDC 4-2023 pays unit prices on measured quantities, how the 15% quantity variation rule in GC 6.7 works, and how owners control measurement.
Beginner - Lesson 10
Writing Supplementary Conditions owners need
How owners write Supplementary Conditions for CCDC contracts: where each term belongs, the standard drafting format, statutory limits and a starter set.
Beginner - Lesson 11
CCDC 5A-2025: CM for services
How CCDC 5A-2025 works: the construction manager as the owner's limited agent, trade contracts on CCDC 17, services by phase, payment and owner risks.
Intermediate - Lesson 12
CCDC 5B-2025: CM for services and construction
How CCDC 5B-2025 makes the CM the builder: separate pre-construction services, cost-plus Work, GMP and stipulated price options, and owner controls.
Intermediate - Lesson 13
CCDC 17: trade contracts under a CM
How CCDC 17-2025 trade contracts work under a CCDC 5A construction manager: who signs, who administers, payment, holdback and Ready-for-Takeover.
Intermediate - Lesson 14
Termination for convenience in the 2025 CM forms
The owner's new right to terminate a CCDC 5A or 5B construction manager for convenience: triggers, break fees, lost profit, good faith and trades.
Intermediate - Lesson 15
Phase-based CM fees: pre-con, construction, post
How the 2025 CCDC 5A and 5B forms split the construction manager's fee into pre-construction, construction and post-construction phases.
Intermediate - Lesson 16
CCDC 14 & 15 (2026): design-build updates
What changed in CCDC 14-2026 and 15-2026, the first design-build updates since 2013: Ready-for-Takeover, Effective Date, owner design, design reuse.
Intermediate - Lesson 17
Progressive design-build: CCDC 32 & 33
How CCDC 32-2026 progressive design-build works: project gates, Final Project Proposal, early work, off-ramps, and the CCDC 33 consultant contract.
Intermediate - Lesson 18
CCDC 30-2025: IPD and the Big Room
How CCDC 30-2025 integrated project delivery works: one multi-party agreement, Validation, the Profit Pool, governance and the Big Room.
Intermediate - Lesson 19
Consultant agreements: OAA 600 and RAIC Document Six
What owners should check in OAA 600-2021 and RAIC Document Six: services, fees, budget tolerance, liability, copyright, payment and termination.
Intermediate - Lesson 20
Subcontracts: CCA 1 and flow-down clauses
How CCA 1-2021 subcontracts flow CCDC 2-2020 terms down to trades, where flow-down breaks, and the Ontario prompt payment cascade.
Intermediate - Lesson 21
Insurance (CCDC 41) and bonding
CCDC 41 insurance limits, CCDC 221 and 222 performance and labour and material payment bonds, and Ontario's mandatory public-sector bonding.
Intermediate
Claims
Delay and disruption claims from the owner's side: entitlement, schedule analysis, quantum and settlement.
Lessons coming soon.
Construction Phase
Running the construction phase from kickoff to closeout, with the owner's checks at every step.
- Lesson 1
The construction lifecycle from the owner's chair
The six phases of a building project as the owner sees them, the gates between them, and Ontario's completion milestones, on a Northgate example.
Beginner - Lesson 2
Pre-construction to construction handoff
What the owner must hand from the design and procurement team to the construction team, and when, between tender close and mobilization.
Beginner - Lesson 3
Kickoff meeting: agenda and decisions
How owners run a construction kickoff meeting in Ontario: a timed agenda, the decisions to lock in, and the OHSA and prompt payment start-up checks.
Beginner - Lesson 4
Ontario building permits: owner checklist
How Ontario owners get a building permit on time: applicable law, a complete application, the 20-day review clock, conditional permits and inspections.
Beginner - Lesson 5
Mobilization and site setup
How owners treat construction mobilization as a gate: the readiness checklist, site logistics plans, local rules and paying the mobilization line.
Beginner - Lesson 6
Ontario OHSA: owner vs constructor duties
Who is the constructor under Ontario's OHSA, what owners still owe under ss. 29 and 30, and what R. v. Greater Sudbury means for owners.
Beginner - Lesson 7
Notice of Project and safety oversight
When O. Reg. 213/91 requires a Notice of Project, what the constructor files and posts, and how owners oversee site safety without becoming constructor.
Beginner - Lesson 8
Quality plans and ITPs
How owners set up construction quality: the contractor's quality plan, ITPs with hold and witness points, general review and testing under CCDC 2-2020.
Beginner - Lesson 9
RFIs: workflow, turnaround, metrics
How RFIs work under CCDC 2-2020: when an answer is a Supplemental Instruction or a change, Working Day turnaround targets and the RFI metrics owners track.
Beginner - Lesson 10
Submittals and shop drawings
Shop drawings and submittals under CCDC 2-2020 GC 3.8 (GC 3.10 in 2008): review scope, deviations, 10 Working Day reviews and a submittal schedule.
Beginner - Lesson 11
OAC meetings and minutes that hold up
How owners run OAC meetings and keep minutes that hold up: meeting types, a standing agenda, numbered actions, corrections and why minutes are not notice.
Beginner - Lesson 12
Monthly progress reports owners can trust
What a monthly construction progress report should contain, how it ties to the GC 3.4 schedule update and GC 5.2 payment, and how owners test it.
Beginner - Lesson 13
Schedule updates: the monthly check
How owners check a contractor's monthly schedule update: data date, actuals, out-of-sequence logic, critical path, float trend and narrative.
Beginner - Lesson 14
Cost reports, forecasts, contingency
How owners build a monthly construction cost report: budget, commitments, changes, forecast final cost and a contingency drawdown they can defend.
Beginner - Lesson 15
Cash flow and the S-curve
How owners plan construction cash flow: S-curves from the schedule, Ontario prompt payment timing, 10% holdback and annual holdback release.
Beginner - Lesson 16
Change management end to end
Change management under CCDC 2-2020 GC 6.1 to 6.6: Change Orders, Change Directives, concealed conditions, delays, claims and the change log.
Beginner - Lesson 17
Site instructions, field reports, daily logs
Supplemental Instructions, Consultant field review reports and contractor daily logs under CCDC 2-2020: what each record is for and what owners check.
Beginner - Lesson 18
Procurement and long-lead items
How owners find long-lead items, schedule the full procurement chain backward from the need-by date, run a procurement log and use early release.
Beginner - Lesson 19
Deficiency tracking
How owners track construction deficiencies in Ontario: punch list first, a clear item lifecycle, a log that holds up, burn-down metrics and holdbacks.
Beginner - Lesson 20
Trade coordination and look-aheads
How look-ahead schedules, constraint logs and weekly trade coordination turn the monthly schedule into work that happens, and what the owner should check.
Beginner - Lesson 21
BIM and MEP coordination
How BIM coordination catches MEP and sprinkler clashes before fabrication: federated models, clash types, LOD 350 and 400, zone sign-off and owner rules.
Beginner
Software & Digital Tools
The project controls tool stack: scheduling, document control, dashboards and AI.
Lessons coming soon.
PMBOK® Guide 8
The 8th edition explained for practitioners: principles, focus areas, domains and processes.
- Lesson 1
PMBOK® Guide 1st to 8th edition: 30 years in one map
How the PMBOK Guide evolved from the 1987 body of knowledge to the 2025 Eighth Edition: process-based, principle-based, then hybrid.
Beginner - Lesson 2
What's new in the PMBOK® Guide 8th edition
What changed from PMBOK 7 to PMBOK 8: 6 principles, 7 domains with new Governance and Finance, 40 processes back, plus AI, PMOs and procurement.
Beginner - Lesson 3
Principles, focus areas, domains and processes: how PMBOK® Guide 8 fits together
How the PMBOK Guide 8th edition fits together: 6 principles, 7 performance domains, 5 focus areas and 40 processes, mapped to a construction project.
Beginner - Lesson 4
Predictive, adaptive and hybrid delivery
How PMBOK Guide 8 treats predictive, adaptive and hybrid approaches, how to choose one per work package, and why most building projects are hybrid.
Beginner - Lesson 5
Tailoring: the skill PMBOK® Guide 8 expects
What tailoring means in PMBOK Guide 8, its four steps, how to set each domain lighter or heavier, and a sample tailoring log for an owner's project.
Beginner - Lesson 6
Principle: adopt a holistic view
The PMBOK Guide 8 holistic view principle explained: systems thinking, interfaces and second-order effects, applied to an owner-side warehouse project.
Beginner - Lesson 7
Principle: focus on value
The PMBOK Guide 8 focus on value principle: outputs vs outcomes, benefits and value, and how an owner tests value-engineering proposals.
Beginner - Lesson 8
Principle: embed quality
The PMBOK Guide 8 embed quality principle: prevention over inspection, acceptance criteria, cost of quality, and an owner's inspection and test plan.
Beginner - Lesson 9
Principle: be an accountable leader
The PMBOK Guide 8 accountable leader principle: accountability vs responsibility, decision rights, ethics and escalation on an owner-side project.
Beginner - Lesson 10
Principle: integrate sustainability
The new PMBOK Guide 8 sustainability principle: environmental, social and economic lenses across the life cycle, applied to an Ontario warehouse.
Beginner - Lesson 11
Principle: build an empowered culture
The PMBOK Guide 8 empowered culture principle: clarity, authority and psychological safety, and how an owner builds them across contract lines.
Beginner - Lesson 12
Focus area: Initiating
The Initiating focus area in PMBOK Guide 8: authorizing a project or phase, the charter, identifying stakeholders, and a construction-phase start.
Beginner - Lesson 13
Focus area: Planning
The PMBOK Guide 8 Planning focus area: its 19 processes by domain, rules vs baselines, plan alignment, and an owner's planning map for a warehouse.
Beginner - Lesson 14
Focus area: Executing
The PMBOK Guide 8 Executing focus area: its 8 processes, what an owner executes on a stipulated-price job, QA versus QC, and an owner's working rhythm.
Beginner - Lesson 15
Focus area: Monitoring and Controlling
The PMBOK Guide 8 Monitoring and Controlling focus area: 10 processes, the control loop, change control under CCDC 2-2020, and reading SPI as an owner.
Beginner - Lesson 16
Focus area: Closing
The PMBOK Guide 8 Closing focus area: Close Project or Phase, phase gates, an owner's close-out sequence, lessons that stick, and closing early.
Beginner - Lesson 17
Domain: Governance
The PMBOK Guide 8 Governance domain: its 9 processes across all focus areas, governance models, decision rights and escalation for an owner's project.
Beginner - Lesson 18
Domain: Scope
The PMBOK Guide 8 Scope domain: its six processes, requirements, the scope baseline and WBS, and validating vs controlling scope on an owner's project.
Beginner - Lesson 19
Domain: Schedule
The PMBOK Guide 8 Schedule domain: its three processes, what Develop Schedule now holds, critical path and float, and how an owner controls two schedules.
Beginner - Lesson 20
Domain: Finance
The PMBOK Guide 8 Finance domain: four processes, budgets and reserves, cash flow with holdback, and earned value for an owner on a stipulated price job.
Beginner - Lesson 21
Domain: Stakeholders
The PMBOK Guide 8 Stakeholders domain: seven processes with communications folded in, stakeholder mapping, engagement levels and an owner's comms plan.
Beginner
PMP® Process & Exam
Preparing for the 2026 PMP® exam, from eligibility to exam day.
Lessons coming soon.
Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project desktop from first file to a full Northgate schedule: beginner, intermediate and advanced.
- Lesson 1
Microsoft Project in 2026: desktop, Planner, and Project Online retired
Which Microsoft Project is which in 2026: desktop, Planner premium, Project Server, and what the Sept 30, 2026 Project Online retirement changed.
Beginner - Lesson 2
Microsoft Project interface tour
A guided tour of the Microsoft Project desktop window: ribbon tabs, Gantt Chart view, timescale, Timeline, split views and the status bar.
Beginner - Lesson 3
Create a project and set the start date in Microsoft Project
Start a Microsoft Project file the right way: blank or template, Project Information, start vs finish scheduling, and the start date an owner should use.
Beginner - Lesson 4
Calendars and Ontario statutory holidays in Microsoft Project
Build a Microsoft Project calendar with Ontario's public holidays for 2027 and 2028, handle weekend and non-statutory days, and record owner decisions.
Beginner - Lesson 5
Tasks and WBS outline levels in Microsoft Project
Turn a summary WBS into Microsoft Project outline levels: indent tasks, show outline numbers, define stable WBS codes and renumber safely.
Beginner - Lesson 6
Durations and estimates in Microsoft Project
Duration units, elapsed durations, the estimated-duration question mark, and four ways to estimate durations for an owner's master schedule.
Beginner - Lesson 7
Dependencies in Microsoft Project: FS, SS, FF and SF
The four task dependency types in Microsoft Project, how to link and edit tasks, predecessor codes, and logic rules an owner should enforce.
Beginner - Lesson 8
Lags and leads
Enter lags and leads in Microsoft Project desktop, choose working, elapsed or percentage lag, and set owner rules for lags in a master schedule.
Beginner - Lesson 9
Milestones
Create milestones in Microsoft Project desktop, link start and finish events correctly, handle external milestones, and report contract milestones.
Beginner - Lesson 10
Auto vs manual scheduling
Auto-scheduled and manually scheduled tasks in Microsoft Project desktop: how each behaves, how to switch, and when an owner should allow manual tasks.
Beginner - Lesson 11
Critical path and total slack
How Microsoft Project calculates total and free slack, how to show the critical path in Project desktop, and how owners read slack on a real sequence.
Beginner - Lesson 12
Constraints and deadlines
The eight constraint types in Microsoft Project desktop, how typed dates create constraints, and why owners carry contract milestones as deadlines.
Beginner - Lesson 13
Task types: units, duration, work
How Microsoft Project links work, duration and units, what Fixed Units, Fixed Work and Fixed Duration hold still, and how owners pick a task type.
Beginner - Lesson 14
Effort-driven scheduling
What effort-driven scheduling does in Microsoft Project, when it applies, how it interacts with task types, and when an owner should switch it off.
Beginner - Lesson 15
Gantt chart formatting
Format the Gantt chart in Microsoft Project desktop: bar styles, critical and slack bars, bar text, text styles, gridlines and a reusable owner view.
Beginner - Lesson 16
Resource sheet
Build the Resource Sheet in Microsoft Project desktop: work, material and cost resources, Max. Units, groups, calendars and what an owner should load.
Beginner - Lesson 17
Assigning resources
Assign resources in Microsoft Project desktop: Resource Names, Assign Resources, Task Information, Team Planner, units, materials and costs.
Beginner - Lesson 18
Resource levelling
How resource levelling works in Microsoft Project desktop: overallocations, Level All, the Leveling Options, priorities, and how an owner should use it.
Beginner - Lesson 19
Costs: rates, fixed costs, accrual
Enter resource rates, per-use and fixed costs in Microsoft Project desktop, and set Start, Prorated or End accrual so the owner's cash forecast is right.
Beginner - Lesson 20
Budget resources
Set up budget resources in Microsoft Project desktop, assign them to the project summary task, and compare budget with planned cost by category.
Beginner - Lesson 21
Setting baselines
How to set, update and clear baselines and interim plans in Microsoft Project desktop, read variance, and run an owner's baseline register.
Intermediate
Primavera P6
Oracle Primavera P6 from the EPS to a time impact analysis: beginner, intermediate and advanced.
- Lesson 1
P6 Professional vs P6 EPPM vs Primavera Cloud (Version 26)
P6 Professional, P6 EPPM and Oracle Primavera Cloud explained for owners: desktop vs web, standalone vs cloud, XER vs XML, and which set-up to choose.
Beginner - Lesson 2
P6 Professional interface tour and navigation
A tour of the Primavera P6 Professional screen: menus, toolbars, the Activities window, layouts, filters, F9 and the data date, for owners.
Beginner - Lesson 3
EPS and OBS in Primavera P6
How the EPS and OBS work in Oracle Primavera P6, how they control access, and how an owner should set them up, with a worked Northgate example.
Beginner - Lesson 4
Create a project and project settings
The P6 Create a New Project wizard, the Project Details tabs and Schedule Options, and how an owner records a contractor baseline's settings.
Beginner - Lesson 5
Calendars: global, project, resource
How P6 global, project and resource calendars work, which one sets an activity's dates, and how an owner checks Ontario holidays in a baseline.
Beginner - Lesson 6
WBS in P6
How the work breakdown structure works in Oracle Primavera P6 Professional, how to build it, and how an owner should specify and check it.
Beginner - Lesson 7
Activity types: Task, LOE, WBS summary, milestones
The six activity types in Oracle Primavera P6, how each one calculates its dates, and what an owner should check in a contractor's schedule.
Beginner - Lesson 8
Durations and duration types
How Primavera P6 stores durations, the four duration fields, and what each of the four duration types recalculates, with owner checks.
Beginner - Lesson 9
Relationships and lags
The four relationship types in Primavera P6, lags and the lag calendar, driving relationships, and the logic checks an owner should run.
Beginner - Lesson 10
Scheduling (F9) and the schedule log
What F9 does in Primavera P6, the Schedule dialog and Schedule Options, and how an owner reads the schedule log to find logic problems.
Beginner - Lesson 11
Critical path vs longest path
Why Primavera P6's total float and longest path definitions of critical can disagree, how to show both, and what an owner should specify.
Beginner - Lesson 12
Total float and free float
Total float and free float in Primavera P6: how each is calculated, the settings that change them, negative float, and how owners use them.
Beginner - Lesson 13
Constraints
The nine constraint types in Oracle Primavera P6, which dates each one moves, and how an owner stops constraints hiding delay.
Beginner - Lesson 14
Retained logic vs progress override
How Primavera P6 schedules out-of-sequence progress under Retained Logic, Progress Override and Actual Dates, and which one an owner should require.
Beginner - Lesson 15
Activity codes
How activity codes in Oracle Primavera P6 classify work beyond the WBS: global, EPS and project codes, assigning values, and an owner's code spec.
Beginner - Lesson 16
Layouts
What a layout stores in Oracle Primavera P6, global, user and project layouts, PLF export, and an owner's five-layout set for schedule reviews.
Beginner - Lesson 17
Filters
Default and custom filters in Oracle Primavera P6: All vs Any, replace vs highlight, rolling lookahead windows, and an owner's filter set.
Beginner - Lesson 18
Grouping and sorting
How to group and sort activities in Oracle Primavera P6: the Group and Sort dialog, intervals, summaries, sort order and owner review views.
Beginner - Lesson 19
Bars and Gantt formatting
How Gantt bars work in Oracle Primavera P6: timescales, filters, styles, labels and chart options, and the bar legend an owner should specify.
Beginner - Lesson 20
Printing and publishing
Printing and publishing in Oracle Primavera P6: Page Setup, headers, revision boxes, PDF and HTML output, and an owner's standard print pack.
Beginner - Lesson 21
Resources and roles
Resources and roles in Oracle Primavera P6: labour, nonlabour and material resources, roles and proficiency, and what an owner should require.
Intermediate
PMI, PMP and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc. Oracle and Primavera are trademarks of Oracle. Microsoft Project is a trademark of Microsoft. BRC Academy is not affiliated with or endorsed by these organizations.
Lessons are general education, not legal advice.