The book begins by considering the general backcloth to civil engineering works and contracts, including funding, preliminary investigations and the preparation of engineer's reports. The form and purpose of the various contract documents are examined and the principal requirements of the ICE Conditions summarised and explained. The principal tendering arrangements are described and compared, together with the more commonly practised approaches to estimating the cost of civil engineering works. Site organisation and supervision are covered in sufficient depth to illustrate the means by which a civil engineering project can be effectively planned, managed and controlled, and having regard to such important aspects as productivity, plant usage and safety of operatives. The method of measuring and valuing civil engineering works is explored and this encompasses the use of daywork, issue of interim certificates, settlement of final accounts, valuation of variations and financial control of contracts. Finally, the book examines the background to contractors' claims and how they should be presented by the contractor and dealt with by the engineer.