Introduction to the NEC4 Professional Service Contract (PSC)

Background

The NEC4 Professional Service Contract (PSC) has been developed for the appointment of a consultant to provide a service. This may or may not be related to a project, with a contractor also appointed under the NEC. It provides a modern method for clients, consultants and service managers to work collaboratively to achieve their objectives consistently.

People will be motivated to play their part in collaborative management if it is in their commercial and professional interest to do so. Uncertainty about what is to be done and the corresponding risks and liabilities can lead to disputes and confrontation. The PSC clearly allocates risks, and the collaborative approach will reduce those risks and uncertainty for all the parties.

Why Attend?

Delegates attending this course will gain:

• An insight into when to use this form of contract
• How to put it together, the contract strategy
• How it is managed effectively

This one day training course starts at 09:00 and finishes at 17:00 with refreshment breaks mid-morning and afternoon, plus lunch. All timings, except the start time, are approximate and may be adjusted to suit natural breaks in the lesson.

Session 1 - Overview of the NEC and the Professional Service Contract (PSC)

• This session is mainly covered in the pre-course reading. It will show the principles of the NEC contracts which are helping to transform industry behaviours and how the PSC works alongside other contracts in the suite.
• It will also cover the relationship of the PSC to its subcontract (Professional Service Subcontract, PSS) and the Professional Service Short Contract (PSSC), and the principal differences between the NEC3 and NEC4 editions.

Session 2 - Using the PSC

• This session covers the contract strategy; an explanation of the main and secondary Options that can be chosen and the other contract documents that need to be produced. It will also outline the difference between defined and identified terms, their significance in the contract and the Contract Data and how they should be used.

Session 3 - Managing the contract - the PSC processes

• 3.1 - General provisions. This session will look at the general techniques that are used to manage the contract including mutual trust and co-operation, communications, the role of the Service Manager and Consultant, and early warnings.
• 3.2 - Contractor's main responsibilities. This session outlines the Consultant’s main responsibilities cover how the service is defined, the Consultant’s key people, Key Dates and subcontracting.
• 3.3 - Time. This session looks at when the service starts and finishes, the importance of the programme and how the Accepted Programme is used and revised to help manage delivery.
• 3.4 - Quality Management. This session clarifies how defective service is identified and managed throughout the contract and after Completion.
• 3.5 - Payment. This session covers how amounts for payments are calculated and how handling costs can vary with the main Options. It includes when payments should be made, and considers Disallowed Costs and the Schedule of Cost Components (both new in the NEC4).
• 3.6 - Compensation events. This session gives an overview of what compensation events are and how they should be managed to ensure neutral cost to the Consultant and transparency and fairness to the Client.
• 3.7 - Rights to material. This section will review how the rights to material (intellectual rights) pass between the Parties and how the material can be used.
• 3.8 - Liabilities and insurance. This session looks at the way the contract deals with liabilities and maintains a risk profile which complies with the overarching NEC principle of mutual trust.
• 3.9 - Termination and dispute resolution. This session deals with the process of termination and the reasons why the termination process can be invoked, along with the various dispute resolution procedures.

Session 4 - Summary and Open Forum

The eLearning follows the same structure as the one day tutor-led course, distilling the key information into approximately two hours of content.

Module 1 - Overview of the NEC4 Suite

• This module will show how NEC contracts have helped transform industry behaviours and how the PSC works alongside other contracts in the suite. It will also cover the relationship of the PSC to its subcontract (Professional Service Subcontract, PSS) and the Professional Service Short Contract (PSSC).

Module 2 - Using the PSC - the contract strategy

• This module covers the contract strategy; an explanation of the main and secondary Options that can be chosen and the other contract documents that need to be produced. It will also outline the difference between defined and identified terms, their significance in the contract and the contract data and how they should be used.

Module 3 - Managing the contract - the PSC processes

• This module is broken into nine subsections, each covering one of the key aspects of the ECC contract: General Provisions, the Contractor's main responsibilities, Time, Quality, Payment, Compensation Events, Title, Liabilities and insurance, and Termination and dispute resolution.

Module 4 - Summary

• The final module provides a recap of the course's learning objectives, as well as guidance on possible next steps upon completion of the course and accompanying test.

Duration

Approximately 90-120 minutes.

The length of time taken varies depending on how quickly individuals study and absorb the material.

Please note that the licence is valid for 6 months only from date of purchase.

Successful completion of this course will award you 30 credit points toward your Online Academy qualification.

This course is designed for those working with:

• The PSC or its subcontract (PSS) form including clients
• Consultants and their subconsultants
• Service managers

It is designed for those with minimal experience with NEC contracts or the PSC form but can be beneficial to those wishing to recap their knowledge, especially since the NEC4 PSC is significantly different from the NEC3.

Online
Product code: L47509