Frequently Asked Questions

Question
We are the project manager and supervisor on an NEC3 ECC. Our appointment to the employer is through the NEC3 Professional Services Contract (PSC) and our scope is to provide the works information for the ECC contract and to carry out project manager and supervisor duties during construction, including dealing with defects. The contractor has not followed the works information and we have notified this as a defect. This is likely to be resolved by the contractor making a quotation to change the works information to accept these defects, as the employer and end-user seem quite happy with the works as they are.
Do we also need to do anything under our PSC with the employer? As the building is not in accordance with our design, it may not meet the employer’s performance requirements. We do not wish to be held responsible for performance or quality issues that result from a defect that has been accepted and possibly goes wrong at a later date.
 
This is a difficult one. Your role as project manager is independent of any considerations of design that your organisation has provided previously. Obviously, if you have any concerns that these defects will adversely effect your organisation’s design, then you should advise your employer under the PSC. If you do not do so, that could cause you problems in the future if the defects cause a failure of the works. However, if you think these defects will not affect the works in the future, you should also advise the employer accordingly. If the employer wants you to accept the defects  in return for a reduction in the ECC prices, despite your warning that it could adversely affect your design, you should ask the employer to issue an instruction to do so.
 

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