AEC Contracts

Documentation | Arbitration | Expert Witness and Construction Law

Introduction

In any civil engineering project, given the fundamental importance of the Contract Documents, it is often very important to minimise the pitfalls within those documents that might potentially lead to contractual problems and disputes. AEC members have prepared complete sets of contract documents for major projects and through often bitter experience during both the writing and monitoring of these contracts, have the engineering contract, financial and legal knowledge required to attempt to minimise the potential pitfalls.

Given the best intentions of the author(s) of the Contract Documents for a project, contractual problems and disputes often occur. AEC members have extensive experience in all aspects of the resolution of contractual disputes, inclusive writing claims reports on behalf of both clients, civil engineering consultants and contractors, acting as Arbitrator's and as Expert Witnesses.

AEC members also have NEC Option C Target Works contracts experience, this type of contract being used more commonly now, particularly in tunnelling, where ground conditions are often unpredicable.

Contract Documentation

In any civil engineering project or contract it is only too easy inadvertently to introduce a situation from which contractual problems and disputes are almost inevitable. Often it is seen in hindsight that this situation arose even before the Contract was made, because of pressures of time during preparation of the Contract Documents. The experience of AEC is available to Employers who may wish to minimise such problems.

Sometimes the Employer/Engineer side will prepare contract documents that a tenderer may perceive as indicating that that side is attempting to obtain an unduly advantageous position for itself at the outset. Such attempts to gain an advantage before award of a contract can often rebound to the disadvantage of that party due to some inconsistency that has been introduced. Consequently, some contractors deliberately employ claims consultants whose first job is to seek out such inconsistencies and develop claims for additional payment from them. If inconsistencies were less common, this scenario would also be less widespread. The problem arises at the Contract Document stage, where it is very common indeed for printed contract conditions such as FIDIC to be "doctored", and too often the result is conflicting clauses. There should be no surprise if the Contractor is more claims-conscious than otherwise and appoints a claims consultant to restore what he sees as a disadvantageous set of contract conditions. At this point the battle for a smooth-running contract has already been lost.

Within AEC there is bitter experience of the scenario described above, and the members of AEC are able to offer advice as to how best to allocate the contractual risks fairly without such problems. Some members have prepared complete sets of contract documents for several multi-contract hydro-electric projects, and in doing so have encountered the need to consider very carefully the matters set out above.

Defence projects including design of new technology are notorious for going over budget. Concord is another example. If something is genuinely a new design, the idea that its design development, production and construction/installation can be priced for a fixed amount at the outset is very risky and it continues to surprise practising engineers that the lesson is not learned by politicians and financiers. A recent example is, of course, the Channel Tunnel, of which AEC have direct experience. Again AEC can offer advice concerning the optimum way of setting up a project.

The optimum printed Conditions of Contract must be selected. Later, there can be insufficient coordination between the various people responsible for drawing up the constituent parts of the Contract Documents, namely the Particular Conditions of Contract, Specification, Method of Measurement and Bill of Quantities (if used). Moreover, in the power generation sector in particular a very rigorous approach to the coordination of civil and electrical/mechanical contracts, together with efficient and strongly controlled arrangements for funding such contracts, are imperative if interface problems and related claims are to be avoided.

Construction Law

One AEC member is a construction specialist lawyer who has experience as a construction specialist lawyer with major international contractors serving the promoters of building, civil engineering, commercial development, defence, mass transit, mechanical and electrical engineering, mining and nuclear power projects. In addition, he has experience in the commercial, financing and contractual aspects of project promotion, procurement, construction management and different forms of resolving contentious issues gained within the multi - discipline environment, including design and construct, of major construction groups and public sector organisations on major projects of national and international importance. He has advised clients seeking to contract, and contracting, in Britain, Europe, North and South America, the Far East and Africa and on disputes arising from such contracts.

Individual Members Experience

Many of our members have experience in Arbitration or have acted as an Expert Witness. Please either check the individual cv's to find the appropriate experience or contact us directly.