NEC ECC: Omitting an activity schedule item?

NEC option A, my WI states we are not to supply office furniture. My QS mistakenly put office furniture within the activity schedule and assigned a value to it. The PM now wants to omit the office furniture from the project and wants the saving deemed under the heading in my activity schedule?? How do I best respond to this, as the monies are needed elsewhere in the contract to complete the works?

You are required to Provide the Works in accordance with the Works Information, not the Activity Schedule. The Works Information does not require you to provide furniture so you won’t be providing furniture. So you’ve priced for Providing the Works in accordance with the Works Information. The fact that the Activity Schedule is flawed is not your risk.

Clause 54 describes certain circumstances in which the Activity Schedule may be changed i.e. if you change a planned method of working. Clearly this doesn’t apply to your situation, however the next part of the clause talks about activities on the Activity Schedule not relating to operations on the Accepted Programme which would apply. Later in the clause (54.3 final bullet point) a reason for rejecting a revised Activity Schedule is that the total of the Prices is changed.

The only mechanism for changing the Prices is a compensation event, the situation you’ve described isn’t one of the events listed under clause 60.1 though so there is no compensation event as a result of this. So unless there are compensation events, you should be paid the total of the Prices by the end of the contract (and subject to other amounts added / deducted).

I suggest you submit a revised Activity Schedule under clause 54.2 making sure you “reasonably distribute” the furniture amount (clause 54.3 second bullet point) and ensuring the total of the Prices is the same as your current one.