NEC ECC: Does late issue of drawing amount to a compensation event .

On a design and build option A contract what can be done to the Contractor for issuing some of the design drawings for acceptance late .

I assume in this question you are the Employer/Client under the ECC contract. If the Contractor is late in issuing drawings for acceptance, it could delay the acceptance of those drawings which could in turn delay their own programmed works and their planned Completion (if on the critical path). This would mean they are liable for delay damages under X7 if this now exceeds the Completion Date and “shooting themselves in the foot” for issuing design late. It is in their interests therefore not to allow this to happen.

If this design was something that the Employer/Client needed that could affect Other parties of their own, they should have considered making that design element a Key Date for which they would then have had remedy for if they were late. These Key Dates however have to be included at tender stage and can not be introduced mid-contract.