NEC ECC: Disagreement on Contractor Design

NEC3 and NEC4 Contracts Compensation Events
1

Project is a refurbishment of an industrial building which in part includes replacement of roller doors with modern folding doors. The WI is limited to a rather simplistic statement ‘replace doors with product/type’ and drawing is in plan only.

The Contractor has asked for design detail for interface with building (to include structural assessment of wind loading etc). Consultant who provided design and wrote WI (under PSC) is adamant that this should be in contractor scope.

I’m minded to agree with Contractor on basis that WI does not identify contractor design in relation to doors (it does however identify design in relation to other works and therefore there is a section on Contractor design in WI). I therefore believe that Cl21.1 bounds contractor responsibility here. However the designer strongly takes the view that because WI simply says ‘replace doors’ contractor needs to do everything necessary to satisfy this requirement.

Added complication is that designer has slight conflict in that if Contractor is correct then this would be a defect under their PSC in the provision of WI by designer (as their scope was to deliver WI that accurately sets out work required)

Would appreciate thoughts on either side of this argument?

2

From what you say, unless there is a general statement in the Works Information along the lines of “any outstanding design not in this Works Information is to be completed by the Contractor” then, from what you say, I would side with the Contractor.

Having alerted you ?via an EW? to the issue, they can just do what the contract says. I.e. put in the door. If it doesn’t stand-up, that’s the Employer’s issue.