NEC ECC: Use of CECA Rates for Standing Time in a CE Assessment

Option B Contract. The published list is the CECA schedule of rates with a negative percentage adjustment.

We have a CE which resulted in equipment being idle for a period of time (cranes, excavators, dumpers etc.)

The CECA rates include fuel. As the equipment is idle no fuel is being consumed.

As such is it correct to use the CECA rates in our assessment for this equipment whilst it’s sitting idle?

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The percentage adjustment for listed Equipment is essentially a weighted guess’estimate for the Equipment that the Contractor thinks will be used for compensation events.

As such sometimes he will gain and sometimes lose. If he is losing, because circumstances turn out different from his tender guess, would you pay the difference ?

That’s the moral argument. The contractual argument is in Equipment 25 “Unless the item is in the published list and the rate includes the cost component, the purchase price of Equipment which is consumed.”

Hi Jon,
We have a situation on our Option B contract where the Contractor delayed us coming to site by 4 weeks (we dont have any listed equipment in the Contract). They have pushed back in the CE any standing charges for our drill rigs (standing for a rig is a item in the BoQ) as our rigs were not onsite and therefore only depreciation costs should be taken into account. The rigs were in our dept idle.
Do we have a leg to stand on? Thanks, Jack

HI Jack
I asked a similar question last year. Despite accepted programmes etc, it has to be in the working area. I’ve tried to solve this going forward by adding to the working area, reservation agreements against collapsible windows etc.