NEC4 - Working Areas

Access is granted to the Site on a shift-by-shift basis and consequently we have to move plant on and off site each shift. The Client cancelled works the night before a shift was due to commence, therefore, the resource we intended to use on that shift ended up being stood. Our quotation allows for the stood equipment, but, because the plant hadn’t actually arrived to site, the Client is claiming it was not within the Working Area and therefore isn’t claimable. Do items within the Shorter Schedule of Cost Components have to physically be within the Working Area at the time of the Compensation Event to be claimable?

The contract defines Working Areas “as the Site and those parts of the working areas which are 1. necessary for Providing the Works and 2. used only for work in the contract”.

Do both points 1 and 2 need to apply for an area to be classed as part of the Working Areas? i.e. would our yard which stores the equipment be deemed part of the Working Area as its 1. necessary for providing the works or would this argument be invalid as it’s also used for work on other contracts and thus point 2 doesn’t apply?

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Is the work nightshift? If it is, your yard is likely only used for work in the contract at night.

It would seem to me that you actually need a yard to store the equipment when the site is not available. If its a shared yard, you could cordon off the section of the yard for storing this equipment and then charge for the barriers and the yard space as part of the working area.
The PM would be better served coming to a sensible arrangement to cover some cost towards your yard without increasing costs to cordon it off..

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