I’m working on a NEC3 ECC Option A contract. We (Employer) issued a PMI/CE instructing the Contractor to produce a design & RAMS to complete some works in compliance with an uncharted third party asset in the road, anticipating onerous third party requirements which it would have been unreasonable to expect the contractor to foresee.
The onerous third party requirements didn’t materialise. The Contractor completed the work, which was slightly more time consuming than expected but did not meet the (amended) criteria of clause 60.1(12) for a CE for physical conditions. The Contractor eventually submitted a quotation for the work under the CE. We responded instructing a zero value quote as there is no claim but the Contractor disagrees that this is a valid course of action.
If all the timescales in the compensation event procedure remain as standard then the Contractor has 3 weeks to submit a quotation (62.3) from being instructed. As they have not done so then the 1st bullet point of clause 64.1 would apply. As the PM has not made an assessment then the matter remains ‘open ended’.
The Contractor could submit a quotation although the action effectively remains with the PM under 64.1. The Contractor could notify of the failure to make an assessment although it is not clear whether their submitted quotation (out of time) would be ‘treated as accepted’.
The response ‘instructing a zero value quote’ is not the appropriate course of action as the current action is for the PM to make their assessment, although this again is late as well. Surely the instruction would be a 60.1(1) CE and as the Contractor produced a RAMS and design I would suggest that there is a ‘cost’ associated with this work, even if there is no additional / altered ‘physical’ work.