Overview

This course offers an in-depth exploration of major engineering and construction contracts, focusing on a comparative analysis of the latest editions of FIDIC, NEC, JBCC, and GCC forms. Participants will gain a deep understanding of the key features, advantages, and challenges of each contract type, learning how to select, draft, and manage contracts that best suit their projects. The course covers the legal, practical, and risk management aspects of these contracts, equipping professionals with the skills needed to ensure successful project execution and compliance.

Why Should an Individual Attend?

• Gain Contractual Confidence: Build expertise in navigating FIDIC, NEC, JBCC, and GCC contracts, with clear comparisons to guide informed decision-making across diverse project types.
• Master Practical Skills: Learn how to draft, interpret, and manage engineering and construction contracts effectively, skills essential for professionals overseeing project delivery.
• Understand Legal Foundations: Deepen your grasp of legal principles, risk allocation, and dispute resolution mechanisms embedded in each contract framework.
• Align Contracts with Project Goals: Discover how to select and tailor contracts to suit specific project objectives, risk profiles, and stakeholder needs.
• Mitigate Risks and Avoid Disputes: Strengthen your ability to foresee and manage contractual risks, reducing the likelihood of costly disputes and delays

Outcomes

• Compare and Evaluate Contract Types. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the key differences and similarities between FIDIC, NEC, JBCC, and GCC contracts.
• Select Contracts Strategically. Identify and apply the most appropriate contract type based on project scope, risk profile, and stakeholder requirements.
• Draft, Negotiate, and Manage Contracts. Exhibit enhanced skills in drafting, negotiating, and managing contracts across multiple frameworks with confidence and precision.
• Interpret Legal and Risk Provisions. Understand the legal implications, risk allocation strategies, and dispute resolution mechanisms embedded in each contract type.
• Mitigate Risks and Ensure Compliance. Proactively manage project risks and ensure adherence to contractual obligations throughout the project lifecycle.
• Contribute to Successful Project Outcomes. Apply best practices in contract administration to support efficient, dispute-free project delivery and stakeholder satisfaction.

Program Outline

Introduction to Engineering and Construction Contracts

• The CIDB and the prescribed contracts
• Construction disputes – value, resolution time, and causes
• Overview of the FIDIC, NEC, JBCC, and GCC frameworks
• Importance of contract selection in project success

Interpretation, Style, and Layout

• Conventions used in the drafting of FIDIC, NEC, JBCC & GCC
• Contract interpretation, parole evidence &
• The interpretation clauses of FIDIC NEC, JBCC & GCC
• Comments on reading-ease, structure and relationships within FIDIC NEC JBCC & GCC
• Case studies:
  • Use of singular and plural in JBCC Subcontracting
  • When natural persons and juristic ‘persons’ are not interchangeable

General Principles of Contracts and Works (FIDIC, NEC, JBCC & GCC)

• Formalised agreement, Intention & interpretation
• Contractual Capacity of natural and juristic persons
• How the forms deal with illegality, impossibility, and ambiguity
• How for forms address works commencement, completion, time and its management
• Key features and differences between the contracts, advantages and challenges of each contract type
• Template structures and how to correctly prepare a FIDIC, NEC, JBCC & GCC contact
• Contract Selection and Application
• Criteria for contract selection: design risk, costs risk, and risk allocation in FIDIC, NEC, JBCC, GCC
• Legal implications and obligations under each contract type
• Contract pricing strategies available in FIDID NEC, JBCC & GCC contracts
• Choosing the right contract for your project
• Case studies of successful contract applications
• Best practices for drafting clear and effective contracts
• Tips for successful contract negotiation across different frameworks

Effective Communications under FIDIC, NEC, JBCC, & GCC Contracts

• Analysis and evaluation of the communication protocols of the four contracts
• Suggested amendments to improve contract communication management in the forms
• Case Study: What is a notice? The case of Hawkins, Hawkins and Osborn

Contract Administration under FIDIC, NEC, JBCC & GCC

• The roles of Employers/Clients agents compared
• The FIDIC engineer and GCC Employers
• The NEC Project Manager and Supervisor
• The Principal Agent and Agents
• The roles representing the Employer and Contractor directly
• Express and implied authority of administrative agents under the four forms

Time Management & Programmes

• Time calculations, reasonable time and time periods
• Ovcon (Pty) Ltd v Administrator, Natal 1991(4) SA 71 (D)
• The use of programmes in FIDIC and GCC compared with NEC
• The scattered programming provisions of JBCC pros and cons
• Extension of time and penalty/delay damages provisions of FIDIC, NEC, JBCC 7 GCC compared

Variations

• Contractual addendums v Supplementary Agreements
• Bank v Grusd 1939 T CPD 286
• Three variation procedures of FIDIC & NEC
• Variations under JBCC and GCC
• Instructions, proposals, orders, and value engineering
• Acceleration
• Valuation of variations and changes and NEC quotations

Claims and Compensation Events

• Case law on ‘Time Barring’ provisions
• Claims under FIDIC & GCC
• Time and money claims under JBCC
• Compensation Events under NEC

Termination, Suspension & Disputes

• Important time limits
• Understanding the dispute resolution mechanisms within each contract
• Strategies for managing claims and avoiding disputes
• Practical Applications and Case Studies
• Real-world examples and interactive exercises to apply learned concepts

Who Should Attend?

• Engineers
• Technicians
• Technologist
• Architects
• Project / Construction Managers
• Quantity Surveyors
• Contractors / Sub Contractors
• Executives / Senior Management
• Middle Management