Civil Engineering Project Management (4th Edition)

4
Contract conditions used for
civil engineering work
4.1 Standard conditions of contract
Over a period of many years there have been a large number of standard forms
of conditions of contract introduced. Sometimes these have been developed
by particular industries or specialist suppliers, but conditions for more general
use have been developed by the major engineering and building institutions, as
well as by government and allied organizations. Use of these standard conditions
is beneficial because they are familiar to contractors, give greater certainty
in operation, and reduce the parties’ exposure to risk. Such conditions are often
produced by co-operation between contractors’ and employers’ organizations,
with the advice of engineers and other professionals experienced in construction.
The documents thus drawn up give a reasonable balance of risk between
the parties. However, their clauses are often interdependent, hence any alteration
of them must be done with care, and is generally inadvisable because it
may introduce uncertainties of interpretation. The main standard conditions
used for civil engineering projects are listed below, with an indication of their
main provisions.
4.2 Contract conditions produced by the UK
Institution of Civil Engineers
(a) ICE Conditions of Contract for Works of Civil Engineering
Construction
These are generally known as the ICE conditions and have for many years
been the most widely used conditions for UK civil engineering works. They
have a long history of satisfactory usage and have been tested in the courts