Civil Engineering Project Management (4th Edition)

46 Civil Engineering Project Management
takes over full responsibility for design and construction including any
requirements of the employer, and undertakes to produce works which
achieve the desired result. There is no independent engineer but an employer’s
representative who carries out various administrative and payment functions
on behalf of the employer with disputes again referred to a DAB.
FIDIC have also produced a short form of contract for short-term projects
of a fairly simple nature handled directly by the employer’s staff.
4.4 Other conditions for civil engineering
or building work
GC/Works/1 – General Conditions of Government Contracts for
Building and Civil Engineering Works, Edition 3 (1991)
This edition is used mainly by UK government departments. They are, in consequence,
widely used and are available in a number of different forms, for
example, for payment by priced bills of quantities, lump sum, schedule of rates,
or for design and construct, or supply only contracts. The contract is administered
by a project manager or supervising officer who may be given powers
similar to those of the engineer under the ICE conditions, but this depends on the
policy of the government department concerned and type of work undertaken.
The employer (i.e. government department) takes on some powers exercised
by the engineer under ICE conditions, including granting extension of time and
deciding some payments to the contractor. Different departments may adopt
different approaches in using the conditions, and new methods of contract
administration have been tried out from time to time. Earlier editions of these
conditions were felt to leave too much of the risk of construction with the contractor;
for example by allowing neither extra time nor money in the event of
bad weather. The 3rd edition of GC/Works/1 published in 1998 shows a more
balanced approach but still does not require the project manager to act fairly.
Joint Contracts Tribunal Conditions
These conditions are not intended or used for civil engineering work but are
the most widely used conditions adopted in the building industry; they are
described here to show the building industry’s different approach. Buildings
will, of course, include many significant elements of civil construction, such as
deep foundations or reinforced concrete structures such as a multi-storey car
park. The ‘Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT)’ which produces these conditions comprises
representatives of the RIBA, RICS, ACE, various employers and building
contractors and specialist contractors’ organizations and representatives of local