Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The rights and obligations of the employer and the contractor are governed by the terms of
the contract. None of the standard forms in general use require the contractor to submit a
programme in electronic format. Indeed, only one of the JCT series of contracts requires the
contractor to submit a programme at all, and that is SBC, which requires the contractor to
submit a master programme to the architect.
There is no doubt that a programme in electronic format can greatly assist the architect in
deciding upon the correct extensions of time, in considering applications for loss and/or ex-
pense and in generally monitoring the progress of the Works. Of course, there are a number
of different computer programs that will support a building programme, and it is essential
that any programme submitted by a contractor in electronic format is compatible with the
software on the architect's computer. The alternative is to ask the contractor to supply a list
of the activities on the programme together with the relevant predecessors and successors
so they can be entered into the architect's computer. This is a rather more tedious operation
than simply uploading a file, but it is far better than having no such programme at all.
All that is necessary to require the contractor to submit a programme in electronic format
is for a suitable clause to be inserted in the preliminaries section of the bills of quantities or
specification. This will notconflict with the printed contract inmost cases because, asnoted
earlier, only SBC requires a programme of any kind. It will not conflict with SBC, because
clause 2.9.1.2 expressly states that the contractor must supply details specified in the con-
tract documents. Therefore, the additional clause is not overriding or modifying the printed
form but merely amplifying it by adding further requirements. In this clause, the architect
can require the programme in a form to suit his or her own computer software. A contractor
who fails to supply the programme in the form specified will be in breach of contract, and
the architect is entitled to take account of the breach in calculating extensions of time.
4
The use of computers in dealing with extensions of time has been approved by the courts.
What is the position if there is no requirement for the contractor to supply an electronic ver-
sion of the programme? Can the architect compel the contractor to provide it in any event?
Theanswerappearstobethatintheabsenceofaspecificclauseinthecontract,thearchitect
cannot compel the contractor to provide a programme in any particular form.
However, when a contractor notifies delay in the expectation of receiving an extension of
time, there is nothing to prevent the architect asking for a programme in a specific form as
part of the architect's general power to request further information from the contractor. The
contractor may refuse to comply, arguing that there is nothing in the contract that requires
it. The architect's reply would be to simply point out to the contractor that the absence of
