Producing a programme under the NEC form of contract

The NEC suite of contracts puts far greater contractual requirements upon the contractor to produce and manage a detailed programme than other forms of contract currently in existence within the construction industry. The contract requires this programme to be regularly updated and resubmitted for acceptance by the project manager (who acts on behalf of the employer), thus becoming the new accepted programme under the contract, superseding any previously accepted programmes. When administered properly, this should lead to both parties having a clear understanding of how the contractor plans to carry out the works in accordance with the works information and any associated liabilities in relation to the movement of the completion milestones. This paper will give an overview of the considerations required to create a programme under the NEC Engineering and Construction Contract (the most commonly used contract within the NEC suite) and offer some advice as to how section 3 (time) of the contract should be interpreted and managed efficiently to the benefit of both parties.