NEC4: The Role of the Service Manager is a practical guide that ‘describes the technical and behavioural traits required for the role of the Service Manager in a NEC4 Term Service Contract’.
The authors are Bronwyn Mitchell and Barry Trebes, who both have considerable NEC experience and expertise and are the joint authors of Managing Reality (a five-book series on the practical use of the NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract), NEC4: The Role of the Supervisor and NEC4: The Role of the Project Manager.
The book forms part of the authoritative NEC Roles and Responsibilities series, which provides a practical guide to the key roles in the NEC4 suite of contracts.
The text focuses on the role of the service manager and introduces the NEC4 Term Service Contract (TSC), which is used for the provision of a service for a period of time – for example, facility management contracts. TSC components are identified, and the specific terms of the contract are detailed.
The roles of the service manager in managing the TSC, contributing to the client’s objectives and interfacing with the contractor are outlined. The book then presents the process chronologically from service establishment (‘First procedures’) to implementation (‘Ongoing procedures – week 24’) and finally to the end of the contract. The guide benefits from flow charts, checklists and sample forms.
There are no other significant publications that address the role of the service manager. An omission is that the NEC4 Term Service Short Contract is not mentioned; perhaps, this contract will described be in a future edition.
In conclusion, the book has achieved its aim of guiding service managers through their responsibilities and will also be an effective reference for contractors. It will be particularly supportive of those unfamiliar with NEC contracts.
