Understanding FIDIC
The Rainbow Suite
Kelvin Hughes
- 318 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Understanding FIDIC
The Rainbow Suite
Kelvin Hughes
About This Book
Understanding FIDIC explains in simple and practical terms what is often seen as a very complex range of international engineering and construction contracts.
Covering the FIDIC 2017 Red, Yellow and Silver Books (referred to as "The Rainbow Suite"), the book gives an overview of all three contracts, including coverage of changes between the 1999 contracts and the present 2017 suite. FIDIC contracts are widely used as far afield as Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, and this book provides a practical yet thorough guide to the key elements that practitioners preparing and administering these contracts would need to be aware of.
In his approachable and readable style, Kelvin Hughes covers:
- The obligations and responsibilities of the Employer, the Employer's Representative, the Engineer and the Contractor
- Quality and Defects Liability
- Design Responsibility and Liability
- Variations, Measurement and Payment Procedures
- Progress, Delays, Extensions of Time and Completion
- Suspension and Termination
- Insurances
- Employer's and Contractor's Claims
- The Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board and the Resolution of Disputes
- Tendering
Anyone working with FIDIC contracts whether as the Employer, Employer's Representative, Engineer or Contractor will benefit greatly from this easy-to-read guide to the Rainbow Suite. Students on professional courses or researching the contracts for project work will also find this book extremely useful.
Frequently asked questions
1 Overview of FIDIC and its contracts
What is FIDIC?
The development of the FIDIC contracts
Conditions of Contract for Works of Civil Engineering Construction: The Red Book (1987)
- Part I contains General Conditions, a Form of Tender with Appendix and a Form of Agreement. The Appendix is a part of the Form of Tender and makes specific provision for the insertion of details, which are essential and yet unique to each project.There are 72 clauses within the General Conditions.
- Part II contains Conditions of Particular Application with Guidelines for Preparation of Part II Clauses.
- The Contract Agreement
- The Letter of Acceptance
- The Tender
- Part II of the Conditions (The Particular Conditions)
- Part I of the Conditions (The General Conditions)
- Any other document forming part of the Contract
- The Contractorâs obligation is to construct the Works according to the Employerâs Consultantâs design, although some design responsibility may be reallocated to the Contractor.
- âNecessaryâ levels of supervision must be provided by the Contractor, they should be suitably conversant with the nature of the works to be undertaken.
- The Contractor or a competent agent approved by the Engineer should be constantly kept on the works to receive directions and instructions on behalf of the Contractor.
- The Contractor is responsible for setting out and for the correctness of positioning levels, etc.
- The submission of a programme is an express requirement of the FIDIC Conditions (Clause 14).
- The Contractor becomes responsible for the care of the Works from the Works Commencement Date to the date of issue of a Taking-Over Certificate.
- An Engineer is needed who can act impartially between the parties in order to interpret obligations and responsibilities as circumstances change.
- The Engineer will normally appoint the Resident Engineer or Clerk of Works to be the Engineerâs Representative.
- Contracts made under the FIDIC Conditions are remeasure and value contracts based on a Bill of Quantities. None of the documents state what the work will eventually cost. This is not a lump sum contract but one where the price is calculated on completion and remeasurement.
- The Contractor is deemed to have inspected and examined the site and its surroundings.
- Also, the Contractor is deemed to have satisfied himself as to the nature of the ground and sub-soil but only so far as is âpracticableâ.
- Adverse Physical Conditions and Artificial Obstructions require the value of the Contract works to be ascertained and determined by the Engineer, and except as otherwise stated, to do so by a measurement.
- Variations are required to be valued by the Engineer in accordance with principles stated and after consultation with the Contractor, which require:
- Works similar to that in the Bill of Quantities are priced at the same rates.
- So far as reasonable Bill rates are to be used as the basis for pricing work.
- Where neither of the above methods can be used, then a fair valuation shall be made.
- Valuation on a daywork basis where the work is so ordered.
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- Clause 60 sets out the scheme for payment which depends on the submission by the Contractor of monthly statements. The Contractor is required to set out the amounts under heads (a) to (e) of Clause 60.1. Other than for unfixed materials, it envisages that the amounts are estimated.
- The Contractorâs rights to claim additional payment pursuant to the FIDIC Conditions are set out in various clauses. The categories for such payment include:
- Cost-based claims (Cost only);
- Value-based claims (Cost plus Profit);
- Other claims as defined in the Conditions.
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- If the Employer wishes the Contractor to complete certain parts of the works before the whole and to recover liquidated and ascertain damages for failure to achieve the same, then the Sectional Completion provision in the Appendix should be used. If it is used, then the Extension of Time mechanism in Clause 44 should be applied to each Section.
- Clause 44 deals with Extensions of Time applies to the Works and Sections and deals with time only, not money.
- Variations;
- Any cause of delay referred to in the Conditions;
- Exceptionally adverse climactic conditions;
- Any delay, impediment or prevention by Employer;
- Special circumstances.
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- There are provisions for liquidated damages for delay in Completion.
- There are also provisions for Resolution of Disputes and Arbitration.