B.C. has new standard client & consultant agreement

Representatives of Consulting Engineers of British Columbia have helped to formulate a new client/consultant agreement published this summer. The document is issued by the Master Municipal Contract Documents Association, an initiative which was started in the early 1990s when it was realized that 20 municipalities of the Lower Mainland area were using different contracts to handle similar works, resulting in inefficiencies and confusion.
The working committee on the new client/consulting agreement was headed by Ken Wright, P.Eng. of the City of Coquitlam and included contractors, municipal and ministry representatives. Frank Wilton, P.Eng., president of Citiwest Consulting was chief negotiator on behalf of CEBC, as well as Rob Campbell, P.Eng. (Binnie & Associates), Dave Kirk, P.Eng. (Delcan,), and Dave Smith, P.Eng. (Thurber).
Endorsed by CEBC, the new contract includes several new provisions. For example, the scope of services has been clearly divided into “basic” and additional” items. Fee payment items have been divided into “defined” and “variable” sections to recognize the benefits of innovation and analysis by the consultant at the concept and design stages. The agreement includes specific recognition of the value of continuing project responsibilitiy from design through construction, and it has provisions for interpretation and dispute resolution via specified processes in an effort to reduce expensive litigation