Last week we posted about new contracts from the AIA. This week we’re focusing on new contracts from EJCDC.
Engineers should be aware that the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC) released four updated documents late in 2015. They are:
- E-560, Standard Form of Agreement Between Engineer and Land Surveyor
- E-564, Standard Form of Agreement Engineer and Geotechnical Engineer
- E-568, Standard Form of Agreement Engineer and Architect
- E-530, Standard Form of Agreement Owner and Geotechnical Engineer
The updated editions E-560, E-564, and E-568 are consultant agreements between the project engineer and specialty consultants. The documents follow the 2014 edition of E-570, the standard agreement between the engineer and consultant, as closely as the unique nature of each specialty service allows. The primary differences between these consultant agreements and E-570 are in the scope of professional services.
In 2014, E-570 was updated to coordinate with the 2013 edition of EJCDC’s construction (C-series) documents, including C-700, Standard General Conditions of the Construction Contract. E-570 was also coordinated with the recently published 2014 edition of E-500, the owner and engineer professional services agreement. According to EJCDC, E-570 reflects changes to C-700 and E-500 on change proposals, treatment of defective work, and establishing a notice of acceptability.
There is also a newly updated edition of E-530, Agreement between Owner and Geotechnical Engineer. Both E-530 and E-564 acknowledge that an owner typically retains a geotechnical engineer for site exploration, investigation, and testing services, while an engineering firm typically engages a geotechnical engineer to provide design services and possibly support construction. Thus, the suggested scope of services in E-530 is more limited than that in E-564.
EJCDC included input from specialty practitioners in updating the documents to identify new practices and technologies impacting each specific document. EJCDC also made changes in the structure of the document scoping to improve flexibility and functionality of each individual document.
The 2015 editions are formatted in easy-to-use Microsoft Word. There is no software to install or learn. The documents are downloaded at the time of purchase and can be easily customized for each project’s unique goals and regulatory requirements. Go to the EJCDC website for more information or purchasing.
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