ACEC-BC coming to grips with client-consultant contract issues
December 19, 2014
By Staff report
Concerned about the growing problems occurring with engineering firms’ contracts with clients, the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – British Columbia (ACEC-BC) has developed a report on the subject with recommendations for action.
The basis of the problem lies in the fact that clients are tending not to use some of the standard contract forms that are available, such as the MMCD Client-Consultant Agreement, the ACEC Document 31 standard agreement that was produced in 2009, or the Canadian Construction Documents Committee equivalent.
The result is a complexity of different agreements originating with clients which often impose unfair conditions on consulting engineers.
ACEC-BC struck a task force which has produced a 12-page report that names 16 onerous clauses that appear from time to time in client-consultant contracts. These include clauses such as those that impose unfair liability in areas like consequential damages, others that might deprive the consultant of their intellectual property rights, or contracts that give the client the right to terminate a contract without fair compensation for the consultant.
Possible remedies that have been suggested are for ACEC-BC to educate both clients and consulting firms, and for the association to work directly with clients and to provide support for its member firms during proposal calls and in negotiating agreements.
Consulting engineers who are interested in receiving the report, can write to ACEC-BC at info@acec-bc.ca
