ReachBack is a free community helpdesk for construction professionals run by Built Intelligence. A library of high quality questions, from real users, with answers delivered and curated by industry experts.
Here is a selection of the questions that have previously been answered on our community helpdesk:-
Feb '17 - Can you request an early warning meeting as per clause 16.2 in the body of the early warning notice which you have served under clause 16.1 ? This seems to happen a lot, but clause 13.7 says that: “A notification which this contract requires is communicated separately from other communications”. ...
Nov '14 - You have to read clause 63.5 in conjunction with 61.5. Firstly, not all compensation events would have or could have had an early warning notified prior to becoming aware of a compensation event. The Contractor did not know you might hit bad ground, or experience very bad weather, or get access l...
Nov '14 - ...something you are aware of if the 8 week time bar is to be applicable, and if you know about it I would suggest it is no longer an early warning (as early warnings are for matters that could or might be an issue). Last line of 16.1 states that an early warning for a matter already notified as a compensation even...
Nov '14 - Geoff – I think you have missed a subtlety of the early warning process by suggesting that if you hit unforeseen ground then as you have only just become aware that you should raise it as an early warning. The whole point of an early warning is to have the chance to mitigate the situation – and i...
Oct '19 - An early warning is raising an issue which could affect (in simple terms) time, cost or quality. The intent is then this will allow the matter to be discussed and see if anything can be done to avoid or minimise the effect of this event. Not a lot of point in notifying an early warning for someth...
Sep '19 - You have slightly confused two different processes here. If you had reason to believe they might not be providing enough material, you could have notified an early warning. That should have prompted a risk reduction meeting (early warning meeting now under NEC4) to discuss whether that could be a...
Oct '18 - There are only two areas where the cost of lack of an early warning comes into play. Under Disallowed Cost definition, if a cost materialises only because an early warning was not notified then any resultant cost (that could otherwise have been avoided) could be disallowed. Secondly and for all o...
Apr '18 - Early warnings are between the Project Manager and Contractor, not the Client, Supervisor or, for that matter, Subcontractors, so the whether the Contractor ‘told’...
Nov '12 - An Early Warning is a notification of a matter that could affect the price, the programme or the performance of the works. There is no reply per se required to an early warning notification but the parties may require the other to attend an early warning meeting (also called risk reduction meetin...
Oct '12 - The Contractor has a duty to give an early warning (as stated in Clause 16.1) as it is possible that early warning could have allowed actions to be taken which would have reduced costs and saved time. If the Project Manager has notified the Contractor of his decision that the Contractor did not g...
Mar '16 - ...being used as it is the easiest method for referencing the activity on the programme. Is the Contractor correct in doing so? Is it practical to show early warnings that are yet to be resolved on the programme and link them into activities that could be affected by the subject of the early warning? (e.g. where in...
Feb '18 - If the Early Warning was closed by the PM but not resolved and there was no new information. Would it be prudent in this scenario to re-open the Early Warning? Or is it always best to raise a new Early Warning in your opinion? Thank you.
Apr '17 - Yes! These are separate processes. You are time barred if you have not notified a compensation event within 8 weeks (if it is one you are responsible to notify). The time bar commences from when you knew it was a compensation event - not when you first raised an early warning. You might notify an...
Apr '15 - Would like to reinforce Glenn’s response by saying that the entire purpose of Early warnings is to avoid, mitigate or reduce potential risks. Issuing an early warning is a positive pro-active action. Much can be lost in translation in written...
Sep '17 - ...is when the seven weeks starts from (i assume the fact you mention 7 weeks you are talking about the ECS - the Subcontract version rather than ECC). Early warnings you should notify as soon as you become aware, and failure to do so may result in the event being assessed lower as a result in accordance with claus...
Nov '15 - Is it possible for the PM or the Contractor to re-open an early warning if it has been closed out? Rather than re-opening, is it not more prudent to raise a new early warning if the same (or related) issue appears in the future? Is there a clause in the contract or guidance elsewhere that support...
Dec '17 - I don’t think there is a contractual need to notify an early warning in this situation. It would not seem as though anything could be done about it anyway - which is the whole point of an early warning i.e. what can we do about it. Whatever you call it though - it would do no harm to let the Empl...
Feb '16 - I am not sure there is actually a question in there. However, a couple of observations. 16.1 identifies 4 must early warns (increased Price, missed Completion, missed Key Date and impaired performance) and then says that an early warning MAY be given for any other mater which COULD increase the t...
Nov '15 - ...but It depends who these “other parties” are, and who they are contracting with. Under the ECC contract the Project Manager and Contractor can raise early warnings to each other. If the Employer has engaged the architect or designer under a PSC then they can raise an early warning to them under that contract und...
Feb '20 - Few points of note here: Early Warnings are for things that could or might occur, which then allows the chance to review them and do something about it. This was not an early warning, but s...
Apr '15 - Under the provisions of the NEC 3 contract, can an e-mail be considered as an early warning? My understanding is that any form of written communication could be considered a notification or early warning under the contract. Is this understanding correct?
May '19 - I have received an early warning from my contractor, which I never responded to since the issue was, I believe, addressed in our morning Construction Meetings. A week later I received a notification that the Early Warning Notification is “deemed accepted”. To my surprise, there never was a notifi...
Jul '20 - We are working under an option C contract with X22 ECI. We are currently during stage 1, and the Client is saying we should not be raising early warnings during this stage as we are helping them with the design which is very fluid and we are being paid on an actual cost basis anyway. Is there an obliga...
Sep '16 - The way it should work is as follows: An early warning is notified as soon as you become aware of the event that COULD affect either time/cost/quality (i.e. month 1) and you jointly try to mitigate or minimize the effects of the item. As soon as this thing IS an actual problem that is effecting y...
Oct '12 - The early warning mechanism makes it compulsory for the Parties to warn each other immediately of problems or issues which may affect the cost, timing or quality of the works.
Oct '12 - The Project Manager enters the early warning matter in the Risk Register (see Clause 16.1).
Oct '12 - Why would the Project Manager want to give an early warning?
Oct '12 - What happens if the Contractor fails to give an early warning?
Oct '12 - Is early warning required for a compensation event which has already been notified?
Oct '12 - What potential problems could give rise to early warning notices and risk reduction meetings?
Apr '15 - Is it necessary to respond to each Early Warning Notification, and if not what are the consequences?
Feb '15 - If a Project Manager does not respond to Contractors early warnings nor attends the risk reduction meetings called by the Contractor what are the implications?
Oct '18 - I think in this instance although it is an event that WILL happen I would notify an early warning so you can highlight the issue and discuss in a meeting what they want to do about it. Alternatively you could notify a compensation event, and get them to agree assumptions under 61.6 that you shoul...
Apr '16 - Broadly yes, although from memory in the example it was not known straight away it would be a problem, hence the initial early warning. Very soon after it was known to be an issue so was then notified as a CE.
Nov '14 - ...this contract requires has to be communicated separately from any other form of communication. Clause 16.1 uses the word “notifying” when it comes to early warnings. In any case, I think I would rather get the message across twice than not at all.
Aug '19 - The very fact that a quotation is being requested suggests that this is a compensation event (or why ask for a quotation). That is why using one of these on line administration tools (e.g. FastDraft) for managing NEC contracts is so good as it forces you to follow the correct process. The only wa...
Nov '14 - Agree with all of Jon’s comments - if you can demonstrate that the PM has sought to get a better solution then you should notify a compensation event as per clause 61.3. You make reference to a 6 month timescale, there is no time bar on Instructions the PM should have given but did not do so. (wo...
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