Latest JBCC 6.2 doesn’t address core concerns, says Alusani® Course Leader

The
latest edition of the Joint Building Contracts Committee, JBCC 6.2, has been
released. Feedback from the industry is that the new changes are underwhelming
and don’t necessarily address some of the core concerns of JBCC 5.

“The
new JBCC suite of contracts includes the changes in JBCC 6.0 as well as JBCC
6.1. I am of the opinion that the contract has changed in form but not in
substance. One welcome change in the latest edition is that interpretational
issues were corrected,” says Steve du Toit, Specialist
Construction Consultant and Alusani® Course Leader.

Within
the built environment, and especially on large construction projects, there are
a variety of disciplines involved in bringing a project to completion. Certain
clauses within the JBCC contract have been fleshed out in the latest edition so
that different parties can no longer use their own judgement. Steve says these
clarifications are a welcome change.

One
criticism that Steve has with the latest edition of the JBCC Suite of Contracts
is how the Stage of Works Completion has been excluded from the completion
process, This, and the manner in which the term “practical completion” is
defined, effectively means that works must be complete in all respects at the
stage of practical completion, save for minor defects, which results in the
compressing of the contractor’s finishing programme.

“In
my experience, where a contractor works on large commercial projects such as
hospitals, shopping centres, and commercial offices, this would be impossible
to achieve. In the projects that I am involved in where I represent the client
or developer, I request that they not use JBCC 6.2 and stick to JBCC 5 instead
because eliminating the Works Completed requirement will simply lead to more
disputes between parties. In these cases, extensive changes need to be made to
the JBCC 5 that is being used by the client,” explains Steve.

Steve
says that being mindful of the pitfalls of each version of the contracts will
help everyone involved create a contract that leads to a successful outcome.

“It’s
important to remember that all parties are able to change and agree to changes
in certain amendments. From a contractor’s point of view, a thorough
understanding of JBCC 6.2 will likely lead to a number of qualifications being
included in tenders,” says Steve.

Another
issue of contention within JBCC 6.2 is that there is still no meaningful and
defined role for the programme, other than a passing reference to it in
connection with the contractors’ obligation to indicate the effect of a delay
on the critical path when claiming extensions of time. This provision has been
made within both the GCC and FIDIC contracts, but it is still sorely lacking
within the JBCC.

“This
should be in the JBCC contract so that the Principal Agent can use his role to
monitor the progress of the works and where necessary, to instruct a contractor
to expedite where he is responsible for his own delays.  It is possible that contractors are resisting
this provision, but its absence only leads to more uncertainty between parties.
Many of the core issues of JBCC 5 haven’t been addressed in JBCC 6.2, and I
look forward to sharing my knowledge and experience so that people make the
right choices regarding amendments to the building contracts they choose to
use,” concludes Steve.

Steve will be presenting the JBCC Suite of Contracts training
course in different areas of the country: 25 -27 March 2019 in East London,
8-10 April 2019 in Durban and 22-24 May 2019 in Johannesburg.

For more information about this multi-CPD- accredited
training course please contact Faith on +27 11 447 7470, email her on faith@alusani.co.za and visit
their website on www.alusani.co.za.

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