Ground investigations, contracts and testing 509which are separate from, but operate alongside, the works contract, are now frequently
requested by the Employer, developer or project funders. They provide for liability to a
beneficiary (who may not be the same person as the principal works owner) in respect of
defective performance over a period of time, possibly longer than the statutory defects
period, and must be treated with caution by specialist contractors.
Model procedures for piling contracts and specifications are given in a publication of the
Institution of Civil Engineers(2.5)for use with the Institution’s standard forms of contract, but
with provisions for drafting to conform to other forms. Account should also be taken of the
BSEN Standards for execution of special geotechnical works (see Section 2.1).
Building and construction works on behalf of government departments are usually carried out
under a form of contract designated GC/WORKS/1, similar to the ICE form. Here the Employer,
advisers and designers are termed the ‘Authority’and the supervisory duties of the Engineer are
delegated to the ‘Superintending Officer’. As with the other forms, responsibility for design of
piles may be placed on an independent engineer, the contractor or piling sub-contractor.
There is a growing requirement, particularly for large public sector works, for ‘best value’
procurement, based on ‘partnering’and co-operation using specially prepared documents or
‘charters’. These documents may be based on the standard forms, particularly the new
Engineering and Construction Contract(11.16)(part of the Institution of Civil Engineers’
NEC3 suite of contracts) which sets out various standard options for the Employer and
Contractor to select: for example, ‘design and build’, ‘build-own-operate-transfer’schemes
or ‘management contract’forms. One of the main benefits claimed for partnering is that it
provides for a limited list of proven or preferred suppliers and sub-contractors who ‘negotiate’
rather than tender competitively to produce the perceived best value for the project
owner/funder. Under these arrangements the specialist sub-contractors are required to enter
into back-to-back agreements with the Employer and the other parties which frequently
place additional risk-taking burdens on the specialist. Complex partnering, funding and
project management arrangements are features of the ‘private finance initiative’for major
public policy works – for example, hospitals, new rail and roadworks.
In the following comments on the responsibilities for piling work it must be understood
that the Engineer is not a party to the contract but acts as the agent for an Employer and
accepts certain responsibilities on behalf of the Employer under, say, an ICE form of
contract. The Architect or Contracts Administrator acts in a similar way for the Employer in
the JCT form of contract. The term ‘Contractor’refers to the piling contractor whether as
the main contractor or a nominated or non-nominated sub-contractor.
The Institution of Civil Engineers’publication provides for four basic types of traditional
contractual arrangement under which piling may be undertaken. These are as follows:
(a) Civil engineering works with an Engineer responsible to an Employer for design and
supervision
(b) Building works with an Architect responsible to Employer for design and supervision
and advised by an Engineer
(c) Building or civil engineering works with a Contractor responsible to an Employer (who
has in-house expertise) for design and construction and
(d) Building works with an Architect responsible to an Employer for design and supervision
but having no engineering adviser.
The need for the Engineer to define the respective status and responsibilities is discussed
below in relation to procedures (b) and (c), but it should be noted that an Architect may not