NEC4 Contract Preparation · Module 1 · Lesson 3 of 4
Services, supply and other forms
Why it matters
Beyond the works Aldermere Water buys design, upkeep and small jobs, so which forms fit?
Each purchase beyond the works has its own NEC4 form.
Source: Aldermere Water budget, 15 January 2024. Aldermere contract map, 29 January 2024. Aldermere Water, June and October 2025.
The rule
Services have main and short forms
Advice or upkeep? Then how big?
Options A, C or E.
Time charge or price list.
Options A, C or E.
Priced items, rates.
Goods follow suit: the SC for high value items, the SSC for simple ones.
Source: NEC4 service and supply product pages.
The rule
A framework sets up suppliers, and each job needs an order
A framework is not an order.
Each supplier waits “until it has received a Work Order or Time Charge Order” (FC 20.3).
- Frameworka set term
- Selectionthe Client picks oneFC 21.1
- OrderWork or Time ChargeFC 20.3
- The jobECC, ECSC or PSSC
Source: FC 11.2(4), 11.2(5), 20.3, 21.1. NEC4 FC product page.
The rule
One contract, or shared targets over many
Three ways to join firms beyond a chain. Tap each one.
- Who signsThe Client and one contractor.
- What it doesOne firm designs, builds and then runs the asset, so it answers for how the asset performs.
- Who signsThe Client and several partners, all in one contract.
- What it doesCost is reimbursed, with a performance regime on top. An Alliance Board takes the decisions.
“An Own Contract is a contract between two Partners” (X12.1(3))
- What it doesShared targets over each Partner’s own contract. Not with X20.Clause X12.4(1)
Source: ECC X12.1(3), X12.4(1), Schedule of Options. NEC news, April 2017 and June 2018.
See it on the project
Designer in 2024, services in 2025
Decide the last one, then tap.
- 2 April 2024PSC Option A, Harrowgill's design, GBP 620,000.
- 2 June 2025TSC Option A, Selbrook, GBP 1,450,000 over five years.
- 1 December 2025PSSC, Tom Barrow, the Supervisor.
Surveys and planting keep coming up. One framework, or a contract each time?
Source: Aldermere Water, April 2024 to December 2025.
Try it
Sort each service into its NEC4 contract
Ask two things of each job: advice or upkeep, and how big and risky.
…
PSC
- A project manager for a scheme with several stages, changes and interfaces.
PSSC
- A condition survey of 42 properties, charged by the time spent.
TSC
- Maintaining eleven pumping stations for five years, with one-off repairs as needed.
- Upkeep of a road network over a term, on a target with a price list.
TSSC
- A simple, low risk repair service, paid for priced items and rates.
Source: NEC4 PSC, PSSC, TSC and TSSC product pages.
Recap
Match each service to its family, then its size
Habits for the other lines.
On Monday at work
- List the needs besides the works: design, upkeep, goods, small orders.
- Use the PSC for a staged design brief. With no consultant, the Scope names what the Contractor designs (21.1).
- Plan upkeep early: manuals, training and spares in the works Scope.
In the Toolkit: NEC4 Contract Checklists (ECC and ECS) (Excel) Members
Independent course material. It is not published or endorsed by NEC. Clause references are to the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract, June 2017 with amendments January 2023, unless another NEC4 contract is named. The project and the people are invented. Short quotes from NEC4 (© NEC 2017) and the FIDIC Red Book (© FIDIC 2017) are used for review and comment. Read the full clauses in your own copy of the contract.
Source: ECC 11.2(2), 21.1. FC 20.3. NEC4 product pages.
Go deeper (optional)
Term work needs a term form
Harder points for later. Skip them if short of time.
Can term maintenance go on a lump sum?
Atkins (2013)
A DBOC, or an ECC and then a TSC?
NEC4 DBOC and ALC product pages
When does the FMC suit better than the TSC?
NEC4 FMC product page
Source: NEC4 FMC product page. Atkins Ltd v Secretary of State for Transport (2013).