NEC4 Contract Preparation · Module 1 · Lesson 4 of 4
Drawing the contract map
Why it matters
Six purchases, GBP 11,200,000: which form fits each?
Dana Whitfield, the Project Manager, drew it on 29 January 2024.
Source: Aldermere contract map, 29 January 2024.
The rule
Ask four questions of every line
Three pick the family. The fourth picks the size.
- Who contracts with whom?Main contract or subcontract.
- What is bought?Works, services, goods or an asset.
- One job or a term?A term means a term service.
- How risky and complex is it?Simple, low risk work takes the short form.
Source: NEC4 contract title pages and product pages.
The rule
The Adjudicator has a contract, and both Parties sign it
W2 matches, and under W3 both Parties appoint the Dispute Avoidance Board.
“The Parties appoint the Adjudicator under the NEC Dispute Resolution Service Contract” (W1.2(1))
Signs the DRSC.
Signs it too.
Under the DRSC edition current at the starting date.
Source: ECC W1.2(1), W2.2(3), W3.1(2).
See it on the project
By January 2026 each line is a signed contract
Each line now names a firm.
Source: Aldermere Water, April 2024 to January 2026.
See it on the project
Answer three questions for your project
Answers save in this browser for Module 11. Then see Aldermere’s choice.
0 of 3 decided
Your answers are kept while this page is open.
Which NEC4 contract will you use for the main works?
Your answerECC
Full NEC management with a Project Manager, an Accepted Programme and six main Options. You commit to running its procedures and time limits for the whole job.
Your answerECSC
NEC offers the ECSC for simple, low risk work. It has no Project Manager and no main Options, so the Client runs it and pays through a Price List.
Your answerDBOC
One contractor designs, builds and then operates the asset, so it answers for how the asset performs. Most ECC questions in this builder will not apply.
Your answerALC
The Client and several partners sign one contract with shared targets and an Alliance Board. Most ECC questions in this builder will not apply.
At Aldermere
Aldermere Water chose: ECC: managed works with real risk
Aldermere Water chose the ECC because ground, utility and river risks needed its full early warning and compensation event procedures.
How will you buy design or other professional services?
Your answerPSC
The PSC suits a commission with stages, changes and interfaces to manage. You still choose how the consultant is paid, from Options A, C and E.
Your answerPSSC
NEC offers the PSSC for smaller commissions, paid by time charge or a price list. Its procedures are lighter than the PSC's.
Your answerNo consultant
No appointment to manage. Your own staff or the works Contractor carry the design, and the Scope must say which parts the Contractor designs (21.1).
At Aldermere
Aldermere Water chose: A PSC for a large or open brief
Aldermere Water appointed Harrowgill Consulting Engineers under a PSC in April 2024, because the brief ran from options to support during construction.
Who will look after the asset once it is in use?
Your answerTSC
The TSC covers maintenance and repair of an operational asset over a fixed period, including one-off tasks. It offers main Options A, C and E.
Your answerTSSC
NEC offers the TSSC for simple, low risk maintenance. It pays for priced items and rates, with lighter procedures than the TSC.
Your answerExisting
No new procurement, but plan the handover. The works Scope should say what manuals, training and spares your people need before Completion.
Your answerIn the DBOC
Operation is part of the DBOC, so no separate maintenance contract is needed. Set the operating requirements in its Scope from the start.
At Aldermere
Aldermere Water chose: A term service contract (TSC)
Aldermere Water let a TSC to Selbrook Asset Services in June 2025 and will add the Mill Lane pumping station to it at take over.
Source: Strategy builder, stage s1. ECC title page, Schedule of Options.
Try it
Suppose a water company repairs a reservoir: place each line
A new scheme to map. Ask the four questions of each line.
…
ECC
- The spillway repair, on uncertain ground beside a full reservoir.
ECSC
- Six trial pits beside the spillway, fully specified.
- Resurfacing the small access car park, simple and low risk.
PSC
- A dam engineer to design the repair and support it on site.
TSC
- Servicing the reservoir’s valves for five years.
Source: NEC4 product pages. NEC comparison note, June 2023.
Quick check · Try it
Two questions on what you have just covered
Each answer tells you why.
2 questions to answer
Source: NEC4 SC product page. ECC W1.2(1), W2.2(3).
Recap
Draw the map before you choose any Options
Three habits that start every contract strategy.
On Monday at work
- Draw one box for each organisation and one line for each contract.
- Ask the four questions of each line, then write its form on it.
- Add the Adjudicator as its own line, signed by both Parties (W1.2(1)).
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 W1.2(1). NEC4 product pages.
Go deeper (optional)
Three questions practitioners ask when they draw the map
Harder points for later. Skip them if you are short of time.
Should the Supervisor be appointed under a PSC or a PSSC?
Clause 11.2(13)
X12 or the ALC?
Clause X12.1
What changed from NEC3?
NEC3 and NEC4 Schedules of Options
Source: ECC 11.2(12), 11.2(13), X12.1, Schedule of Options. NEC3 ECC Schedule of Options.