EJCDC FORMS
Important provisions may be overlooked or addressed improperly if
the standard forms are not used. Significant provisions include:
1. Identification of the parties to the agreement.
2. Thorough descriptions of the project as contemplated.
3. General descriptions of the basic services to be performed by the engineer in each phase. (Detailed descriptions are to appear in an exhibit attached and made a part of the contract.)
4. Limitations on the engineer's responsibilities.
5. Additional services that may be requested by the owner or otherwise become necessary in connection with the project.
6. Owner's responsibilities.
7. Periods of service.
8. Compensation and manner of payment.
9. General considerations.
The most comprehensive form (EJCDC No. 1910-1) for agreements between owner and engineer provides for engineering services in six phases:
1. Study and Report.
2. Preliminary Design.
3. Final Design.
4. Bidding or Negotiating.
5. Construction.
6. Operational.
This standard form can be modified easily to eliminate various phases such as the Study and Report Phase or the Construction Phase. The Study and Report may have been previously completed by the engineer or others under a separate contract, and the instant agreement is to start with the Preliminary or Final Design phase. Also, owners sometimes desire services only through Final Design or perhaps the Bidding or Negotiating phase with the naive intention of providing their own administrative and on-site services during the Construction and Operational phases. Such an arrangement invariably results in problems for the owner and the engineer who designed the project. The guidesheets and legal commentary with the standard forms include discussion of this matter, which should be helpful in dissuading the owner from leaving the design engineer out of the construction process. However, the guidesheets do include instructions on how to modify the standard form if the owner insists on providing his own services during construction.