{
  "query": "NEC contract NCE auto-approval consequences and best practices for PM response times",
  "raw_results": [
    {
      "url": "https://gmhplanning.co.uk/nec-downloads/lack-of-response-time-bars-and-deemed-acceptances-in-nec-contracts/",
      "title": "Lack of Response, Time-Bars and Deemed Acceptances in NEC Contracts - CECA Bulletin 59",
      "content": "1. Programme: if the Project Manager does not respond to a programme issued for acceptance within two weeks, the Contractor may notify that lack of response. The clause does say ‘may’ in as much as it is not an obligation, but the response is necessary to trigger the next part of this process. To ‘notify’ is obviously in writing and where the Scope states one, it is issued within the cloud-based system that has been agreed to be used. If the Project Manager does not respond to that notification reminder within a further week, then the programme is treated as being accepted (i.e. deemed accepted). [...] 7. Compensation event assessment: If the Project Manager has not accepted a Contractor’s quotation and stated they will make their own assessment, they have the same time that the Contractor had initially for their quote to make that assessment. If they do not issue their assessment within the time allowed, the Contractor can once again notify a reminder. If the Project Manager does not respond within a further two weeks of the reminder, then the original Contractor quotation that had been rejected is now contractually “deemed accepted”. [...] NEC contracts require regular flow of communications between the parties. They will typically be tracked by using one of the established cloud-based administration tools such as Contract Bee or Cemar. The contract includes specific response times for certain communications, whilst for other communications the response period will be the “period for reply” as identified within Contract Data for a particular project. These response times are detailed in full in “CECA Bulletin 34 – Periods for response in contract”.\n\nThis bulletin will consider the sanctions within the contract that are in place if either party does not respond or issue a communication within a particular timescale, as well as identifying any specific “time-bars” that may exist.\n\n## Contractor Notifying a Compensation Event",
      "score": 0.9999633,
      "raw_content": null
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.gatherinsights.com/en/nec4/response-periods",
      "title": "NEC4 Response Periods: Complete Deadlines Guide",
      "content": "Some missed deadlines cost the Contractor entitlement permanently. Others mean the PM has accepted a quotation by default, whether they intended to or not. A few simply amount to a breach of contract with no mechanism to enforce the consequence. Knowing which is which is as commercially important as knowing the deadlines themselves.\n\nThis reference guide maps every key NEC4 response period, identifies which ones trigger automatic consequences, and explains how the compensation event response chain works in practice.\n\n## The Two Types of Response Period\n\nNEC4 response periods fall into two distinct categories, and confusing them is one of the most common commercial errors on NEC4 projects. [...] The asymmetry in the “Automatic?” column matters. A PM who misses the one-week CE notification response window has nothing to fall back on — the notification is accepted from that point, regardless of whether either party notices. A PM who misses the two-week quotation response window is only bound if the Contractor actively issues a clause 62.6 notification. Contractors who do not track PM response deadlines routinely miss this commercial advantage. [...] 4. Confusing the quotation window with the response window. The Contractor has three weeks to submit the quotation. The PM then has two weeks to respond. These are sequential, not concurrent. The PM's two weeks starts from the Contractor's submission date. Calculating the PM deadline from the PM's original instruction (rather than the quotation submission date) leads to an incorrect — and earlier — deadline in the commercial team's records.",
      "score": 0.99994695,
      "raw_content": null
    },
    {
      "url": "https://reachback.builtintelligence.com/t/nec-ecc-timescales-for-contractors-ce-quotations-and-project-manager-assessments/5316",
      "title": "NEC ECC - Timescales for Contractors CE quotations and Project Manager assessments - Compensation Events - ReachBack",
      "content": "Broadley yes, although I think the contract is silent on what happens if the Contractor does submit a quote late. Does the PM have to respond to that within two weeks, and if they don’t respond after a reminder would it be deemed accepted? Potentially yes, so as PM I would not run the risk and respond to the quote even if it is late to avoid such a loop.\n\n### Related topics [...] However, what happens when the latter is exceeded? Can the Contractor still issue a CEQ (as both parties have failed to follow the contract)? If so, will the acceptance process to remain the same? Or does the responsibility remain with the PM to assess all those CEs that have not received a CEQ? Will there be any considerations for the PM to make? Presumably as they are accepted CEs / NCEs these will not be time barred regarding costs? [...] # NEC ECC - Timescales for Contractors CE quotations and Project Manager assessments\n\nI’m currently working on an NEC3 ECC option A under the Employer’s PM.\n\nBoth the Contractor and PM are doing the best they can to use the Early Warning process to mitigate risks and then issue CE’s as soon as they occur.\n\nHowever, the scale of the changes mean that both parties have failed (on occasion) to meet the time requirements for issuing Compensation Event Quotations and Project Manager’s Assessments.\n\nThe contract is clear on timescales for CEQs, and once these are exceeded the PM is required to make an assessment within the same time requirements.",
      "score": 0.99983263,
      "raw_content": null
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.necplanningsolutions.co.uk/post/nec4-compensation-event-time-bar-and-the-ce-clock-clauses-61-and-62-explained",
      "title": "NEC4 Compensation Event Time Bar and the CE Clock: Clauses 61 and 62 Explained",
      "content": "This email is notice of failure to reply. Please provide your response in accordance with the contract.\n\nCommon mistakes that cause avoidable trouble\n\n1. Waiting for full impact before notifying. Notify the event, then price it.\n2. Treating an instruction email as a CE notice. Issue a separate notice with its own reference.\n3. Letting reply deadlines drift. Track the PM reply date and use Clause 62.6 steps when needed.\n4. Submitting quotations that are hard to decide. Use a repeatable pack with a clear decision request and clean evidence.\n\nReferences",
      "score": 0.9989183,
      "raw_content": null
    },
    {
      "url": "https://gmhplanning.co.uk/nec-downloads/ten-top-tips-for-managing-nec-contracts-effectively/",
      "title": "Ten Top Tips for Managing NEC Contracts Effectively - CECA Bulletin 58",
      "content": "Not having an up-to-date Accepted Programme benefits no one, as the Parties (1) lose certainty about when the Contractor is going to achieve Completion, (2) are unable to effectively co-ordinate their various activities, and (3) the assessment of delays due to compensation events becomes more difficult and subjective.\n\nGetting an acceptable Accepted Programme is challenging; thus meetings and discussions will be required to ensure all parties fully understand the picture in front of them to help speed up the acceptance process and timescales.\n\n## 5. A positive approach to the early warning process [...] NEC Z Clause of the Year 2025 (NEC User Group Article) chevron\\_right",
      "score": 0.9988575,
      "raw_content": null
    }
  ],
  "formatted": "Source: Lack of Response, Time-Bars and Deemed Acceptances in NEC Contracts - CECA Bulletin 59\nURL: https://gmhplanning.co.uk/nec-downloads/lack-of-response-time-bars-and-deemed-acceptances-in-nec-contracts/\n1. Programme: if the Project Manager does not respond to a programme issued for acceptance within two weeks, the Contractor may notify that lack of response. The clause does say ‘may’ in as much as it is not an obligation, but the response is necessary to trigger the next part of this process. To ‘notify’ is obviously in writing and where the Scope states one, it is issued within the cloud-based system that has been agreed to be used. If the Project Manager does not respond to that notification reminder within a further week, then the programme is treated as being accepted (i.e. deemed accepted). [...] 7. Compensation event assessment: If the Project Manager has not accepted a Contractor’s quotation and stated they will make their own assessment, they have the same time that the Contractor had initially for their quote to make that assessment. If they do not issue their assessment within the time allowed, the Contractor can once again notify a reminder. If the Project Manager does not respond within a further two weeks of the reminder, then the original Contractor quotation that had been rejected is now contractually “deemed accepted”. [...] NEC contracts require regular flow of communications between the parties. They will typically be tracked by using one of the established cloud-based administration tools such as Contract Bee or Cemar. The contract includes specific response times for certain communications, whilst for other communications the response period will be the “period for reply” as identified within Contract Data for a particular project. These response times are detailed in full in “CECA Bulletin 34 – Periods for response in contract”. This bulletin will consider the sanctions within the contract that are in place if either party does not respond or issue\n\n---\n\nSource: NEC4 Response Periods: Complete Deadlines Guide\nURL: https://www.gatherinsights.com/en/nec4/response-periods\nSome missed deadlines cost the Contractor entitlement permanently. Others mean the PM has accepted a quotation by default, whether they intended to or not. A few simply amount to a breach of contract with no mechanism to enforce the consequence. Knowing which is which is as commercially important as knowing the deadlines themselves. This reference guide maps every key NEC4 response period, identifies which ones trigger automatic consequences, and explains how the compensation event response chain works in practice. ## The Two Types of Response Period NEC4 response periods fall into two distinct categories, and confusing them is one of the most common commercial errors on NEC4 projects. [...] The asymmetry in the “Automatic?” column matters. A PM who misses the one-week CE notification response window has nothing to fall back on — the notification is accepted from that point, regardless of whether either party notices. A PM who misses the two-week quotation response window is only bound if the Contractor actively issues a clause 62.6 notification. Contractors who do not track PM response deadlines routinely miss this commercial advantage. [...] 4. Confusing the quotation window with the response window. The Contractor has three weeks to submit the quotation. The PM then has two weeks to respond. These are sequential, not concurrent. The PM's two weeks starts from the Contractor's submission date. Calculating the PM deadline from the PM's original instruction (rather than the quotation submission date) leads to an incorrect — and earlier — deadline in the commercial team's records.\n\n---\n\nSource: NEC ECC - Timescales for Contractors CE quotations and Project Manager assessments - Compensation Events - ReachBack\nURL: https://reachback.builtintelligence.com/t/nec-ecc-timescales-for-contractors-ce-quotations-and-project-manager-assessments/5316\nBroadley yes, although I think the contract is silent on what happens if the Contractor does submit a quote late. Does the PM have to respond to that within two weeks, and if they don’t respond after a reminder would it be deemed accepted? Potentially yes, so as PM I would not run the risk and respond to the quote even if it is late to avoid such a loop. ### Related topics [...] However, what happens when the latter is exceeded? Can the Contractor still issue a CEQ (as both parties have failed to follow the contract)? If so, will the acceptance process to remain the same? Or does the responsibility remain with the PM to assess all those CEs that have not received a CEQ? Will there be any considerations for the PM to make? Presumably as they are accepted CEs / NCEs these will not be time barred regarding costs? [...] # NEC ECC - Timescales for Contractors CE quotations and Project Manager assessments I’m currently working on an NEC3 ECC option A under the Employer’s PM. Both the Contractor and PM are doing the best they can to use the Early Warning process to mitigate risks and then issue CE’s as soon as they occur. However, the scale of the changes mean that both parties have failed (on occasion) to meet the time requirements for issuing Compensation Event Quotations and Project Manager’s Assessments. The contract is clear on timescales for CEQs, and once these are exceeded the PM is required to make an assessment within the same time requirements.\n\n---\n\nSource: NEC4 Compensation Event Time Bar and the CE Clock: Clauses 61 and 62 Explained\nURL: https://www.necplanningsolutions.co.uk/post/nec4-compensation-event-time-bar-and-the-ce-clock-clauses-61-and-62-explained\nThis email is notice of failure to reply. Please provide your response in accordance with the contract. Common mistakes that cause avoidable trouble 1. Waiting for full impact before notifying. Notify the event, then price it. 2. Treating an instruction email as a CE notice. Issue a separate notice with its own reference. 3. Letting reply deadlines drift. Track the PM reply date and use Clause 62.6 steps when needed. 4. Submitting quotations that are hard to decide. Use a repeatable pack with a clear decision request and clean evidence. References\n\n---\n\nSource: Ten Top Tips for Managing NEC Contracts Effectively - CECA Bulletin 58\nURL: https://gmhplanning.co.uk/nec-downloads/ten-top-tips-for-managing-nec-contracts-effectively/\nNot having an up-to-date Accepted Programme benefits no one, as the Parties (1) lose certainty about when the Contractor is going to achieve Completion, (2) are unable to effectively co-ordinate their various activities, and (3) the assessment of delays due to compensation events becomes more difficult and subjective. Getting an acceptable Accepted Programme is challenging; thus meetings and discussions will be required to ensure all parties fully understand the picture in front of them to help speed up the acceptance process and timescales. ## 5. A positive approach to the early warning process [...] NEC Z Clause of the Year 2025 (NEC User Group Article) chevron\\_right"
}