The widespread use of Professional Services Contracts (PSCs) & EPCM contracts in the construction industry is as a result of recent developments and the nature and structure of the construction industry as a whole. But the world of PSCs / EPCM contracts in the South African contracting environment is extremely murky. More often than not in-house standard form PSCs (which have been dramatically altered over time) are used across a wide variety of disciplines, including for the appointment of EPCM contractors. As a result, these contracts often allocate (unknowingly) an enormous amount of risk on one of the parties.

There are a variety of PSC contracts available ranging from the NEC Professional Services Contract (PSC), the FIDIC’s Client Consultant Model Services Agreement (the White Book), and the contracts published by PROCSA to the CIDB’s Standard Professional Services Contract. Deciding which one to use depends on amongst other things the nature of the project as well as the form of construction contract being used.

However, PSCs are not without their critics as they are often seen as being pro-Consultant offering little recourse to the Client. So this course offers you an opportunity to re-examine old paradigms and to explore new ways of drafting PSCs / EPCM contracts that operate fairly towards both the Client as well as the Consultant without ‘Teflon-coating’ one party over the other.

Finishing any construction project on time requires a huge amount of cooperation between all parties involved but at the very same time, each of the parties involved has competing interests! With so much to consider this training course has been specifically researched and designed to cover all of the bases and to give you a practical understanding and working knowledge of the critical general legal principles and the various typical contractual provisions that should be included in any Professional Services Contract / EPCM contract.

This approach will allow all Course Participants to get a first-hand look at dealing with any potential issues they may come across from drafting to preparing the scope of services as well as the roles and responsibilities of the team. We will examine in detail all of the procedures involved in the standard form Professional Services Contracts / EPCMs as well as some of the approaches designed to achieve a successful working relationship between all parties involved.