One challenging area in project management is managing risks. Key risks include completing the project within budget and schedule. New Engineering Contract (NEC) differs from traditional contract in that it actively involves stakeholders, in particular the client, the contractor and project managers, throughout the contract period. It reallocates risk and responsibility among the key stakeholders with the target of achieving cost and time effective project management.
NEC also provides a framework to alert early client and project manager unforeseen events arise during the contract and resolve early the events including expenses together with the contractor. NEC’s non-traditional approach in running contract is more proactive in managing project risks and encourage resolution of compensation (claim) event in timely manner. Some government departments have started using NEC to run their contracts.
In this seminar, we invited Mr. Dennis Li Yan Chun, a civil engineer, NEC Consultant and part-time lecturer of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Council (HKCIC), to introduce to us the key elements of NEC. The presentation was inspiring with local large-scale infrastructural cases quoted to illustrate the significant time and cost implications if unforeseen events were not addressed early. The attendants showed great interests in the topic and participated actively in short informal discussions on pros and cons of NEC against traditional contracts. Attendants also participated actively in the Q&A session after the talk.