13.2 VARIATION PROCEDURE AND VALUE ENGINEERING
Variations can be initiated at any time prior to issuing the Taking Over
Certificate. This can be in any one of three ways:
●
an instruction to the Contractor to carry out or omit certain work;
●
a request to the Contractor to submit a proposal;
●
the Contractor submitting at any time on his own initiative a proposal
which he thinks will be of advantage to the Employer, for example in accel-
erating completion or improving the efficiency of the plant or facility.
In the latter case, the proposal (volunteered by the Contractor) is called
value engineering , signifying its (perceived) value or benefit to the Employer.
The Contractor benefits if the proposal is accepted by, for example, saving cost
he would otherwise have to expend in designing and installing additional
plant or equipment.
Clause 13.3 sets out steps that need to be taken where the Employer requests
a proposal from the Contractor prior to instructing a variation. These steps
require the Contractor to respond promptly and to set out clearly why he can-
not comply (if he is of the view that he cannot), or (if he feels he can) giving
full details of the proposed work, programme impact and other matters.
The Employer then decides whether to instruct the variation, although the
Contractor must proceed with the work pending a response. If a variation is
instructed the Contractor will be entitled to additional payment, including
profit, which the Engineer or Employer should assess under the clause 3.5
procedure for determinations.