FAQ's Principal Building Agreement

BACK TO FAQs

PREVIOUS CLAUSE

Clause 4
NEXT CLAUSE

 

Question 1

1. Where is the line to be drawn between an Architect/Engineer's duty to design the works and a specialist N/S Sub contractor's obligation to produce shop or working drawings?

2. Where a specialist N/S subcontractor takes on a design responsibility, whose job is it to co-ordinate the design? The Architect, Subcontractor, Main contractor or somebody else? Can a Main contractor be legitimately given this responsibility even though he has no involvement in the design?

3. Who is responsible if a specialist N/S Subcontractor's design is defective? Who would bear the cost should an error be discovered after approval of drawings by the Architect/Engineer?

Ref: P04.001

Answer

The design drawings prepared by n/s subcontractors are generally referred to as “shop drawings”. In terms of 4.1 of the NSA the contractor is indemnified in relation the design responsibility implicit in such drawings. However in the PBA wording of 4.2 it is evident that the responsibility for design of the n/s works must be established in the calling for tenders for such work failing which such design liability will rest with the agent as the designer of the works as a whole and in turn with the employer in terms of the contract with the contractor.

It should be noted that the PBA is not prescriptive in relation to such design responsibility making no reference thereto whatsoever in 20.0 or 21.0 whereas the NSA clearly requires that where the n/s subcontractor is required to take design responsibility this must be stated in the n/s contract data.

 

Question 2

The n/s lift subcontractor designed and had shop-drawings for the lift shaft approved by the agents. We, the contractor, were issued the working drawings by the engineer from which we constructed the lift shaft to his drawing. When the lift n/s subcontractor commenced the installation of the lift the working drawings and those provided by the engineer were substantially different with the result that the lift n/s subcontractor could not effect the installation of the lift. My questions are:

1. Is the onus on the contractor to ensure that the two drawing sets are the same?

2. Is it correct for the contractor to build from the engineer’s drawings without referring to the n/s subcontractor’s drawings?

Ref: P04.002

Answer

NSA 4.1 The subcontractor shall not responsible for the design of the n/s works ..... unless otherwise stated in the n/s schedule.

PBA 4.1 The contractor shall not be responsible for the design of the works ... The contractor shall not be responsible for the primary coordination of design elements.

Clearly the contractor does not attract the "design responsibility liability" in terms of the above. I have no doubt that the Engineer as agent and or the Principal Agent carry the liability in relation to design and therefore the resultant coordination of the needs of the structure related to the lift installation requirements.