Assembling A Collaborative Team - Other - Page 118
Assembling a Collaborative Project Team
Professional services contracts
Broadly speaking, design team members will be appointed using professional
services contracts regardless of the Contractual Tree or the procurement method
used to select them. These contracts, between the client and the consultant, are
also frequently referred to as ‘agreements’ or ‘appointments’. In some instances,
another design team member or the contractor will be the client.
There are two ways to appoint designers: using an ‘off the shelf’ document (also
known as ‘standard form appointments’) or by preparing a bespoke appointment.
The former are generally prepared by a particular industry body and contain
standard clauses in relation to matters such as copyright, confidentiality, etc.
and generic clauses in relation to fees and programme for completion on each
specific project. These standard form appointments have been tried and tested
in the industry and have been assembled with the assistance of legal advisers.
Bespoke professional services contracts (appointments) are likely to contain the
same project-specific information but, as they are typically prepared by a client’s
legal team, they are likely to have more onerous terms in relation to matters such
as copyright, confidentiality, etc. Consultation carried out by the RIBA in relation
to the development of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 revealed that many architects
encounter bespoke appointments on a regular basis. It is important for consultants
to seek advice from their legal advisers and professional indemnity (PI) insurers
before agreeing to such appointments although they must also consider their
own views in relation to fee, programme or Schedule of Services issues. Law in
Practice: The RIBA Legal Handbook provides a useful insight into the types of
clauses likely to be encountered in a bespoke or standard form contract.
Further complications arise for those undertaking the lead designer role or other
roles that require the management of parties that they do not directly employ. For
those undertaking the project lead or lead designer role it is essential that they
contribute to, or have sight of and agree to, the Design Responsibility Matrix
incorporating Information Exchanges and Schedule of Services documents for
the other members of the project team. The holistic nature of the RIBA Plan of
Work 2013, its alignment to RIBA Appointments and the tools set out in this book
assist in this task.
Any professional services contract will also require consideration of certain
aspects, such as the level of PI insurance cover or dispute resolution methods.
These considerations do not alter the need to use the tools set out in this publication
and these aspects are not considered in this publication. The project fee must
also be included in any professional services contract. This is likely to be
influenced by the outputs set out in this publication.
www.ribaplanofwork.com
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