About ACE Agreements
ACE Agreements 2009 Edition
ACE Agreements are the industry-standard documents for the appointment of consultancy and engineering professionals. In these new 2009 editions of the agreements, the original principles of the ACE Agreements are maintained but the documents have also been updated and simplified. This means more user-friendly Agreements, offering greater versatility for both clients and consultants.
ACE has introduced a suite of Agreements for use in Scotland in order to take account of contract differences under Scottish law principally with regard to executing a contract.
New Features
•Both client & consultant can tailor-make the services to match the requirements of a project.
•Sold in packs of five, the Agreements are intended to be working documents rather than separate sources of reference.
•The Services are now separate from the other parts of the Agreement. This allows client and consultant to tailor the services to match the requirements of a project, offering even more flexibility and versatility when using ACE Agreements.
•The Memorandum has been made self-explanatory and is easier to complete.
•Agreements can accommodate any size of consultancy commission.
•Agreements are now multi-functional and able to accommodate the presence of a project manager and/or a lead consultant in the team.
•Both client and consultant are able to introduce personnel with delegated powers to run a project whilst at the same time leaving overall responsibility at senior managerial level.
Updated Features
•A default limit of liability of ten times the fee has been introduced
•The client’s brief has been introduced into the Agreements
•A programme for undertaking the services has been introduced
•The schedule of fees has been expanded and clarified to accommodate
•Time charges
•Lump sums
•Percentage fees
•Fees for additional work
•Fees for arranging work to be undertaken by others
•Payment of expenses
•Payment for collateral warranties
Easy to use
All the ACE Agreements and Services are sold in handy tear-off packs of five to make the documents easier to use. The separate Services documents mean that both client & consultant can tailor-make the services to match the requirements of a project, offering even more flexibility and versatility when using ACE Agreements.
How to use the 2009 Editions
1 Choose the right Agreement
ACE Agreements were previously selected on the basis of discipline e.g. Civil & Structural or M&E, and whether the engineer was lead consultant or not. The Agreements should now be selected according to the type of procurement – see Table 1.
In the usual way, all blanks in the document should be completed and selections made between various alternative options. Please refer to the side-notes in the Agreement for guidance on how to deal with these.
The previous A, B and C agreements are all now absorbed into Agreement 1 or Agreement 3. The 2009 suite has new agreements – nos. 5 – 8.
The old Short Form is now replaced by Agreement 2: Advise & Report. The old Short Form was recommended for advisory & reporting work for small straightforward projects, which is one of the intended uses for the new agreement.
There is no longer a Planning Supervisor/CDM Co-ordinator form. The duties under the CDM Regulations and the guidance in the Approved Code of Practice encompass what is required.
The 2002 suite (revised) 2004) is no longer for sale.
2. Choose the right Schedule of Services
The Schedule of Services was previously included in the Appointment Booklet. Schedules of services for Agreement 1: Design, and Agreement 3: Design & Construct are now sold separately (see Table 2).
The new Agreements can now also be used with a bespoke schedule of services. The agreed bespoke document should simply be annexed to the Agreement in place of the ACE Part G services.
In some cases, the services can simply be written into the Agreement itself e.g. see Part F of Agreement 2: Advise & Report.
For M&E Appointments, there is a choice between performance design and detailed design. Performance design occurs when the consultant simply sets the design parameters within which the works or plant are to operate. It is then up to the contractor to arrange for detailed design, manufacture & installation. Detailed design occurs when the consultant undertakes all design leaving the contractor simply to arrange for manufacture & installation.
ACE Legal Advice Line
ACE’s legal affiliates provide 15 minutes free legal advice to ACE member on a range of issues from standard forms of contract assistance to alternative dispute resolution. If your enquiry is in regard to English law you can contact the following quoting your ACE membership number:
Rachel Barnes at Beale and Company Solicitors on 020 7240 3474
The construction team at Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP (BLM) on 020 7865 8086
The construction and engineering team at Brodies LLP on 0141 245 6730 (in regard to Scottish law enquiries only).
For all enquiries in regard to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland you can contact Rachel Barnes at Beale and Company see above for details.
Acknowledgement
ACE would like to thank the Beale and Company and Brodies LLP for their expertise and assistance in producing the ACE Agreements 2009 editions.
The Association for Consultancy and Engineering and its affiliates have prepared these notes for general guidance only and do not accept any responsibility for any loss arising from reliance on them. Specific advice should be sought for particular queries.