Does the issue of revised drawings constitute a project manager’s instruction changing the works information and therefore a compensation event under clause 60.1? Furthermore, is the project manager obliged to notify the contractor that the same is a compensation event, thereby preventing the contractor being time-barred under clause 61.3?
Answer
If a revised drawing is issued by the project manager, it is different from the drawing that is in the works information and therefore it changes the works information. The issue of the drawing is therefore an instruction to change the works information, which is a compensation event under clause 60.1(1).
Since the compensation event has arisen from an instruction by the project manager, it should be notified as a compensation event by the project manager at the time when they instruct a quotation to be submitted – see the first sentence of clause 61.1. It is therefore specifically not covered by the 9 week time bar in clause 61.3. If the project manager fails to notify it, the contractor may do so under clause 61.3 at any time up until the defects date, as stated in clause 61.7.
