Winter 2021

NSPE Today
New EJCDC Agreement Defines Task Orders

The Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee has released a new document: EJCDC E-505 2020, Agreement Between Owner and Engineer for Professional Services—Task Order Edition. This document is available to NSPE members at a 50% discount.

EJCDC E-505 defines individual task orders for specific professional assignments. In a task order, the owner and engineer agree to task-specific terms, such as scope of services, schedule, and compensation, for each specific assignment. When a task order is issued, no drafting or negotiating is needed for provisions such as indemnification, insurance, claims, dispute resolution, suspension, or termination because these provisions will have been negotiated previously and set in place in the E-505 Main Agreement and its exhibits.

The E-505 is designed for multiple or recurring assignments (“tasks”) related to one or several projects; it is similar to the E-500 Agreement Between Owner-Engineer for Professional Services in structure, terminology, and conditions. Updates to the EJCDC E-505 include enhanced and reorganized exhibits to the E-505 main agreement and task order form to reflect evolving contract practice and improve ease of use. This edition is published in four parts, which are included in a downloadable zip file.