The Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC®) on April 15 released two new documents from its Engineering Series.

• The 2020 edition of the EJCDC® E-500, Agreement Between Owner and Engineer for Professional Services, and
• The 2020 edition of the EJCDC® E-570, Agreement Between Engineer and Subconsultant for Professional Services.

EJCDC documents are the first choice, and most user-friendly, among standard documents for infrastructure and public works construction in the United States and are available to members of the National Society of Professional Engineers at a 50% discount.

EJCDC® E-500 Agreement Between Owner and Engineer for Professional Services is typically used to engage an engineer's services for a single, specific project. It is drafted for the design-bid-build project delivery system. With minor revisions, it is appropriate for design-negotiate-build project delivery, and can be adapted easily to use in contracting for primary professional services on a variety of other project delivery systems.

EJCDC® E-570, Agreement between Engineer and Subconsultant for Professional Services, is intended for use by an engineering firm ("Engineer") to delegate a portion of its project design or other professional services to another engineering firm ("Subconsultant"). E-570 is best suited for projects in which the prime agreement between Engineer and Owner is based on EJCDC® E-500, Agreement between Owner and Engineer for Professional Services, or on one of the other EJCDC Owner-Engineer agreement forms.

Project owners and engineering firms have relied on E-500's overall content, risk allocations, and philosophical approach over the years. The 2020 edition remains consistent with prior standards. In addition, the 2020 E-500 Agreement contains focused improvements, more options, better guidance and instructions, and an improved structure. As with past editions of E-570, the contents and structure of the 2020 edition are closely coordinated with E-500. The two documents use consistent terminology and wording whenever possible.

Both the 2020 edition of EJCDC E-500 and the 2020 edition of EJCDC E-570 are packaged and downloaded, upon purchase, in two parts as two separate MSWord files: (1) the Main Agreement and (2) the Exhibits A through J. In both documents, the Main Agreements and the Exhibits have somewhat different formatting foundations. Splitting them into two files allowed EJCDC to tighten the underlying formatting in each part, making user revisions and supplementations easier. 

In response to user feedback, EJCDC made changes to the Main Agreement of E-500. Users reported that, unlike the Engineer's scope of services, the Owner's responsibilities typically remain constant from project to project. In addition, many public owners prefer to place the owner's responsibilities in the main agreement itself, reserving exhibits for specific scope of services, schedule, insurance, and pricing issues. Following this advice, EJCDC moved the contents of what was formerly Exhibit B, Owner's Responsibilities, directly into Article 2 of the E-500 Main Agreement.

To ensure consistency for Engineer and Subconsultant, the 2020 edition of E-570 expressly emphasizes that the Main Agreement sets the rules for ownership, copyright, and use of the design documents that Subconsultant prepares and furnishes to Engineer.

EJCDC made the most significant changes in the contents of both E-500 and E-570 to Exhibit A of each document.

• Exhibit A of E-500 describes the comprehensive scope of the Engineer's Services, from the planning stage through design, contractor selection, and construction, to post-construction services.
• Exhibit A of E-570, which describes the Subconsultant's Services, closely following the updates made to the scope of services in E-500.

EJCDC recognized that several key scope issues would benefit from being covered in greater specificity and detail. The 2020 Exhibit A updates to both E-500 and E-570 add meaningful detail to many engineering service categories, and articulate evolving industry practices, some for the first time in a standard industry contract document.

Other significant updates to both EJCDC E-500 and E-570 include:

• A new consolidated schedule form for deliverables exhibit;
• Update and relocation of payment exhibit offering the user six standard compensation methods;
• The cost limit exhibit has been eliminated;
• Electronic documents protocol has been added.

A Summary of Changes to the 2020 edition of E-500 can be found here.

A Summary of Changes to the 2020 edition of E-570 can be found here.

Since 1975, EJCDC has developed and updated fair and objective standard documents that represent the latest and best thinking in contractual relations for engineering design and construction projects. EJCDC documents are prepared by a committee of project stakeholders that include owners, contractors, funding entities, attorneys, professional liability insurers, and sureties. EJCDC documents represent and distribute risk fairly and equitably among all parties to engineer-led construction projects.

EJCDC documents are specifically written for public and private infrastructure and engineered facilities projects in the United States. The documents can readily be customized to suit each project's unique goals and regulatory requirements. Downloaded in MSWord format, EJCDC documents are easily modified to conform to the unique goals and regulatory requirements of each project.  EJCDC documents are the first choice, and most user friendly, among standard documents for infrastructure and public works construction in the United States.

The Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC®) is a joint venture of major organizations of professional engineers:

• the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE);
• the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE); and
• the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).

Purchase EJCDC documents online at nspe.org/ejcdc