The early warning register definition covers two sources of entries: matters the Contract Data lists from the start, and matters later notified as early warnings. For each, it records what the matter is and how its effects are to be avoided or reduced. So it's a working list of problems and agreed actions, not a general log of everything that could go wrong.
The Project Manager keeps it. NEC4 uses this name, while NEC3 called it the Risk Register. The term is in the list at clause 11.2, and the procedure is in clause 15. For how to run a register day to day, see the early warning register guide. This page is part of the NEC definitions glossary.
What the definition requires
| Feature | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Matters from the Contract Data | Part one or part two can list known concerns, so they go on from the first issue without a new notice |
| Notified matters | Added once either side gives a notice of an early warning |
| Description of the matter | Enough detail for someone new to understand it |
| How effects are to be avoided or reduced | The actions agreed, not merely the fact that it was discussed |
That last row is what people leave out. A register listing thirty matters with no actions meets the look of the definition and misses its purpose.
A worked example of a good entry
A fictional sewer scheme, with an illustrative entry:
| Matter | Gas main shown on utility drawings may conflict with shaft 3. Trial hole not yet dug. |
|---|---|
| Could affect | Total of the Prices, Completion, Key Date 2 |
| Raised | Contractor, EW-014, 12 May |
| Decisions at meeting of 19 May | Contractor digs trial hole by 26 May. Project Manager asks the gas company for records by 23 May. Alternative shaft location to be looked at if conflict confirmed. |
| Next review | 2 June |
Compare that with "Utilities: possible delay", which tells a reader nothing. If the matter later turns into a compensation event, the first entry shows who knew what, when, and what was tried.
Why it causes problems
- Confusing it with a risk log. Many teams hold a separate corporate risk register, with scored likelihoods and contingency figures. Keep that separate. This register has a contractual role and is shared with the other side.
- Treating entry as proof of entitlement. Being on the register doesn't make something a compensation event, or stop it being one. A warning and a notification of a compensation event are different steps.
- Never removing anything. Clause 15.3 expects matters to come off when they've been dealt with or have passed. A list that only grows soon stops being read.
- Stale versions. The Project Manager revises the register to record decisions and issues it after each meeting (15.4). If nobody does this, there's no agreed record.
- Using it instead of an instruction. If a decision changes the Scope, it needs an instruction issued with the revised register. Writing "Contractor to change the detail" in an action column isn't enough.
Timing under NEC4
The NEC4 process has fixed starting points that NEC3 lacked. The Project Manager issues a first register within one week of the starting date, the first meeting takes place within two weeks of it, and the Contract Data sets the longest gap between later meetings (15.2). If your contract has Z clauses here, they take priority, and they are worth reading. The register template has a layout you can adapt. Whatever format you use, one person ought to own the current version so the team isn't working from different copies.
Related guides
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