Site Information

NEC Site Information is the description of the Site and its surroundings, in the documents the Contract Data names. It tells the Contractor what's there. It doesn't tell the Contractor what to do; that's the job of the Scope. Mixing the two up is a common and expensive drafting mistake.

The term is defined in clause 11.2 (item 16 in NEC3 ECC). Its main practical role is in the physical conditions compensation event, where what the Contractor is taken to have known decides whether it can claim. This page is part of the NEC definitions glossary.

How it differs from the Scope

	Site Information	Scope
Purpose	Describes what's there	Says what is to be built and how it's constrained
Typical contents	Borehole logs, surveys, utility records, ground reports, access descriptions	Drawings, specifications, working restrictions
Can the Project Manager change it by instruction?	No, no standard power to do so	Yes, under 14.3
Who can rely on it?	Contractor's assumptions on conditions	Everyone, as the requirement

What the Contractor is taken to know

Under 60.2, when judging physical conditions, the Contractor is assumed to have taken four things into account:

• the Site Information;
• any publicly available information the Site Information refers to;
• what a visual inspection of the Site would show; and
• anything else a contractor with experience could reasonably be expected to hold or find.

So a reference to a public source can bring that source's information into what's assumed known. It's the reason a line such as "see the local mining records" has real effect.

Under 60.3, if the Site Information contradicts itself or can be read two ways, including in what it refers to, the Contractor is assumed to have allowed for the conditions more favourable to doing the work. So contradictions in the documents usually favour the Contractor when an event is judged.

A worked example

A fictional outfall scheme. The Site Information includes two ground reports. Report A shows firm clay at 3m below ground in the area of a new chamber. Report B, on the same area, shows soft silt to 5m. The Contractor prices for firm clay. On excavation, it hits silt to 5m.

1. The Contractor notifies under 60.1(12).
2. The Project Manager says Report B warned of the silt.
3. Under 60.3 the Contractor is assumed to have allowed for the more favourable condition, the clay. Report B doesn't defeat the claim on that point.
4. The test in 60.1(12) still has to be met: would an experienced contractor have judged the silt, at the Contract Date, as having such a small chance that it would have been unreasonable to allow for it? And only the difference from what it would have been reasonable to allow for is assessed.

Note that 60.3 helps with the assumption, but doesn't by itself decide the event. Had there been only Report B, the claim would have been far weaker.

Why it causes problems

• Requirements hidden in it. "Contractor to protect the sewer shown" is a requirement placed in a descriptive document, and may not bind the Contractor as you'd expect. Put it in the Scope.
• Disclaimers. A note saying the information has no warranty or that the Contractor is to verify everything may not work with 60.1(12) and 60.2. If you want to change the risk, do it plainly through a Z clause and take advice. Clients ought to consider what that does to tender prices.
• Handing over too little. Holding back a survey you have doesn't necessarily help. Consider what an experienced contractor could obtain, and how that looks later if the survey comes to light.
• Handing over too much with no review. Reams of conflicting old reports trigger 60.3. A short curated set is usually better for both sides.
• Vague references. As with the Scope, name the documents exactly. If a survey isn't in a document the Contract Data lists, it isn't Site Information.
• Treating it as a guarantee. It isn't a promise that the ground matches. It sets the starting point for the test.

See also the definition of the Site, which sets the area this information needs to describe.

Related guides

• NEC Definitions: A Glossary of Key Terms
• Subcontractor
• Task
• The Works
• Scope
• Site

This guide is general information in our own words, not legal advice. Your contract and its Contract Data always govern. NEC, NEC3 and NEC4 are trade marks of Thomas Telford Ltd; Contract Status is not affiliated with or endorsed by NEC.