NEC3 Risk Reduction Meetings

A risk reduction meeting under NEC3 is where the people involved work out how to avoid or reduce the risks on the Risk Register, and decide who does what. Either the Project Manager or the Contractor can call one by instructing the other to attend (16.2), and it's the point where an early warning turns into a plan.

In NEC4 these became early warning meetings, with a required frequency. NEC3 sets no minimum, so whether they happen is up to the team. For the wider edition, see the NEC4 contracts guide, and for the register they feed, see the NEC3 Risk Register.

What the contract says the meeting does

Clause 16.3 gives the meeting four jobs, which in our words are:

1. Put forward and weigh up ways to avoid or reduce the effect of each registered risk.
2. Look for answers that help everyone affected, not just one side.
3. Decide on the actions, and who will take them, within the contract.
4. Decide which risks can come off the register because they've been avoided or have passed.

The Project Manager then revises the register and issues it. Any Works Information change that a decision calls for is instructed along with the revised register (16.4).

Who attends

The Project Manager and Contractor are the core. Others can come too, provided both of them are content (16.2). Useful additions, depending on the risk, are:

• the Supervisor, for quality or testing risks;
• a key Subcontractor, where they know the problem best;
• a designer, the Employer's operational staff or a utility company;
• the planner, as most decisions affect the programme.

Keep attendance to those who can help with today's items. Invite specialists for their item only, so that they aren't sitting through the rest.

How to run one

Before

• Send the instruction to attend, with the date and the items for discussion.
• Circulate the current register.
• Ask each action owner for a short update.

Sample agenda (45 minutes)

Time	Item
5 min	Actions from last time: done, or not done and why
25 min	New and open risks, most urgent first: options, decision, owner, date
5 min	Risks that can be closed
5 min	Effect of any decision on the programme and any instruction needed
5 min	Date of the next meeting

After

• The Project Manager issues the revised register, and instructs any change at the same time. NEC3 sets no fixed period, but aim for a few days.
• Don't substitute minutes for the register. Clause 16.4 refers to the register.
• Check whether anyone needs to notify a compensation event as a result.

A worked example

A fictional NEC3 Option A contract for a footbridge. The Contractor warns that the steel fabricator's factory is running two weeks late, which could delay a road closure already booked.

Option raised	Effect	Decision
Rebook the closure	Four-week wait, as closure slots are limited	No
Night shift at the fabricator	Recovers most of the delay, at the Contractor's cost	Yes
Deliver in two parts and finish one on site	A change to the Works Information, needing an instruction	Hold as a fallback

The register records the actions: the Contractor confirms the night shift by Friday, and the Project Manager checks a fallback closure date with the highway authority. Because no Works Information change has been made, no compensation event arises from the meeting.

What makes these meetings go wrong

• They aren't called. With no minimum interval, set your own, for example monthly, and agree it early. That habit also prepares a team for NEC4.
• They turn into arguments about who pays. The meeting's purpose is to deal with the risk. Entitlement goes through compensation events, separately.
• They get merged into a progress meeting. Keep a separate agenda item and a separate record, or risk items get squeezed out.
• Actions stray beyond the contract. The clause talks about actions under the contract. A meeting can't itself change the Prices or a date, so if a decision needs a change, use the contract's route.
• They come too late. A meeting a month after the warning has often missed the cheap options. Either side can call one at any time.

The principles carry over to NEC4, and the early warning meetings guide covers the newer rules.

Related guides

• NEC4 Contracts: A Complete Guide
• Works Information vs Scope
• Employer vs Client in NEC
• The History of NEC Contracts
• Moving From NEC3 to NEC4
• The NEC3 Risk Register

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.