NEC sectional completion comes from secondary Option X5. It gives parts of the works their own completion dates, and applies the contract's Completion rules to each section as well as to the whole. Without Option X5, one Completion Date covers everything.
It works the same way in NEC3 ECC and NEC4 ECC. This page looks at what X5 means for the programme and for delay. The Option X5 page covers the Option as a contract choice, and the NEC programme guide gives the wider context.
What X5 changes
X5.1 is short. References to the works, Completion and the Completion Date can apply to a section as well as to the whole, unless the reference is expressly to the whole. Several rules follow from that:
| Rule | With X5 |
|---|---|
| Contract Data | A table of sections, with a description and completion date for each |
| Programme (31.2) | Each section's Completion Date and planned Completion |
| Certifying Completion (30.2) | Done for each section |
| Compensation event delay | Assessed against the section it affects, and possibly more than one |
| Option X7, if used | A daily rate for each section, set out in the Contract Data |
| Option X6, if used | A bonus rate for each section, plus any rate for the remainder |
| Take over (35) | Applies to each section, subject to the Contract Data entries |
Sections or Key Dates?
The two are often confused. A section reaches Completion, can have its own delay damages, and is taken over. A Key Date only needs a Condition to be met, and if it is missed, the Client recovers actual additional cost. Choose a section if the Client wants to use that part of the works independently. Choose a Key Date if it just needs someone else to be able to carry on.
A worked example
Take a fictional school campus built in two phases, with illustrative figures.
| Section | Description | Completion Date | Delay damages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New teaching block | 14 August | £2,000 per day |
| 2 | Demolition of old block, and external works | 18 December | £500 per day |
The Contractor reaches Completion of Section 1 ten days late, so damages for that section are £20,000. Later, a Client instruction delays planned Completion of Section 2 by three weeks. Only Section 2's date moves. The Section 1 damages aren't affected, unless that event also delayed Section 1. A programme that links sections, as this one does, will show if a Section 1 delay also pushes Section 2 and may produce two damages figures from one cause. That is part of why you should be careful when setting rates.
Defining sections well
- Make the boundaries physical and clear. "North car park, as shown on drawing 104" is better than "Phase 1 works".
- Say what Completion means for each section. Clause 11.2(2) looks to the Scope for what is done by the date. If the Scope lists only the whole, each section's test becomes unclear.
- Cover the whole. Either divide all the work between sections, or say what the remainder is and when it's due. The Contract Data allows for a remainder rate under Options X6 and X7.
- Check the rates are genuine. A section's damages should reflect what that section's delay means for the Client, and shouldn't simply divide a total between sections.
What happens on the programme
Each section needs its own milestones. Show the section's Completion Date and planned Completion, with any terminal float between them identified per section. Float on one section isn't normally available for another unless the logic links them. A Contractor that runs out of float on Section 1 can't point to spare time on Section 2.
In a quotation for a compensation event, give the delay per section, not just one figure. If the event affects only one section's programme, say that clearly and show the unaffected section's dates. Where the Project Manager thinks the effect is wider, this is where the discussion will happen. Using the programme to assess compensation events covers the method.
What people get wrong
- Forgetting X5 and adding dates elsewhere. Stating phase dates in the Scope doesn't create sections. Without X5 ticked and the table completed, they aren't Completion Dates.
- Using it for every milestone. Too many sections multiply certificates, take over dates and damages. Keep it to what the Client needs.
- Ignoring partial use. If the Client starts using part of a section early, clause 35.2 may mean it has taken over that part, and Option X7 has its own rule reducing damages after a take over (X7.3). See delay damages.
Related guides
- The NEC Programme: A Complete Guide
- Access Dates and Starting Work
- Acceleration Under NEC
- Using the Programme to Assess Compensation Events
- What Counts as Completion?
- Key Dates in NEC
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