The NEC Service Manager manages a Term Service Contract (TSC) for the Client, and it combines what the Project Manager and the Supervisor do on a works contract. It accepts the plan, issues Task Orders for work beyond the routine service, deals with compensation events and handles tests and Defects.
The role also appears in the NEC4 Professional Service Contract (PSC), where it acts for the Client in dealing with a Consultant. This page concentrates on the TSC, using NEC4 clause numbers. For how it compares with other roles, see who does what on an NEC contract.
How it differs from a Project Manager
| Subject | Project Manager (ECC) | Service Manager (TSC) |
|---|---|---|
| Quality role | Separate Supervisor | No Supervisor: the Service Manager does this part |
| What is delivered | Works, by a Completion Date | A service over a Service Period |
| How work is ordered | Already in the Scope | Set out in the Scope; extra work by Task Order (19.1) |
| Time tool | Accepted Programme | The Accepted Plan, and Task Order programmes where needed |
| What delay is measured against | The Completion Date or a Key Date | A Task Completion Date (63.6) |
| Compensation event list | 60.1(1) to 60.1(21) | 60.1(1) to 60.1(18), with different content |
| Defects Certificate and searches | Yes | None |
Task Orders
A Task Order is the Service Manager's instruction to carry out a Task. It describes the work and gives its dates, and it may include delay damages. It is priced from the Price List or by a quotation, which the Service Manager can instruct before issuing the order (19.1). A Task Order isn't a compensation event (19.8), although changing a Task after it is issued can be, under 60.1(1). And a Task Order that reaches the Contractor later than its starting date is a compensation event under 60.1(4).
NEC's own user guide warns against confusing Task Orders with work the Scope already triggers or times, so don't issue one for routine service. The Service Manager also needs discipline in issuing orders on time and saying clearly what is included. More in the Task Orders guide. In the NEC3 TSC, Task Orders sit in Option X19; NEC4 moved them into core clause 19.
Other duties
- Change a Task, the Scope or the Affected Property by instruction (14.3), and correct mistakes in the Price List (14.5).
- Update the Early Warning Register after each meeting (15.4).
- Say how an ambiguity or inconsistency is resolved (17.1).
- Reply to the plan (31.3) and instruct a revised plan when needed (32.2).
- Instruct a stop or a restart (36.1).
- Instruct the correction of a failure to follow the quality plan (40.3).
- Carry out its tests and inspections (clause 41) and accept a Defect where this is agreed (44.2).
- Assess the amount due (50.1), certify payments (51.1) and make the final assessment after the end of the Service Period (53.1).
A worked example
A fictional highways maintenance contract. The Service Manager needs a damaged barrier replaced within seven days.
- The Price List has items for this kind of work, so no quotation is needed. The Service Manager issues the Task Order, with a starting date and Task Completion Date.
- The Contractor adds the Task to its plan and does the work.
- Traffic control then asks for night working, which changes the Task. The Service Manager instructs this. It is a compensation event under 60.1(1), with its effect assessed in the usual way.
- The Service Manager inspects the finished work. A loose fixing is a Defect, and the Contractor corrects it quickly enough to limit the harm (43.3).
The same person gives the order, deals with the change and checks the quality. That is efficient, but only if the records keep each step clear, particularly on a large network with hundreds of small Tasks.
What goes wrong
- Using ECC templates. Clause numbers differ: prevention, stopping work and the event list are not the same.
- Assuming periods match. Some do: eight weeks to notify an event (61.3), three to quote (62.3) and two to reply (62.3). The period for reply is your Contract Data entry, and each Task has its own dates.
- Issuing Task Orders late or vaguely. Each one creates cost and time consequences.
- Forgetting the plan. A plan that no longer reflects the service leaves disputes without a baseline.
NEC3 and other forms
NEC3 TSC has a Service Manager too, with the Employer and the Service Information in place of the Client and the Scope. The NEC3 Professional Services Contract has no Service Manager: the Employer deals with the Consultant directly. NEC4 PSC gave the role to a named Service Manager. For a side-by-side view of the forms, read ECC vs TSC and the Term Service Contract guide. For the supplier's side of a PSC, see the Consultant.
Related guides
- NEC Roles: Who Does What on an NEC Contract
- The Consultant Under the PSC
- The Adjudicator
- Senior Representatives
- The Contractor's Duties Under NEC
- The Client's Role Under NEC
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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.