Last edited 23 Jun 2021

NEC4 Facilities Management Contracts

1 Introduction
2 The development process
3 Scope of NEC4 FM contracts
4 IWFM involvement
5 Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
6 External resources

[edit] Introduction

On 21 June 2021, NEC and the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) announced the publication of the final edition of the NEC4 suite of facilities management contracts (FM contracts).

The pre-publication version of the NEC4 FM contracts was announced on 26 January 2021. Subsequently, the preliminary version was supported by the publication of two NEC white papers designed to provide information about key features. The white papers included:

Key Features of the NEC4 Facilities Management Contracts (January 2021).
NEC4 TSC and FMC Compared (May 2021).

[edit] The development process

The final edition of the set of contracts is intended for the procurement of facilities management FM services. It supports a range of approaches including total FM/integrated services FM contracts, managing contractor FM contracts and single and/or multiple supplier FM contracts.

It was created to help identify best practices in the sector and establish the way forward. The contracts and their supporting documents will help the FM sector to offer more integrated and consistent procurement strategies, add value to the supply chain and develop stronger, more collaborative relationships and ways of working.

[edit] Scope of NEC4 FM contracts

The NEC4 FM contracts suite consists of four contracts, six user guides and two flow charts as well as introductory training from NEC. It covers most FM procurement and delivery strategies.

The components of the suite can be used in a wide variety of commercial situations or locations and are written in clear, simple terms. The four contracts of the full suite include:

Facilities Management Contract (FMC) - to be used by a client to appoint a provider to manage and deliver any type of facilities management services.
Facilities Management Subcontract (FMS) - to be used by a FM provider to appoint a subcontractor to help deliver its service.
Facilities Management Short Contract (FMSC) - to be used to appoint an FM provider to deliver any type of straightforward, low-risk services which do not require sophisticated management techniques.
Facilities Management Short Subcontract (FMSS) - to accompany the FMSC and cover the same services for subcontractors.

[edit] IWFM involvement

IWFM supported the development of the suite through its IWFM NEC steering group. This group made significant contributions during the three-year development process by offering insight as well as workplace examples for NEC4 FM contracts and its supporting documents.

The project built on many years of collaborations between the two organisations on NEC3 contracts and brought together parallel work streams from both groups. It combined NEC research to identify best practices in the FM industry - including stakeholder workshops with IWFM members, as well as consultations with specific stakeholders - with a need identified by IWFM volunteers within its International and Procurement Special Interest Groups (ISIG) for a new approach to FM industry standard contracts. In particular, the 2016 ISIG-supported Leaders Forum, Outsourcing Across Borders, outlined the rationale and benefits of an FM standard contract.

NEC and IWFM produced a series of practice notes to help the FM community use the contracts. These practice notes address region-specific issues and support users in dealing with emerging considerations, such as the 2020/2021 COVID-19 pandemic.