INGENIEUR
5.2
The Contractor shall submit to the CA
sufficient information as may be considered
reasonable by the CA to interpret, evaluate
and give acceptance to the Method
Statement.
5.3
The Contractor shall, whenever required by
the CA, furnish for its information further and
more detailed particulars of the Contractor’s
Method Statement …
In practice, the following should be the
recommended contents of a Method Statement:14
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a description of work, i.e. overall and/or
particular work to be undertaken;
identification of the party/parties under the
said work;
the duration of the activity or activities;15
cross-reference of the activity or activities to
the Work Programme;
a risk assessment for each operation or
activity of the work to be undertaken;
the control and safety measures for the said
activity or activities cross-references to the
applicable statutory provision/by-laws;
the identification of the actual place where the
activity is to be undertaken;
the identification of the access and safe areas
for the activity to be undertaken; and
identification and description of any special
considerations, e.g. permits/ approvals from
authorities, protection of third parties,16
security systems, resources required,17 etc.
Time for Submission
In tandem with the requirement for the Work
Programme, the contractor is obliged to submit
the Method Statement as expressly stated in
the contract. The majority of the standard forms
of contract as alluded to above, have included
specific periods for the submission of the General
Method Statement for the overall works, e.g.
within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the Letter
14
15
16
17
6
76
See Fenwick Elliott LLP Dictionary of Construction Terms
p 175.
Including when these are to be undertaken.
E.g., the public, etc.
E.g., human resources, plant, equipment, etc.
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of Acceptance,18 etc. In the absence of any
such specific time period being stipulated in the
contract, the contractor is obliged to do so at
the same time as the submission of the Work
Programme19or within a reasonable time of the
acceptance of the tender.
In regard to a Method Statement pertaining to
a specific activity, here it is necessary for the
contractor to follow any specific time periods
stipulated in the contract; failing which the
contractor must follow any time lines ascribed
to that particular activity in the Accepted20 Work
Programmes. In doing so, the contractor must be
mindful of the fact that it must allow sufficient
time for the Contract Administrator to undertake
the approval21 process as it may compromise its
remedies for any ensuing delays.
Failure to Submit Method Statement
Although most of the standard form provisions
pertaining to the contractor’s obligation to submit
Method Statements are written in mandatory
language, they however fail to state the sanctions
or consequences of the contractor’s default
in meeting the said obligations. Here, similar
considerations to the contractor’s failure in
respect of the submission of the Work Programme
should be equally applicable. What is clear is that
the following matters may be relevant:
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18
19
20
21
22
23
Where the Contractor fails to submit
the General/Overall Method Statement,
the Contractor cannot be stopped from
commencing or proceeding with the Works22
but this default may compromise any of its
consequential claims.
Should the failure be in relation to a specific
activity or operation, the consequences of the
default can be in the following forms:
»» the application of any contractual sanction
or remedy, e.g. suspension of the specific
work/activity, determining the Contractor’s
employment,23 etc. and
See clause 12.1(b) JKR Form 203 & 203A (Rev 1/2010).
See Item 5.1 Appendix B, The SCL Protocol p 68.
Or Approved.
Or acceptance, e.g. evaluating, processing, etc.
Unless the contract expressly stipulates to the contrary.
If such a ground is expressly permitted.