Forms of Contract

IChemE has published Forms of Contract for over 40 years. There are two contract suites available:

• forms for use in the UK
• forms for international use

Both suites have been drafted by a team of highly experienced professionals involved in all aspects of process plant contracts, both in the UK and in many other parts of the world. The contract forms have been formulated to reflect best practice and relationships within the process plant sector. 

IChemE's contracts are used extensively across a wide range of process industries and are suitable for the provision of any performance-based plant or project.

Performance-based contracts

IChemE's Forms of Contract are specifically prepared for the process industries. Unlike other sectors in which the result of a project is an entity in itself, plant built for the process industries requires extensive completion and performance testing provisions to prove that it will perform to a certain standard. This performance-based approach is an underlying philosophy of the Forms of Contract suite and is a key distinguishing feature compared to other widely-available contract series. Whilst prepared primarily for the process industries, the Forms of Contract are frequently used in the nuclear, pharmaceuticals, water, tunneling and electrical industries where plant performance is a key factor.

Co-operative approach

The process industries depend on co-operation between all involved parties – each contributing essential expertise to the design, construction and operation of the plant. As a result, the process industries have never been beset with disputes common in other sectors. The Forms of Contract adopt the basic philosophy that parties should co-operate to achieve the mutual objective of a successful project, but should a dispute arise they include very clear procedures for their resolution. They provide a fair and balanced framework where each party can understand its responsibilities and achieve its objectives without confrontation.