Introduction To Standard of Care

Introduction to Standard of
Care
FIDIC Briefing note
October 2021
Contents
Introduction to Standard of Care ............................................................................................................ 2
Standard of care .................................................................................................................................. 2
Scope of services ................................................................................................................................. 2
Compliance WTH standards ................................................................................................................ 2
Fitness for purpose ............................................................................................................................. 2
Risk ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Insurances ........................................................................................................................................... 2
FIDIC recommends: ............................................................................................................................. 3
About FIDIC ............................................................................................................................................. 4
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Introduction to Standard of Care
Standard of care
Consulting Engineers have a contractual duty of care to their clients; that is, they are required to
exercise a “standard of care”. The standard of care is a level of reasonable, skill, care and diligence,
in other words the standard of care should be that of the ordinary skilled man exercising and
professing to have that special skill. Consulting Engineers should make note that Clients may want to
refine the contractual standard of care by imposing a higher standard of care requirement, such as a
fitness for purpose obligation. Consulting Engineers should be conscious of accepting any absolute
obligations, FIDIC recommends that Consulting Engineers carefully read the scope of services to
ensure that a higher standard of care obligation is not accepted.
Scope of services
Consulting Engineers are regularly required to perform their services on the basis of information
provided by the Client. Appointments frequently place obligations on Consulting Engineers to review
such information and advise the Client of any errors, omissions, or ambiguities. Consulting Engineers
should review the wording in their appointment to ensure that there is link between the standard of
care required to the standard that would be expected of a consultant experienced in performing the
same services. Consulting Engineers must also ensure that they are not exceeding the scope of
services, or at least if the Consulting Engineer does undertake other tasks in the course of a project,
they are aware of the risks of doing so. The primary duties, including the standard of care, and the
nature and extent of those duties in carrying out the services should be set out in the appointment
and detailed within the scope of services.
Compliance WITH standards

Consulting Engineers should have working knowledge of the standards applicable to their
appointments and comply with any guidelines published by relevant professional institutions.
Consulting Engineers should also consider whether the standard of care applies to all, or only some,
of the duties and obligations under their appointment.
Fitness for purpose

In some circumstances, Consulting Engineers may be required to meet a standard of fitness for
purpose in performing their duties and obligations. FIDIC notes that Consulting Engineers are not
recommended to accept fitness for purpose obligations as these are considered higher standards
than the level of reasonable, skill, care and diligence. Where such provisions are accepted, FIDIC
recommends Consulting Engineers check with their insurance providers and confirm that their
insurances can be extended to cover the fitness for purpose obligation; otherwise, the Consulting
Engineer risks that if a claim is made against it in respect of the obligation, it will not have recourse
to its insurance.
Risk
Consulting Engineers should always assess their risk under an appointment and limit their liability to
that risk. Review of the limitation of liability clause is necessary to make certain that the liability is
broad enough to incorporate the full scope of the services; this is a necessary component of the
Consulting Engineer’s risk management strategy.
Insurances
The Appointment between the parties should record the nature of insurances necessary for the
Consulting Engineer to be able to indemnify the Client and any third parties against failure to
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discharge responsibilities. The Consulting Engineer has a responsibility to (i) set the balance in the
Appointment to avoid exceeding the insurable limits of liability and (ii) ensure that the liability is
limited to the available insurance taken out under the Appointment. FIDIC recommends that
Consulting Engineers review the exclusions and restrictions of all insurance policies to ensure that
the limits of liability are compatible with the insurance coverage.
FIDIC recommends:
1. The Client and the Consulting Engineer should document their Appointment for the
provisions of services, modelled on the FIDIC Client/Consultant Model Services Agreement
(the “White Book”), with reference to the accompanying Guide to the use of that document.
2. The Appointment should clearly define, amongst other things:

a. the scope of service to be provided by the Consulting Engineer,
b. the responsibilities and risks to be borne respectively by both the Client and the
Consulting Engineer; and
c. the nature and maximum amount of insurances upon the failure of either party to
the other in carrying out their respective responsibilities.
3. The limit of liability should be capped to the amount of the insurance cover taken out by the
Consulting Engineer.
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About FIDIC
FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, is the global representative body for
national associations of consulting engineers and represents over one million engineering
professionals and 40,000 firms in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Founded in 1913, FIDIC is charged with promoting and implementing the consulting engineering
industry’s strategic goals on behalf of its Member Associations and to disseminate information and
resources of interest to its members. Today, FIDIC membership covers over 100 countries of the
world.
FIDIC Member Associations operate in over 100 countries with a combined population in excess of
6.5bn people and a combined GDP in excess of $30tn. The global industry including construction is
estimated to be worth over $22tn this means that FIDIC member associations across the various
countries are an industry are worth over $8.5tn.
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International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC)
World Trade Center II, Geneva Airport P.O. Box 311 CH-1215 Geneva 15 - Switzerland
Tel. +41 22 799 4900 - Fax +41 22 799 4901
Email: [email protected] www.FIDIC.org
Disclaimer
This document was produced by FIDIC and is provided for informative purposes only. The contents of this
document are general in nature and therefore should not be applied to the specific circumstances of
individuals. Whilst we undertake every effort to ensure that the information within this document is complete
and up to date, it should not be relied upon as the basis for investment, commercial, professional or legal
decisions.
The information in this document is not provided as substitute to seeking independent professional advice.
FIDIC accepts no liability in respect to any direct, implied, statutory, and/or consequential loss arising from the
use of this document or its contents. No part of this report may be copied either in whole or in part without
the express permission in writing.
Endnotes
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Compliance WITH standards

Fitness for purpose

2. The Appointment should clearly define, amongst other things:

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