280
Date:
18.12.86
Time:
9
9.50 am
Reporter:
PMS
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MR MOTTRAM:
We are perfectly satisfied with the
construction method and so is the Architectural Office. We both
have already said that.
MR BURDETT:
I think, Sir, perhaps the difficulty
lies in defining the risk and duty which was undertaken by the
contractor when he put in his tender. Traditionally in the building industry and as a matter of law, the contractor is
entirely responsible for workmanship and materials indeed, so
that any difficulty he is having with workmanship he ought not
to seek guidance, he ought not to have to seek guidance from
consultants. But consultants have to be very careful when a contractor does start to seek guidance because if they become too involved it then remains open to the contractor afterwards
to say that the consultants had taken upon themselves respons- ibilities which essentially lay with the contractor. And all, in my experience anyway, all architects and engineers are very
sensitive to that particular danger.
MR CHEONG:
As a layman, could I be guided by
your definition of the role of a consultant in any particular
project.
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MR BURDETT:
Yes, Sir, the consultant normally,
particularly in jobs like this, is responsible for a design.
He is also responsible for liaison between the contractor and the employer, in this case Government. He is also responsible for taking a view as to whether or not the job is proceeding
along the lines of the specifications and if it is not proceeding
along the lines of the specifications, whether or not he should advise the employer to take action. But that does not necessarily include day to day supervision if the employer himself has supplied the official who is responsible for day to day supervision, namely a Clerk of Works. In other words, the consultant is not responsible for standing over the contractor and making sure he does every single thing as the specifications require. It is the contractor's
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