two of the most commonly used international construction contracts are nec and fidic in this video we are going to compare the two using a report conducted by nec a comparison of nec and fidec before we begin if you enjoy these videos we'd be really grateful if you give us a thumbs up it lets the algorithm know this is a video worth watching fiddick is a french acronym for federation in english this translates to international federation of consulting engineers vidic was formed on the 22nd of july 1913 adopting the founding principles of quality integrity and sustainability it was founded by a trio of fancrephone countries belgium france and switzerland hence the french name the nec which stands for new engineering contract was formed much more recently with the first edition released in 1993 the nec is often considered a more progressive contract aiming to patch some of the downfalls of prior construction contracts the fidic is often described as a more traditional contract each contract appoints a person who acts on behalf of the employer for fidec they are known as the engineer and under nec they are known as the project manager one of the key similarities between nec and fidec is that they are both designed to be used internationally so let's look at how these contracts are administered differently we're going to split this down into two key areas time and cost time both contracts require the contractor to submit a program for the works to be undertaken both contracts also require the employer to stay at starting date completion date access dates and any sectional completions however the nec requires much higher level of detail containing key concepts such as float and time risk allowance the nec uses an initial program as a tool for how variations earned value management and progress of the project is assessed fidic requires the contractor to submit an initial detailed time program and to update this when the program becomes inconsistent with actual progress or contractors obligations this program is not used in any other provision affiliate under the nec it is imperative that there is always an up-to-date accepted program in place to ensure the contract runs smoothly a key feature of addressing risks to program extensions is early warnings under the nec these are submitted by either the project manager or contractor as soon as one or the other becomes aware of any event which could affect time cost or quality of the works these are usually followed by a risk mitigation meeting where parties will work collaboratively to mitigate risk a task which would be extremely difficult without an up-to-date program cost both nec and fidec make provisions for the price payable to the contractor to be based on a bill of quantities nec goes further with pricing methods by providing the option to choose how work is procured these include cost-based open book contracts such as cost reimbursable target cost options where profit and loss is shared between the employer and contractor lump sum and management contracting variations under fiddlic are known as variations slash claims and under nec they are known as compensation events fidic deals with time and cost variation separately unlike the nec where both time and cost are grouped together under the compensation event both contracts have different conditions for what constitutes a variation however fiddick provides a number of subjective tests to determine if events are grounds for recompense to the contractor nec on the other hand relies on more objective tests nec states the following an example of this is whether phydic refers to exceptional adverse climate conditions which is subjective whereas nec uses a worse than one in 10-year approach to weather which is objective to summarize fidec focuses on liabilities and risk in a more traditional manner opposed to nec which requires a more proactive and collaborative approach to managing the contract it should be noted that during recent time fiddick has been changing its style to become clearer a feature which is fundamental to the roots of nec ensuring text is drafted in plain english ensuring a reduction in nuances and ambiguities nec has been attempting to eliminate the use of legal terms where possible in replace of simple english which nec regards as giving words their natural meaning if you want to do some further reading we've left a link below to the report by nec reference throughout this video matron a commercial hub to your business