ADAPTATION OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR STANDARD CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKS FOR USE AS A STANDARD FACILITIES MANAGEMENT CONTRACT

Abstract

The Contract is an agreement that delineates obligations of the parties and are recognisable at law. In the Facilities Management industry in Singapore, there is a lack of a standard contract form between the Facilities Management Company and the Facilities Management Service Provider. Contracts for Facilities Management services may be drafted by a lawyer. Subsequently, these contracts form the basis for modification by the procurer’s contracts department when procuring Facilities Management services. Such a practice leads to the fragmentation of contract terms across the Facilities Management industry. Ambiguity might also be created due to such modifications. This is not an issue should the contract be discharged successfully by performance. However, should a dispute arise, the contractual provisions may be inadequate in resolving these disputes and the parties often must resort to legal action to resolve the dispute. This incurs cost that leads to inefficiency. Literature review was conducted in three key aspects in this dissertation. First, an analysis of a standard form of contract in the Built Environment industry – the Public Sector Standard Conditions of Contract was undertaken. Second, Facilities Management procurement practices were examined to determine the key interest of the stakeholders in the Facilities Management industry. Lastly, the Law on contractual interpretation in England and Singapore was examined. Interviews were also conducted with Facilities Management practitioners to gain insights and opinions into the Facilities Management industry. Based on the research finding, a modification of the Public Sector Standard Conditions of Contract was undertaken by the author for use as a standard contract form between the Facilities Management company and the Service Provider.