ALEXANDRIA, Va., November 20, 2020 – The Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC®) this week released a new document: EJCDC® E-505 2020, Agreement Between Owner and Engineer for Professional Services—Task Order Edition .

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EJCDC E-505 defines individual task orders for specific professional assignments. In a task order, the Owner and Engineer agree to task-specific terms, such as scope of services, schedule, and compensation, for each specific assignment. When a task order is issued, no drafting or negotiating is needed for provisions such as indemnification, insurance, claims, dispute resolution, suspension, or termination because these provisions will have been negotiated previously and set in place in the E-505 Main Agreement and its exhibits.

The E-505 is designed to be used for multiple or recurring assignments (“tasks”) related to one or several projects, and is similar to the E-500 Agreement Between Owner-Engineer for Professional Services in structure, terminology, and conditions.

Updates to the EJCDC E-505 include enhanced and re-organized exhibits to the E-505 Main Agreement and Task Order form to reflect evolving contract practice and improve ease of use. This edition is published in four parts, which are included in a downloadable zip file. EJCDC believes this format will help users manage the drafting of both the Main Agreement and subsequent Task Orders, and efficiently organize the topics and exhibits. The four parts are as follows:

• Part 1: Main Agreement—The main agreement is the controlling agreement form.  It contains the general terms and conditions that apply to all subsequently issued Task Orders.
• Part 2: Exhibits to Main Agreement—The exhibits are intended to supplement the main agreement and as such will have general application to all task orders.
• Part 3: Task Order Form—This form is used by the Owner and Engineer to define the scope of services for a specific task to be performed by the engineer, to specify the engineer’s compensation for performing the task, and the schedule for completion of the services.
• Part 4: Exhibits to the Task Order—There are four exhibits intended for use with specific task orders:
  • Exhibit A, Engineer’s Services Under Task Order. Defining the specific scope of the engineer’s services is a critical element of each task order.
  • Exhibit B, Deliverables Schedule for Task Order. This new exhibit presents an organized schedule of the Engineer’s deliverables and the Owner’s review times.
  • Exhibit D, Duties, Responsibilities, And Limitations of Authority of Resident Project Representative Under Task Order. 
  • Exhibit E, EJCDC® C 626, Notice of Acceptability of Work form. By including this form as an exhibit, both Owner and Engineer acknowledge the scope and limitations of this critical determination.

The 2020 edition of EJCDC® E-505 remains in the legacy format and delivery system.  Formatted in easy-to-use Microsoft Word, there is no software to install or learn, saving users precious time and money.  EJCDC documents are downloaded at the time of purchase and saved directly to the user’s computer.  They can be customized easily to suit each project’s unique goals and regulatory requirements.

The Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC®) is a joint venture of major organizations of professional engineers and contractors:

•       the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE);

•       the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE); and

•       the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). Since 1975, EJCDC has developed and updated fair and objective standard documents that represent the latest and best thinking in contractual relations between all parties involved in engineering design and construction projects. Purchase EJCDC documents online at nspe.org/ejcdc