Scope of works

A good scope of works reads alongside the drawings and specification and closes the gaps between them. It typically covers these items.

• Description of the works. What is being built or supplied, and where.

• Inclusions. Specific items the contractor must provide, including temporary works, testing and documentation.

• Exclusions. What is not included, and who provides it instead.

• Interfaces. Where this package meets other trades, and who is responsible at each boundary.

• Standards and documents. The drawings, specification sections and Australian Standards that apply.

• Deliverables. Shop drawings, ITPs, certificates, as-builts and O&M manuals required, and when.

• Attendances and site conditions. Access, hoisting, power, waste, working hours and site rules.

The scope is written before tendering and issued with the RFT or RFQ so every tenderer prices the same thing. During tender evaluation it is the reference for levelling: exclusions in a tender are compared back to the scope to see what is missing.

Once the contract is signed, the scope becomes the baseline. Work inside it is part of the contract price. Work outside it, when properly directed, is a variation. Most scope disputes come down to whether something was in or out, which is why clear inclusions, exclusions and interface wording matter.

The scope also drives the rest of the project. Site managers use it to check what a trade is meant to deliver before work starts, contract administrators use it when assessing claims and variations, and it decides who fixes gaps found at handover. A scope written well at tender stage saves arguments for the life of the job.

The specification describes how the work must be done: materials, workmanship, testing and standards. The scope of works describes what work is in this package and where its boundaries are. A specification can apply to many packages; a scope is written for one.

On head contracts, the scope is often called the works description or principal's project requirements, especially under design and construct. On subcontracts, the head contractor writes a trade scope for each package.

A bill of quantities, where one is used, sits alongside both. It measures how much of each item is in the scope, but it does not define the boundaries of the package on its own.

• Copying last job's scope. Old scopes carry items that do not apply and miss ones that do.

• Leaving interfaces unassigned. Gaps between trades, such as penetrations, making good or temporary protection, end up as variations or disputes.

• Relying on 'everything necessary'. Catch-all wording is hard to enforce and invites qualified tenders.

• No exclusions list. If it does not say what is excluded, tenderers will say it for you, each differently.

Writing it after tenders are in. A scope that changes after pricing means the tenders no longer compare, and the winning price may not cover the real work.