NEC time bars don't wait. Neither should your records.

17 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, William Doyle MRICS explains how NEC contract culture, especially clause 10.2 which mandates acting in the spirit of mutual trust and cooperation, is reinforced by maintaining a single, collaboratively created set of records across the supply chain. He argues that a shared “single truth” simplifies trust, reduces disputes, and avoids the need for costly adjudication. Doyle emphasizes that proactive investment in robust record‑keeping is a more effective risk‑avoidance strategy than trying to mitigate risk after the fact, quoting his colleague Robert Jarrod’s advice to “not argue about facts.” The overall message is that disciplined, joint record capture underpins the NEC ethos and safeguards projects from unnecessary conflict.

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I think the culture, it's underpinned in 10.2, acting in the spirit of mutual trust and cooperation. So if we think about the behaviors that bring about trust, you know, having a good set of records that you— a single truth that you've collaborated on their capture and you've jointly established the mechanics around that, then that's bound to make that journey of trust a little more straightforward than having your own set. 2 or 3 sets, however many we might have depending on how broad the supply chain is. So that's important. I think also, you know, a bit like risk, avoiding it altogether is better than mitigating it. So if we've got good records, then we won't need to argue about the facts, do we, as my friend Robert Jarrod says. So let's try not to argue about facts. And my belief is probably that having invested in capturing good records will, will be far better than investing in lots of adjudication.