Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) and the Municipal Engineers Association (MEA) have agreed to an updated version of the client/engineer standard agreement for professional consulting services.

The new agreement adds terms and conditions for adjudication and prompt payment, as per the Ontario Construction Act. It outlines equitable, consistent terms and conditions for municipal clients and consulting engineers.

The document itself is a fillable-field PDF that enables municipalities to customize the agreement for individual projects and to easily make necessary changes through supplementary conditions.

CEO has also created a companion user guide to provide clarification and guidance to municipalities and engineers who are entering into a contractual agreement to complete professional consulting services.

“The update reflects the current business landscape and enables Ontario’s municipalities to engage in a balanced procurement process by setting out reasonable terms and conditions that manage risk appropriately,” explains Bruce Matthews, CEO of CEO.

“We believe this document is a useful tool for municipalities to use as a template when retaining engineering consultants for services,” says Dan Cozzi, executive director of MEA.