This year the Joint Building Contracts Committee® NPC (JBCC®) proudly celebrates its 25th Anniversary in the Built Environment sector and to commemorate this prestigious milestone we are hosting our Users Conference and Gala Dinner to be held on Wednesday, 26th October 2022 at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Whilst the use of standard forms of construction contract goes back to the 19th Century, in 1931 the United Kingdom published the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) publication which was used in South Africa and was called the “Agreement and Schedule of Conditions of Building Contract.”
However, with the effluxion of time this contract was no longer suitable for local conditions and work on the Major Contractors Contract (MCC) was started by the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT). In 1984, the JBCC was formed to take over the work of the JCT after it was disbanded, the 17th draft of the MCC was further worked on by the JBCC and in 1991 the first JBCC publication was released.
From its humble beginnings although established in 1984, the Joint Building Contracts Committee® NPC (JBCC®) was registered in 1997 as a Non-Profit Company. The Committee is representative of building owners and developers, professional consultants and general and specialist contractors who contribute their knowledge and experience to the compilation of the JBCC documents that:
- portray the consensus view of the constituent members;
- are published in the interests of standardisation and good practice
- with an equitable distribution of contractual risk
- for use throughout Africa – and elsewhere!
All JBCC® documents have been approved by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and for use by national, provincial and local authorities in South Africa.
JBCC Board Chairman, Kumarsen Thamburan remarked: “We have achieved this milestone through the hard work and dedication of our Constituents and our culture of service that exists throughout the entire organization. We have dedicated ourselves to 25 years of product innovation to provide our Users with the highest quality documents and construction contracts. Throughout 2022, we have been considering where we started, what we have achieved, and what our plans are for the future. Our rebranding will be robustly marketed with the JBCC being the contract of choice in the construction sector.”
The JBCC continues to adapt, add, refine, and develop to set the standard for construction contracts, focusing on providing modern contract products and services for a modern construction industry.
This collaborative effort is vital to JBCC’s identity and function and makes it unique within the industry as a contract authoring body.
Proudly South African, the JBCC has retained its status as South Africa’s leading provider of contract documentation, by continually modernising, developing, and reflecting changing construction industry practices.
The suite includes :
- The Principal Building Agreement with Contract Data for Private and State use,
- the Nominated and Selected Subcontract Agreement,
- the Small and Simple Works Agreement,
- the Minor Works Agreement and
- the Direct Contractors Agreement
- guidance documents, practice notes, standard forms and guarantees.
The possibility of a Design and Build Contract is being explored with the newly constituted Drafting Committee of the JBCC.
Alongside the contracts, JBCC plays an important role to provide information in the form of Questions and Answers from Users and Industry, education and training resources in respect of the contract process thereby improving the use and understanding of the JBCC Suite of Contracts at all levels of the industry.
Today, one of JBCC’s primary objectives is assisting the industry with its transition to digital working and ensuring that a flexible range of options is available for construction professionals working with the JBCC contracts.
Currently, the entire suite of the JBCC contracts are available via the Contracts On Demand digital service.
