NEC4 Clause 32 (Revising the Programme)

NEC4 Clause 32 governs revisions to the Accepted Programme during delivery. The Contractor must submit a revised programme to the Project Manager at the interval stated in the Contract Data (typically every four to eight weeks), and additionally whenever instructed, whenever a compensation event is implemented, and whenever the Contractor's plans materially change. Each revised programme must show progress on each operation since the previous submission, the effect of implemented compensation events, how the Contractor plans to deal with delays and risks notified by either party, and any other changes the Contractor proposes.

Once submitted, the revised programme goes through the same acceptance process as the original — the Project Manager has two weeks to accept it or state reasons for non-acceptance, with the same four restricted reasons under Clause 31. An accepted revised programme replaces the previous Accepted Programme and becomes the new contractual reference. Failure by the Contractor to submit revisions when required is a breach of contract; failure by the Project Manager to respond within two weeks is itself a compensation event under Clause 60.1(9). Both sides have skin in the game on programme currency.

In practice, Clause 32 discipline is where most NEC4 contracts succeed or fail at managing time. A contract running on a stale Accepted Programme — six months old, no compensation events implemented since baseline, progress claimed against a Gantt that no longer reflects what is being built — has lost its primary time-management instrument. Subsequent compensation event assessments become arguments about which version of the programme to use, delay analysis is reduced to retrospective reconstruction, and disputes escalate. Project controls teams should treat the Clause 32 cycle as the heartbeat of NEC4 contract administration: submit on time, update genuinely (not cosmetically), and reconcile to implemented compensation events every cycle.