JCCD - Joint Committee on Contract Documents

The Joint Committee on Contract Documents (JCCD) assembles and publishes the Standard Specification for Municipal Services in Nova Scotia.

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Standard Specification Documents

The Joint Committee on Contract Documents (JCCD) assembles and publishes the Standard Specification for Municipal Services in Nova Scotia.  This document is the product of a consensus building process aimed at balancing the interests of all parties on the construction project.

This document reflects the combined efforts of a group of Nova Scotia consultants, contractors, owner representatives and regulatory agencies who make up the Joint Committee on Contract Documents and aims to respond to problems voiced within the municipal servicing industry.

The document reflects industry practices. Users are cautioned that the Standard Specification does not deal with any specific project, situation or circumstance.  They have developed and maintain on a current basis the Standard Specification to provide uniform standards for the construction of municipal services throughout Nova Scotia.

Our Goal

The main goal of this document is to bring about significant reductions in the cost of design and construction of municipal services through:

Uniform Practices

The development of uniform practices;

Cost Savings

The reduction of retraining personnel transferred from one project to another.

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Project Readiness

The elimination of the need to prepare full specification documents for each project;

Ease Of Use

The reduction of disputes over misinterpretations

History

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The Standard Specification for Municipal Services was first issued in 1985. It began with a “joint committee” being formed consisting of representatives from the Nova Scotia Consulting Engineers Association (NSCEA) and the Nova Scotia Road Builders Association (NSRBA). Members of this original Joint Committee consisted of Contractors from various local firms as well as Engineers from both Consulting firms and public municipal authorities.

The need for the Standard Specification arose from the frustrations experienced by Contractors who were engaged in sewer and water installations throughout the Province of Nova Scotia with Project Documents (Drawings and Specifications) produced by several different engineering consultants.  They were finding that every set of contract documents, although correct in design, were inconsistent in their methodology. They also found differences in bidding requirements, material specifications, payment descriptions and many other inconsistencies causing misunderstanding and consequently in many cases, conflict. These contractors approached their own association, the NSRBA, who then approached the NSCEA, and hence, the Joint Committee was formed.

The assignment of the Joint Committee was to produce a standard document that was to be used for the construction of all municipal infrastructure contracts in Nova Scotia based on the following guiding principles:

  • Development of uniform practices
  • Standardization of materials and methods
  • Elimination of out of date specifications
  • Standardized bidding requirements
  • Standardized measurement and payment clauses

It was the consensus of the Joint Committee that if the above criteria was met, the positive results would be many fold. Primarily it would result in a reduction in the cost of design and construction, facilitate the approval process, quicken the time of construction, and lead to the avoidance of disputes over misinterpretation.  After over 30 years of use and over one billion dollars of capital construction being done through these specifications, it is safe to say that the original goals have been realized.

Initially, only a guide specification was produced by the Joint Committee. It told the authors of various specification sections what should and should not be included. This approach was found to be insufficient given the need for clarity and standardization within the industry. The mandate of the committee was expanded to produce a cover to cover technical specification complete with a construction contract. An agreement was reached with the Canadian Construction Documents Committee to licence CCDC 4 (and later CCDC 18) and ever since then the document has been updated annually and released to subscribers each spring before the onset of the construction season.

The Joint Committee on Contract Documents has continued their association with the NSRBA and NSCEA and has grown to include representation from Landscape Nova Scotia. Members of the committee still consist of contractors, consulting engineers, landscape architects, and owners (both public and private). We continue to strive to fulfill the guiding principles set by the original committee and will continue to promote the usage of the Standard Specification for Municipal Services.

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SUBSCRIBERS

450

VOLUMES IN USE

25000

EST. PROJECTS ACCESSED

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Our Committee Members

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PRESENT MEMBERS AFFILIATION
Ryan Barkhouse, P.Eng. Dexter Construction Limited
Tim Bouter, P.Eng. Municipality of the County of Kings
Jennifer Duncan, P.Eng. Nova Scotia Department of Municipal Affairs
Pat Fitzgerald, P.Eng. CBCL Limited
Kevin Gray, MURP, P.Eng. Halifax Water
Stan Kochanoff, MCIP, LPP, RCA/Environova Planning Group Inc. Landscape Nova Scotia/Environova Planning Group Inc.
Lew Landers, P.Eng. Municipality of East Hants
Roger LeBlanc, P.Eng. SNC-Lavalin Inc.
Jeff MacEwen, P.Eng. Halifax Regional Municipality

PRESENT MEMBERS AFFILIATION
Sandy McClearn, P.Eng.,PMP SNC-Lavalin Inc.
Bryce McLeod, P.Eng. Clayton Developments Limited
Gerald Murphy, P.Eng., PMP, GSC Dexter Construction Limited
Derek Normanton, P.Eng. Municipality of East Hants
Keith Purdy, P.Eng. Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
Lindsay Reimer, P.Eng. DesignPoint Engineering and Surveying Limited
Anne Sherwood, P.Eng. Halifax Regional Municipality
Pam Sullivan, P.Eng. Basin Contracting Limited
Brad Whebby Brycon Construction Limited

FAQ

If you are designing, tendering or plan on placing a bid on work in Nova Scotia that involves water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, roadwork (excluding 100 series highways), pumping stations, landscaping, or similar municipal based work you will likely require this document.
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If have any questions not listed above please send them to nsmunicipalservices@gmail.com or call (902)233-9362.

Contact

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Joint Committee on Contract Documents
18 Laurier Street
Dartmouth, NS B3A 2G7

Telephone: (902) 233-9362
Email: info@standardspec.ca

nsrba
landscape-nova-scotia
consulting engineers of nova scotia