Developed with contributions from National Ground Water Association (NGWA) member volunteers, ConsensusDocs recently released its new Agreement Between Owner and Geotechnical Consultant. Also known as ConsensusDocs 246, it provides a standard agreement for geotechnical consultants' services.

"With seemingly ever-increasing environmental regulation, the geotech agreement fills a need in the industry to protect owners and consultants alike in helping ensure both parties understand their roles and responsibilities," states Phil Beck, partner at Smith Currie & Hancock LLP, and chair of the geotech agreement working group.

The owner and geotechnical consultant agreement is intended to further the ConsensusDocs Coalition's goal of writing fairer contracts to deliver better project results with less litigation. The contracts take a project-first approach, and provide owners an active role in the construction process. ConsensusDocs are said to be written in a simpler, more understandable style to promote collaboration, and these are the only industry-standard contracts endorsed by 35 leading design and construction industry organizations, including NGWA.

ConsensusDocs offers a catalog of 90-plus contracts, addressing all methods of project delivery. Follow this link to learn more about these contracts.