Engineering, procurement, and construction management
"Engineering, Procurement, and Construction" (EPC) is a particular form of contracting arrangement used in some industries where the EPC Contractor is made responsible for all the activities from design, procurement, construction, to commissioning and handover of the project to the End-User or Owner. This form of contract is covered by FIDIC Silver book containing the title words "EPC/Turnkey". Other abbreviations used for this type of contract is "LSTK" for "Lump Sum Turn Key", and some times also "EPCC" which is short for "Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning". Use of EPC is common e.g. by FIDIC and most Gulf Countries. Use of LSTK is common in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Use of EPCC is common in Qatar and some other countries e.g. by Qatar Petrolem. Therefore an EPC, LSTK or EPCC are all same types of contracts a typical well known example of which is the Silver Book of FIDIC.
"Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management" (EPCM) is a special form of contracting arrangement for some projects within the infrastructure, mining, resources and energy industries. In an EPCM arrangement, the client selects a contractor who provides "management services" for the whole project on behalf of the client. The EPCM contractor coordinates all design, procurement and construction work and ensures that the whole project is completed as required and in time. The EPCM contractor may or may not undertake actual site work. Difference between EPC and EPCM are clarified by following statement by Jonathan Hosie in the cited paper:
"The acronym ‘EPCM’ is also encountered frequently on international projects, but this is very different from EPC. EPCM is a services-only contract, under which the contractor performs engineering, procurement and construction management services."
References
- "Turnkey contracting under the FIDIC Silver Book: What do owners want? What do they get?" (PDF).
- "Demystifying EPCM contracts – What's in an 'M'?". On Site. Minter Ellison. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- Hartman, Francis T. (2003). The Ten Commandments of Better Contracting: A Practical Guide to Adding Value to an Enterprise Through More Effective Smart Contracting. ASCE Publications. pp. 69–71. ISBN 9780784470985.