In July, 2019, ConsensusDocs published the new Standard Master Subcontract Agreement Between Constructor and Subcontractor, as well as the Standard Project Work Order. The new standard master agreement (ConsensusDocs 755) allows parties to negotiate the standard terms and conditions of their working relationship once, and then issue multiple project work orders (ConsensusDocs 756) without having to negotiate specific legal terms. General terms and conditions addressing such terms as indemnification, notice requirements, and dispute resolution only have to be negotiated once. Project specific terms, which are often negotiated by project field employees as well as insurance and bonding requirements are addressed in the project work order.

Joe McAllister, General Counsel for Hughes General Contractors in Salt Lake, Utah chaired the ConsensusDocs master subcontract working group and noted, “For many reasons, including the expanded use of alternative project delivery methods and subcontractor prequalification procedures, the use of master subcontract agreements has become the prevalent practice in our market, so these new ConsensusDocs master subcontract documents will be very useful to us, and we plan to use them often.”

Renowned contract expert and Executive Director of ConsensusDocs, Brian Perlberg, commented, “We are very excited for the release of the new Standard Master Subcontract. The documents will allow parties to spend less time revisiting subcontracting terms and will reduce the transactional costs of hiring outside counsel review project work orders. I expect that these two new documents will be two of the most used standard contracts within our catalog of 100 best practice contacts due to the interest and need that I see throughout the industry.”
A webinar to explain these documents was recorded earlier this year and can be found below.