FIDIC glossary · Procedures
Tests after Completion
Tests after Completion
In short
Operational tests after taking-over (Yellow/Silver, Clause 12) confirming design performance.
What is a Tests after Completion?
Tests after Completion check the operating performance of the facility after the Works have been taken over, during the defects notification period. They appear mainly in the Yellow and Silver Books, where the Contractor is responsible for the design and therefore for whether the plant actually performs as promised.
The rationale is that some characteristics cannot be verified at handover: output at different operating regimes, energy consumption, product yield, equipment availability. Establishing those needs a period of real operation.
That creates a difficulty absent from Tests on Completion: the Employer is already operating the facility. So the contract allocates duties — the Employer provides the test conditions and personnel, the Contractor attends and is given access. Where the Employer operates the plant incorrectly and the figures are missed, responsibility becomes contested.
The consequence of failure is usually financial rather than rejection: the contract sets performance damages for missing guaranteed figures, often with a formula. Their level and cap need checking before signature — on large industrial projects this is one of the most material risk items in the whole contract.
Where it sits in the contract
Related terms
Need this read against your own contract?
This explains how the mechanism works in the standard form. How it works in your contract, after the Particular Conditions, is a separate question.
Talk to an expert →A reference explanation of the FIDIC standard conditions. Not legal advice, and not a reproduction of the FIDIC books.