3/19/2015
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
Project Delivery
Education Program
2015
The Construction Specifications Institute
www.csinet.org
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© The Construction Specifications Institute 2015
AIA
The Construction Specifications Institute is a Registered Provider with The American
Institute of Architects Continuing Education Systems. Credit earned on completion of
this program will be reported to CES Records for AIA members. Certificates of
Completion for non-AIA members available on request.
This program is registered with the AIA/CES for continuing professional education.
As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an
approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or
manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.
Questions related to specific materials, methods, and services will be addressed at
the conclusion of this presentation.
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Learning Objectives
•
To understand how construction documents define the rights
of, responsibilities of, and relationships between the parties.
•
To gain an insight how Contracts and the Documents work
together and influence one another at each stage.
•
To introduce the key provisions that govern the use of contract
documents.
•
Understand the role of non-contractual information
•
Understand the most common legal difficulties around the use
of construction documents.
The Construction Specifications Institute
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Current Issues
•
•
•
•
Recession thinking still lingers
Lower fees / Less profit to sustain work
Tighter construction budgets
Clients assuming more direct management of
construction
• Increased use of intermediaries
• A/E’s surrendering traditional roles and rights
• Non-standard contract language
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Effect on Documents
• Less experienced A/E’s doing more with less
supervision
• Reduced time for QA / coordination
• Dropping essential roles in order to retain work
• Undocumented changes
• “Loss” of Division 01 control
• Clients requesting non-contractual services
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CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
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Document “Quality”
•
•
Proper grammar
Simple sentence
construction
Avoid ambiguity
•
•
Clear
Correct
•
Accurate and precise
information
Selected words to
convey exact meanings
•
Eliminate unnecessary
words, but not at expense
of clarity, correctness, or
completeness
Concise
Complete
•
Important information not
left out
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
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11.3.5
Quality Assurance
• Firm Organization
• Quality Management
–
Selecting team members
–
Meetings
–
Establishing management
procedures
–
Checklists
–
Communications
–
Checking and crosschecking construction
documents
• Execution
–
Project design
–
Production of construction
documents
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
5.9
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The Nature of Documents
• Always a work in progress…
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Instruments of Service
Construction Documents
Procurement Documents
Contract Documents
Modifications
“Other” information
Record Documents
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Attributes of Construction
Documents
•
Are organized by the
accepted Contractual
relationships
•
Prepared to ease
understanding of
requirements
•
Prepared to facilitate the
roles of each party to the
Contract
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
11.1.2 and Figure 11.1
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Document Stages
• Construction Documents
change, based on the purpose
being served:
• Design
–
Next stage: Add procurement
information, Addenda.
• Procurement
–
Next stage: Negotiation, Signed
Contract
• Contract (Construction)
–
Next Stage: Add Modifications
• Modifications
–
As-builts leading to Record Documents,
Substantial Completion
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
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11.1.2 and Figure 11.1
AGREEMENTS
WHAT IS THE BASELINE?
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Benefits of Standardized Agreements
• Protection against common errors
• Long history of legal precedence / understanding
• Maintains balance of obligations between parties
• Uniform location of information
• Well received and known across the AEC industry
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Contract Families
•
Defines basic rights, responsibilities, and relationships of
parties involved in performance of contract
•
Integrates General Conditions with their Agreement forms
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
11.5.4.2
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Tripartite Relationship
• Cooperative, without
direct obligations
• Focused on
instruments of
service and work
results
• Roles interact
dependently
• Divided primarily by
failure to perform
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
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5.2 and Figure 5.1
Standard of Care
• Owner / Architect Agreement:
– “Consistent with the professional skill and care
ordinarily provided by an Architect in the same
locality….under the same circumstances…performed
as expeditiously as possible consistent with such
professional skill and care and the orderly progress of
the Work.”
AIA B101, Art. 2.2
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Standard of Care
• Is always evolving
– Client attitudes and expertise diminish roles based on
$$ alone
– Always compare new agreements to “baseline” AIA
documents.
– Review your own baseline provisions every 2-3 years
– ConsensusDocs 200-2007
No current Agreement relieves you of your “standard of care” but
some take away responsibilities necessary to provide it.
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What A/E’s need to keep
• Evaluation period of Owner provided program
and budget
• Review of General Conditions and form of
construction contract
• Role as the project communications hub
• Review, if not sign, all contract modifications.
• Periodic review of the Work
• Certificate of Substantial Completion process
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Spearin Doctrine
• U.S. Supreme Court decision of 1918, United
States v. Spearin
–
A contractor is entitled to rely on the construction documents provided
by the Owner to be sufficient for their intended purpose, and is not
responsible for the consequences of defects (errors, inconsistencies,
and omissions)
• Extra-contractual Actions (or inaction) can change
the terms of the Contract.
–
If you act outside your contracted responsibilities, or take an action that
is not specifically assigned in the contract, it can be held that the
particular activity is now part of your contracted role.
–
If you fail to perform your role, you can be held in breach of contract.
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
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11.2.9
Roles by AIA Agreements
Construction Documents B101
Owner:
Hires
Pays
Accepts
The Contractor A201
Reviews
Architect:
Designs
Reviews
Verifies
Conforms
The Work
Provides Materials &
Labor
Schedules, Organizes,
Informs A/E
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DOCUMENTS STAGES
AN ORDERLY PROGRESS OF THE WORK
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Construction Documents: Stage 1
• Design
•
“Instruments of Service”
•
Can literally be anything, but
eventually…..
–
Drawings
–
Technical Specifications
• Project delivery
–
Administrative Requirements
–
Specs to “Project Manual”
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
11.1.2 and Figure 11.1
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OWNER – B101
• Provide information in a timely manner (5.1)
• Furnish any necessary resource documents
(5.4-5.6)
• Notify Architect of errors in documents (3.5.5.2)
• Provide approval of each stage of documents
(3.2.2)
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ARCHITECT – B101
• Evaluate Owner information related to time,
cost, scope. (3.2.2)
• Obtain Owner approval at each stage of
document development (3.2.4, etc.)
• Review “other” non-contractual information
• Incorporate regulatory requirements. (3.4.2)
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Construction Documents: Stage 1a
•
Preparation for Procurement:
–
–
–
Expanding “Specifications” into a
Project Manual
•
Procurement Requirements
•
Bidding and Contracting forms
•
Conditions of the Contract
•
Technical Specifications
Adding Resource Information
•
Geotechnical reports / diagrams
•
Existing site features / utilities
•
Hazardous abatement reports
•
Other unusual project elements
AIA G612 helpful in compiling
project delivery information
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
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11.1.2 and Figure 11.1
ARCHITECT – B101
• Assist Owner with
– Procurement documents
– Owner-Contractor Agreement
– General Conditions
•
(3.4.3)
B101, Art. 3.6.1:
“If the Owner and Contractor modify the General Conditions, these
modifications shall not affect Architect’s services unless
(Owner/Architect ) agreement is amended.”
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Conditions of the Contract
•
Defines basic rights, responsibilities, and relationships of
parties involved in performance of contract
•
Inherent part of Owner-Contractor Agreement
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
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11.5.4.2
Conditions of the Contract
•
Specifications and Drawings
are governed by:
•
General Conditions and
•
General Requirements
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
11.5.4.2
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Construction Documents: Stage 2
• Procurement
•
•
Conveying information to
potential Bidders requires:
–
Clearly issued Construction Docs
–
Requests for Information RFI’s
–
Bidder Clarifications
–
Addenda (before Award)
Caution against letting
Addenda docs take the place
of Contract Modifications.
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
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11.1.2 and Figure 11.1
OWNER – B101
• Distribute procurement documents (7.1)
• Use of A/E documents:
In the event the Owner uses the instruments of service…without
authorization or obtaining permission…the Architect is released from all
claims or actions arising from such use. (7.3.1)
• But if you fail in your standard of care,
documents can be taken from A/E and used to
build the project.
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Bidders
• Are not Contractually obligated entities
• Have limited rights to documents only as
provided in B101.
• Do affect documents by:
–
–
–
–
–
–
RFI’s
Addenda
Substitution requests
Voluntary Alternates
Proposals
Owner information
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Turning Point
• The Contract negotiation phase
reorganizes the documents:
– and is made up of the Agreement, General &
Special Conditions, Drawings, Specs, and any
other documents named in the Agreement.
– The Contract establishes the last phase of
rights, roles and responsibilities (obligations) of
all parties to the Contract.
– Record all changes!
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
11.1.2 and Figure 11.1
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Construction Documents: Stage 3
• Contract for Construction
•
•
Signing the Agreement :
–
Defines which documents are to be
part of the overall Contract:
–
Specifications
–
Drawings
–
Approved Addenda (which become
Contract modifications)
–
“Critical” Resource information?
–
“Post-Bid” Addenda?
Not listed – Not binding.
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
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11.1.2 and Figure 11.1
Owner – A201
• Rights to hire other contractors. (6.1.1)
• Coordinates “his” contractors with GC. (6.1.3)
– Owner’s own forces are subject to same rights and
obligations that apply to Contractor. (6.1.4)
• Provides reliable surveys (2.2.3)
• Can Stop the Work for cause. (2.3.1)
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ARCHITECT – B101/ A201
• Administer the contract between Owner and
Contractor (B101, 3.6.1 / A201, 4.2.1)
“Owner and Architect acknowledge, that in order to construct the
Work, the Contractor will provide additional information….
which the Architect shall review.” (3.4.1, B101)
“Architect will visit the site at intervals appropriate to the stages of
construction …. (4.2.2)
“ Report to the Owner known defects… in the Work.(4.2.3)
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ARCHITECT – B101/ A201
• Decide matters of performance and
requirements of the documents (3.6.2.3)
• Specify design criteria for others (3.6.4.3)
• Authorize minor changes (3.6.5.1)
• Maintain records of changes (3.5.5.2)
• Notify the Owner of:
– Areas where extra services are required due
to: Non-performance of Contractor or defects
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Areas of Extra Service
• Reviewing Submittals out of sequence
• Reviewing RFI’s not submitted properly
• Preparing Change orders or altering
documents for work not originating with
A/E.
• Evaluating extensive number of claims
• Evaluating Owner/Contractor
substitutions
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CONTRACTOR - A201
• Examines the site and documents (1.5.2)
• Perform work according to the Contract
Documents (3.1.2)
– Not obligated to search for errors (3.2.1)
– Not responsible to verify code compliance
(3.2.2)
• Responsible for “means and methods”(3.3.1)
• Substitute only with Consent (3.4.2)
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CONTRACTOR - A201
• Provides shop drawings, samples, product data
(3.10.1 ff) Are NOT contract docs. (3.12.4)
“Owner and Architect acknowledge, that in order to
construct the Work, the Contractor will provide additional
information…which the Architect shall review.” (3.4.1,
B101)
• Reviews submittals for compliance (3.12.5)
– Not relieved of compliance due to errors in submittals,
even when approved by A/E. (3.12.8)
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Owner – A201
• Can Accept non-conforming work. (12.3.1)
“If the Owner prefers to accept work that is not in
accordance with the requirements of the Contract
Documents, the Owner may do so in lieu of requiring
removal and correction… contract sum will be reduced
as appropriate and equitable….”
Does the Architect then modify the documents?
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Construction Documents: Stage 4
• Modifications
–
A/E Responsible to record
changes.
–
Contractor to provide “as builts”
–
A/E not liable for unauthorized
changes
• Record
Documents
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Revisions and Clarifications
• Before receipt of
bids
• After contract
execution
–
Addenda
–
Change orders
–
Substitution requests
–
Substitution requests
–
Requests for interpretation
–
Supplemental Instructions
–
Written amendments
–
Construction change
directive
–
Field Order
• Between receipt of
bids and contract
execution
–
Post-bid addenda
–
Negotiations
–
Substitution requests
• Get it in Writing!
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LEGAL INTERPRETATION
AND/OR CONFLICTS OF
CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
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Incomplete Coordination
• Duplications
• Omissions
• Discrepancies
• Division 01 not coordinated
• Terminology differences
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
5.9
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Substitutions
• Allowing Substitutions without clearly
defining the criteria for:
– Evaluation; Leads to uneven results
– Performance; Leads to loss of value for client
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Shop Drawings
• A/E “Changes” disguised as “clarifications”
• Contractor’s unidentified deviations
• Shops are the Contractor’s documents, not A/E’s
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Subverting Document Enforcement
• Complimentary nature of documents
• Representation of design concept is shown on
construction documents among multiple design
disciplines taken together
• “Orders of precedence” statements are
not recommended.
Project Delivery Practice Guide:
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5.9
Questions?
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