Changing Horses in Mid-Stream: Managing Substitutions #CONSTRUCT #H05

The Wedding Feast at Cana (detail),  Paolo Caliari, known as Veronese,   1528 

Few construction administration procedures inspire such strong emotions as Substitutions. Architects seem to despise them, while Contractors seem to dote on them. Owners are concerned that the project quality is maintained, but are beguiled by possible cost savings or schedule acceleration.

Substitutions have the potential to disrupt a project, or confer great benefits. Substitution Procedures are primarily a means of Quality Assurance, to prevent un-”equal” products from undermining the design intent.

What actions can the A/E take in product selection and specifications to reduce substitution requests or to deal effectively with those that arise?

What risks arise to the parties in construction from substitutions, authorized or not?

What actions are appropriate to allow acceptable substitutions to be incorporated into the Work while maintaining the risk allocations of all the parties?

How equal is "or equal"? and who decides?

What can manufacturers and product representatives do to offer appropriate feedback or advice to A/E's and contractors?  How can a substitution be properly presented for consideration?

Please consider attending Session H05 on Thursday, September 26, 2013, at 08:00 AM.  

I promise, there will be pictures of horses and streams (and much more) in the session.

The OTHER 3D Design: Delay Damage and Disruption #CONSTRUCT #H11

Judith Beheading Holofernes, Artemisia Gentileschi

Problems of disruption and delay often lead to disputes which can mar otherwise successful projects.  No one wants a project to go awry, dwelling on unpleasant potential outcomes are unsettling.  What means can be taken to foresee and forestall potential causes of misunderstanding and argument?

Construction is often prone to Claims and Disputes, often involving Scheduling and Delay claims, both by the Contractor and the Owner. Claim and Dispute procedures are often complex and require careful attention by the A/E and Owner prior to the start of construction.  

Different contract types and project delivery methods entail revisions of the duties and responsibilities of the parties to the Contract.

What effective specification of Claim and Dispute procedures, as well as clear presentation of the Project Scheduling requirements and responsibilities are necessary to appropriately allocate risk and reward? 

What must the Contractor understand in the Contract in order to protect his interests in the event of dispute or delay?

Clear and coordinated presentation of these requirements by the A/E enables all the parties to protect their individual interests while promoting the overall progress of the work.

Please consider attending Session H11 on Thursday, September 26, 2013, at 10:00 AM.   There are a lot of other great programs in this time slot vying for your attention, so if no one wants to hear this one, I'll run down the hall and hear someone else.

Speaking the Same Language CONSTRUCT #H16

The Tower of Babel Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Experienced AEC professionals are not surprised that the by-word for confused communication is a construction project.  The Babylonian effort to build a tower to Heaven was stymied by the workers' inability to communicate.

In the left foreground of Bruegel's painting, we see the unhappy client discussing the issue with his design team who are frustrated by the huge volume of RFI's and changes required to move the project forward.  The architect is kneeling before the king, hoping not to lose his head. The specifier is stooping with his hat off.

Perhaps part of the problem is that the public works contract for the tower was different from the private construction contracts familiar to the designers and builders?

In our modern world, private organizations such as AIA, EJCDC and Consensus Docs (along with manyothers) publish model contract documents for private projects, using a lexicon of familiar contract terms.  

In the goverment sphere, the contract document is the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations) which has developed a lexicon of it's own over many years.

Not surprisingly, many terms are similar, but with different meanings.  Others sound completely different and mean the same thing.  No wonder it is hard to move from one contract world to another without misunderstanding.

In hopes of forestalling one of the miscommunication issues of modern construction, CSI is undertaking, along with several U.S. Government agencies, an initiative to create a side-by-side glossary of Contract Terms used in Federal and private contracts.  This Glossary will be the starting effort of the Construction Documents Technologist "+G" (plus Government) certification which is the goal of the CSI CDT+G Task Team.

Please consider attending Session H16, Thursday September 26, at 4:00 PM to hear a panel discussion with Mr. Steven Freitas of US Army Corps of Engineers, Sheryl Dodd-Hansen FCSI, Michael Chambers, FAIA, FCSI and myself concerning this effort to promote clear communication and common understanding between Federal agencies and private sector contractors.