Page 249 - Urban Construction Project Management

204 Chapter Nine
21. Failure of the owner to make timely decisions
• The owner should not put any time constraint on the CM/GC when the owner
cannot make timely decisions.
• Delays caused by the owner’s indecision should be addressed.
• You do not want this item to become adversarial, but the CM/GC has to protect
himself from possible delays caused by the owner.
• The best way to handle this would be to notify the owner in writing that unless
a decision is made by a certain date, delays would occur.
22. Owner-provided suppliers and vendors
• The contract should identify the owner’s suppliers and vendors.
• The work of the owner’s suppliers and vendors should be included in the
CM/GC’s schedule.
• Any delays by those suppliers and vendors should not affect the CM/GC’s sched-
ule. If their work affects the final schedule, then the owner must compensate the
CM/GC for any resulting delay.
• The vendors and suppliers will not interfere with the CM/GC’s work. If they do,
then the CM/GC must advise the owner in writing of the potential consequences.
• The vendor and supplier will provide their own laborers and containers for clean-
ing up the area in which the work is being performed.
23. Notification provisions
• The contract may state that the CM/GC must notify the owner of any problem,
schedule change, or cost changes and the notification must be accomplished
within a limited time.
• Based on certain case law, the CM/GC must adhere to the notification time or
possibly lose the ability to collect any money for additional work or request a
time extension.
24. Order of precedence
• Make sure the contract states the order in which the design documents are based.
Which takes precedence—the drawings, specifications, sketches, or other docu-
ments produced by the design team?

Obviously, the CM/GCs may not be able to negotiate all of these favorable clauses, but
they must understand the risks if certain onerous clauses are included in the contract.

SUMMARY

• The owner usually dictates the construction contract.
• Several forms of construction contracts can be used with some variations of the base
types.
• Stipulated sum (lump sum)
• Cost plus