ACPA Concrete Pavement Progress - Quarter 3, 2021

Concrete Pavement Progress www.acpa.org 22 C O N S T R U C T I O N L A W Thomas Olson is the founding partner of Olson Construction Law. Tom’s commitment is to provide guidance on how to resolve issues on the jobsite, not in the courtroom. Tom has worked on highway heavy projects throughout much of the United States for more than thirty years. A prolific speaker and writer as well as attorney, his expertise is in concrete and asphalt paving, utility, earthwork and bridge construction, schedule analysis, material testing, and the technical and legal obligations of both engineers and contractors. ABOUT THE AUTHOR The reason for this failure is understandable. That portion of the contract documents which addresses these problems is typically set forth in the General Conditions or, inDOT Specifications, the first section. Therein lies the problem. Nei- ther the contractor nor the engineer sufficiently knows what these conditions or specifications provide because neither prepared them, and neither has received any meaningful classroom education or training. And what are the consequences of not knowing what the contract provides/requires for project changes? • Contractors do not get paid/fairly paid for the related extra costs. • Contractors pay liquidated damages for the related delay. • Contractors and engineers’ relationship suffer. So how do you overcome this? How do you create a roadmap to obtain additional compensation and time extensions when the project require- ments change? 3. Creating a roadmap to manage project changes Insofar as the contract provisions which ad- dress project changes are set forth in the General Conditions or, in DOT Specifications, the first section, it is essential that contractors learn the applicable provisions and how to use them. I have found themost effect means to accomplish this is through preparation of a flowchart. The flowchart should describe: • All of the applicable contract provisions which address project changes; • Under what factual circumstances each provision applies; • Whether there is a right to additional compensation or only a time extension; • How to calculate the impact in dollars and time; and • What are the related procedural requirements. We have and continue to prepare contract-based flowcharts for clients which correspond to the applicable contracts (e.g. DOT, AIA, EJCDC, etc.). Set forth on the previous page is an example.This is a portion of the flowcharts for the FL DOT Standard Specifications for Construction. How to use the flowchart After creating the flowchart, both the contractor and engineer now have a roadmap for how to manage project changes insofar as they affect cost, time, and constructability. With this understand- ing, project changes can be timely, equitable, and cooperatively addressed. Copies of the flowchart should be kept in the home office and given to all field personnel. When a change issue arises, both the contractor and the engineer can pull out the flowchart to quickly determine if there is a right to additional compensation and/or a time extension, what are the applicable procedural requirements, and how to calculate the impact in time andmoney. With a common understanding of how to proceed, change issues are properly handled at the outset. » continued from page 21