Читать книгу Fundamentals of Construction Claims - William J. McConnell - Страница 46

Other design issues include scenarios where the contractor discovers design additions, changes, errors, or omissions in the contract documents that will cause an increase in the cost and/or time to perform the work. Certain contracts note that the contractor should advise the owner of the issue so the owner can render a position on the issue before the contractor initiates dispute resolution. The examples below highlight specific pre-claim requirements.

 AIA A201 – Section 3.2.2-4: Before starting each portion of the work, the contractor shall review, in the contractor's capacity as a contractor, the various contract documents and field conditions and report to the architect any errors, omissions, or inconsistencies in the contract documents via a request for information. If upon review of the architect's response to the contractor's request for information, the contractor believes it will cause an increase in the cost and/or time to perform the work, then the contractor shall file a claim per Article 15.

 AIA A201 – Section 4.2.11-14: The architect shall promptly respond to requests for information about the contract documents. Thus, before a design claim is issued, it is prudent for the contractor to get the architect's response to a request for information.

 AIA A201 – Section 8.3.1: If the contractor is delayed by: actions of owner/architect/separate contractor; changes ordered in the work; force majeure events; abnormal weather; and/or other causes beyond the contractor's control, then the contract time shall be extended as determined by the architect. Section 8.3.3 notes that Section 8.3 does not preclude the contractor's recovery of delay damages from the owner under other provisions of the contract (namely, Article 15). Thus, the contractor should give the architect the ability to render a decision before a claim is initiated.

 ConsensusDocs 200 – Section 3.3: Before commencing the work, the contractor shall review the contract document and report any visible conflicts to the owner. Upon receipt, the owner shall promptly inform the contractor on what action, if any, the contractor shall take.

 EJCDC C-700 – Section 3.03.A.1-2: If, before or during the performance of work, the contractor discovers a design issue, the contractor shall promptly report it to the engineer in writing. The contractor is not to proceed with the affected work until the matter is resolved.

 EJCDC C-700 – Section 3.04.A-B: During the performance of work, the contractor shall issue questions in writing (requests for information) regarding the design to the engineer as soon as possible after such matters arise. The engineer to respond to the contractor's questions with reasonable promptness. Based on the engineer's response, the contractor can submit a change proposal to the owner.

 EJCDC C-700 – Section 11.09.B: The contractor shall submit change proposals to the engineer within 30 days after the start of the event giving rise thereto. Note that the change proposal shall comply with Section 4.05.D–E. The engineer is to render an initial decision on the change proposal within 30 days of proper submission. If the contractor does not agree with the engineer's initial decision, it can move to the dispute resolution procedures in Article 12.