12.

CONSTRUCTABILITY REVIEW
By the time that the design has reached the bid document stage there are few
opportunities to make improvements or changes without causing added design cost and
delay the project. It is not too late to correct errors, which would cause defective bidding
or result in costly change orders to the work. Addendums can be issued during the
bidding phase, but they do complicate the process of getting bids, since the bidders must
read through several documents in addition to the original bid set. Sometimes they dont
fully understand the final requirements and the bids suffer accordingly.
As the Construction Manager you are probably seeing these plans for the first time. The
user and architect have been working on this project for months, while you only have a
few days to perform the Constructability Review before bidding commences.
The following guidelines are provided to help you perform this review in a timely, but
accurate manner:
1. Visualize the project first. (Dont just start reading page one like a novel).
a. Read Summary of Work.
b. See site plan and drawing index.
c. Look at floor plans and architectural elevations.
i. What are the principal materials of construction for:
1. Floor
2. Wall
3. Roof
ii. Where are the exterior items:
1. Parking lot/roads
2. HVAC units
3. Transformer
d. Scan Division 1 for:
i. Time for completion
ii. Owner provided items (utilities, material)
iii. Salvage material
iv. Safety
v. Quality control plans
vi. Schedules required
vii. Progress meetings
2. Detailed study of plans: (make notes on plans in color as you go, if more than one
person reviewing then use different colors for each person.)
a. Find utility connections to existing:
i. Water, sewer, electricity, storm water, telephone, gas (cut off
valves for all? Or outages later)
b. Locate limits of construction
i. Close existing parking or roads?
ii. Close walkways?
iii. Fence required (what type? Screen fabric?)
c. Scan other drawings to see:

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i. Footing depth and soil conditions (water table depth, deep

footings?)
ii. Location of mechanical room inside
iii. Location of building services outside (water, sewer, gas)
iv. Location of exterior equipment (HVAC chillers, transformers)
v. Any special equipment
1. Elevator
2. Generator
3. Scan specifications:
a. Look for unusual sections
i. Generators
ii. Special equipment
iii. Alarm systems
b. Look at bid items and alternatives
i. Do they make sense if awarded (complete scope of work).
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13. CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENT PRECEDENCE

The document that is signed by the Owner and Contractor is called the Contract
Agreement. It can have many formats depending on the type of contract (design-build,
lump sum construction, construction management, etc.). Typically the architect creates
the contract utilizing American Institute of Architects (AIA) standard forms, but this is
not the only source of contract formats. The Association of General Contractors (AGC)
and the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) also produce
standard formats. They are all generally the same, but the difference is in the details.
The legal fine print needs careful review, because the responsibilities and duties of the
contract parties are subtly shifted, depending on the perspective of the agency that created
the documents. Would you expect the AGC document to have a stronger bias toward the
contractors point of view than the AIA format? Your general counsel should review the
document to avoid any onerous clauses that you need to modify.
The Contract Agreement generally includes the following information:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Names and addresses of the owner and contractor.

Brief narrative describing the work.
Date of commencement and completion.
Contract amount (unit prices if any).
Progress payments including retention.
Final payment procedures (all work satisfactory).
Miscellaneous (interest on late payments)
Termination
Enumeration of contract documents (list every drawing and specification, and
addenda)
10. Signatures of the owner and contractor.
A construction contract is made up of more documents than just the technical
specifications and drawings. The bidding documents include items A through F below,
while the final contract is made up of items B through G below.
Table 1
Contract Documents
A. Bidding Requirements
1. Invitation to bid
2. Instruction to bidders
3. Bid forms
4. Bid bonds (protects the owner if the low
bidder withdraws and the second low is selected
at a higher cost)
B. Contract Forms
1. Final agreement for signature
2. Performance Bond protects the owner if

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C.

D.

E.
F.
G.

contractor fails to perform the work)

3. Payment Bond (guarantees the subs payment)
4. Certificates of insurance (Workmans
Compensation, Builders Risk, Liability)
Contract Conditions
1. General Conditions (owners use various
versions. AIA, Federal, AGC, etc.)
2. Supplementary General Conditions
Specifications
1. Division 1 Administrative
2. Divisions 2- 16 Technical
Drawings
Addendums (changes issued before bidding)
Contract modifications (changes issued after award)

Now that you have assembled all of these documents, and created the contract what do
you do when different sections of the contract contradict other sections? The legal
implications of confusion and contradiction are going to cost you more money to resolve,
unless there is an orderly process to eliminate the confusion. Step one is to determine the
correct technical solution to the irregularity, then decide if it is a change order or not.
This is not an automatic process, since the meaning of a single word could cost one of the
parties to the contract substantial sums. Usually the material typed specifically for your
project will govern over preprinted standard clauses. This means that you should spend
more time reviewing the nonstandard clauses.
It is generally accepted that the precedence of the contract documents is as follows:
Table 2
Precedence of Contract Documents
1. Change orders issued after award.
2. The Agreement (signed form with administrative clauses,
such as time for completion, total price, and also references
the specs and drawings to include them in the contract.)
3. Addenda (those with a later date have precedence over
earlier versions).
4. Supplementary Conditions (included in the Specification
package, they vary for each project)
5. General Conditions (preprinted fine print clauses that dont
vary for each project)
6. Division 1 of the Specifications (Administrative)

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7. Divisions 2-16 of the Specifications (project specifications

precede referenced standard specifications)
8. Drawings:
a. Detailed project drawings
b. General project drawings
c. Standard (reference) drawings
d. Shop drawings from contractor

Return to Table of Contents

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