Using specifications as "scope of wor...

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Author Message Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 36 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 01:00 pm:    After preparing the draft of a Project Manual, I was informed that the Owner is now going to build the project and want to use the specs as a "Scope of Work" exhibit to the General Contractor's subcontract agreement, instead of as a document between the Owneer and the GC. Has anyone heard of using specs in this manner? Is it anything I should be concerned about? Or, just do my specs as usual and let the Owner use them as he wishes? Thanks! Nathan Woods, CCCA Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 61 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 01:12 pm:    Is your Owner contracting directly to the subs? Well, if they then I guess they are not "subs", but multiple prime contracts. Ugh. Always a pain. In normal practice, the Project Manual must be provided (in whole or more often in part) to the subs for bidding, so I'm not sure what the actual difference is you are encountering. Don Harris CSI, CCS, CCCA, AIA Senior Member Username: don_harris Post Number: 52 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 04:24 pm:    Scope of Work documents have been prepared by the Construction Managers with which we have worked. They are generally more detailed than the specs, in that they describe exactly what work is required of each sub. They can also assign work of more than one section, or less than one section to each sub. For example, each sub may be scoped with their own sealant and firestopping work, or there could be a single sub for each. This could also include their portions of the General Conditions, such as trucking, hoisting, clean-up. There are too many combinations to include them all. The specifications are not designed to do this job. They require substantially more work to include the type of contractor coordination that your Owner seems to want. Doug Brinley AIA CSI CDT CCS Senior Member Username: dbrinley Post Number: 157 Registered: 12-2002 Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 04:37 pm:    Robin - you didn't indicate the magnitude of the project. Spec office building? Apartments? We do complex civil/architectural work, and as such it has been very helpful to use BSD CostLink CM (estimating software!) to break down the work items. It definately adds time, however, it is useful to establish levels of effort for various subcontractors. The CMs have appreciated our ability to speak about the project in an educated manner. Then you can use that project-specific information in the process for determining what your specifications should become. Some sections are very much like any other similar project, but some areas like concrete or excavation, or structural steel might become 'mini-projects' with four or more sections. I 'roll up' anything that is reasonable, like all of Division 10 into '10 00 05' (an example). The CostLink CM definately has a learning curve, and you'll spend $5,000 on software/database licenses to get started, but it's worth every penny. J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 171 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 04:50 pm:    Although good practice and the AIA A201 states that the organization of specifications into Divisions and Sections does NOT control the Contractor's dividing the work among subs, I think we all attermpt to write specs around the "normal" trade divisions as we understand them. When the tile subcontractor submits a proposal (a subbid), it will be accompanied by a list of exclusions and qualifications. The general contractor will then have to make sure that these get covered one way or another. On the projects that we have recently done with design/build or CM at Risk, the builder will usually ask us to include a document they generate which is addressed to the subs and outlines specifically what is included in each subbid. That way a single sub is responsible for, say, all of the concrete, not just paving or slabs on grade or whatever. I would not worry too much about changing the way you work, especially if you don't get any extra fee for it. Robert Swan (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 03:22 pm:    What does your contract with the Owner say you where to do and he is going to do? If he has changed your contract you both should revise the contract. For you to assume that he wants your specs "as usual" sounds like a disaster in the making; he just did the "unusual".