Commentary – Working From Home – How Working From Home Will Become the New Normal and How You Should Set-up Your Home Office.

There is a discussion thread on the AIA Practice Management Forum which started with the question, “How is your firm ensuring efficiency in a remote working environment?”

There have been a number of replies which I would characterize as mixed.

The comments range, from expressions of gratitude for the time regained from no longer needing to endure a commute, to complaints about having to adapt to working in pdf.  Keep in mind these are Architects accustomed to reviewing large scale full size sheets.  Reviewing drawings on a computer screen (in pdf) is very different from being able to make comments and corrections directly onto a drawing.

Regardless of whether you relish working from home or dread it, working from home is here to stay.  The sooner people internalize this, the sooner they will be able to adapt.  Only then will they achieve similar or perhaps even greater levels of efficiency as compared to working from an office.

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Market Watch – The CoronaVirus – What Will the New Normal Look Like For Construction? How COVID-19 Has Changed Worksites and How Changes Could Impact Cost.

In an article posted on Lexology by the law firm of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, Brenda Radmacher a partner and construction law expert writes about the new jobsite safety measures that Companies will have to observe in light of COVID-19.

Radmacher does a great job of identifying the new norms, both on and off the jobsite, Workers will need to observe in order to avoid spreading the disease.

Some of these new norms are common widespread recommendations such as washing hands and observing social distancing, but some are very specific to construction and some are likely to impact costs and schedules.

I recommend reading Radmacher’s article, but I wanted to address a few specific recommendations.

Market Watch – The CoronaVirus – When is a Global Pandemic a Force Majeure Event?

A couple of weeks ago, I published an article discussing some of the additional costs Owners might see in the wake of the global CoronaVirus outbreak and government ordered quarantine.

In that article, I made the statement, “Contractually, this event falls under the Force Majeure clause…”

While I still believe that the COVID-19 epidemic meets the definition and the intention of a Force Majeure clause, I recently read several articles that further refine my understanding of Force Majeure and how it can be applied.

As with any article where I address legal terms, such as Force Majeure, I defer 100% to professional legal advice and recommend you contact an attorney to discuss your specific circumstances before you take any action.

That advice notwithstanding, I did want to share with you some interesting points of view.

Market Watch – The CoronaVirus – Is Construction an Essential Business?

Ever since the CoronaVirus landed on the United States it’s impact has been uncertain.  Having witnessed the impact it had in China, we collectively braced for impact, but I don’t think anyone thought it would have the effect that it has.

Two week’s ago, I reported that New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania had been placed under lock-down by the Governor’s of each state.  Since then several states have followed suit.

According to Business Insider.com 36 states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico are under stay-at-home orders.

A federal directive has yet to be issued as the number of infected persons in the US reaches over 300,000 cases.

Each of the 36 states have generally ordered everyone to stay home and avoid physical contact by observing social distancing of 6 feet or more.  All gatherings of 50 or more have been cancelled and areas where people typically congregate like beaches and state parks have been closed.  I have heard some anecdotal stories of police breaking up “Corona Parties” of 50 or more people defying the order.

For the most part, businesses have been shuttered and over 3 Million people have filed for unemployment, but some businesses have been allowed to continue operations.

Businesses that can operate remotely and businesses deemed “essential” have been allowed to remain open, but determining whether a business is “essential” has proven to be more difficult than expected.

The construction sector has had an especially difficult time determining how to proceed.  This is due in part because of the disparity from state to state and a lack of a federal mandate.

Industry Watch – Collaborative Delivery – How You can Achieve the Benefits of Collaborative Delivery Using Conventional Contracts.

A couple of week’s ago we took a close look at the most relevant case studies for Collaborative Delivery projects published by the AIA and the Minnesota School of Architecture.

We found that each case study followed it’s own method of delivery and that there was a great deal of variability in the implementation of each model.

Before this we reviewed the standard language in both the Integrated Project Delivery and the Single Purpose Entity contracts offered by the AIA.

We found that there were many clauses which were difficult for private businesses to accept and contract provisions that made sourcing and procurement complicated.

But, I suspect that most still believe there is value in the concepts of Collaborative Delivery and if there was a better way to deliver on these concepts, we would be willing to adopt these methods.

Today, I will share with you my concept for achieving the benefits and value of Collaborative Delivery using conventional contracts.

Market Watch – The Corona Virus – How Quarantines Around the Globe Are Impacting Operations and What Owner’s Should Expect When Work Resumes.

If you have been reading this blog consistently for the past few weeks, you probably were expecting this week’s article to be the fourth and final installment detailing my talk from the ProcureCon Conference this past January.

That article will publish next week.  Given the massive impact the Corona virus has had on our lives globally, I could not go on with this blog without addressing it.

So this week, we will talk about the impact the virus could have on ongoing bids and active projects.

Industry watch – Collaborative Delivery – Case Studies Of Collaborative Delivery – What They Tell Us and Why Standard Forms of Agreement May not be Right For You.

Over the last two weeks we have been exploring collaborative agreements.

Two weeks ago, I gave you a brief overview of the difference between the AIA’s two collaborative delivery contract models. Last week, I shared some of the most pivotal clauses that shift the relationship of the parties from adversaries to collaborators.

This week, I want to share some of the case studies I have read from projects that used some form of collaborative agreements and share some of the anecdotal comments I have received from friends and colleagues that have worked under one of these models.

Industry watch – Collaborative Delivery – What Are The Pivotal Clauses of Collaborative Delivery That Shift the Parties From Adversaries to Collaborators.

Last week I provided a brief overview of the two contracting models the AIA classifies as collaborate delivery.

We reviewed the nuances between Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Single Purpose Entities (SPE).  I even correlated SPE agreements in the United States with Alliance Agreements in the United Kingdom

This week, I wanted to share with you some of the contract terms these agreements require you to accept in order to implement the model.

Industry watch – Collaborative Delivery – How Contract Templates For Collaborative Agreements Are Structured and Why You Might Choose Not To Use Them

In late January of this year, I attended and spoke at the ProcureCon Facilities Conference.  You can read my review of the conference here.

The subject I addressed during my talk was Collaborative Delivery.

For several years the industry has been abuzz about Collaborative Delivery models.  I have yet to encounter an Owner who showed interest in collaborative delivery, but the interest from the industry was so strong, that I was curious to learn more.  When the opportunity to speak at ProcureCon came, I felt it would be a great topic for that audience.

To deepen my understanding of the topic; I soaked up all of the content available on the American Institute of Architect’s website, read commercially available sample contracts, reviewed case studies, read articles on the subject, and spoke with colleagues that have worked under the model.

The most helpful piece of information I found is a document called the AIA Integrated Project Delivery Guide.  I also took the added step of reviewing the standard terms in the contract templates offered by AIA.

I was surprised to find that under the heading of collaborative delivery the AIA includes a contract template for Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) contracts and also for Single Purpose Entity (SPE) contracts.

In this article, I will document the basics of both models.  I will follow this article with a deeper dive on the terms that form these agreements.

Best Practices – GC led Design Build – Why This is the Worst Contracting Model And You Should Never Use It.

No matter how many times I counsel against using a contractor to lead design-build projects there is always someone who rationalizes away all of the negatives.

I have written about General Contractor led Design Build (GC led DB) a number of times, but I continue to encountered Stakeholders who simply insist on this model.  Quite frankly there is little that I find redeeming about this model and I remain steadfast against it.

With respect to every other contracting model, I can honestly say that I hold a neutral point of view.  I see viable applications for everything from Multi-prime T&M to Stipulated Sum GMP and everything in between, but I honestly feel that GC Led DB is the most despicable form of contracting in the market.

I know how strong that statement sounds, but I’m taking the gloves off for this one.

Before I go on (and alienate all of my contractor buddy’s) let me clarify that none of what follows is meant to suggest that ALL contractors are bad, nor am I suggesting that there are No contractors capable of delivering a good project under GC-led-DB.

For clarity, I feel I must take a moment to describe how GC led Design-build works.

GC led Design build is a variation of design-build where the General Contractor takes a prime contractual relationship with the Owner. All other parties (including the Architect) are sub-contracted to the GC.

This means that the Owner hires the General Contractor and then the General Contractor hires the Architect, the Engineers, and all the trade contractors.  In its worst form this model also allows the GC to subcontract the commissioning agents and maybe even buy the furniture.

This is your classic one-throat-to-choke turn-key design-build model.  Yes, all of those terms mean the same thing.

So why is GC-led DB so bad?

Industry Watch – Responsibility Standards – How the Public Sector is Getting Smart About Qualifying Contractors.

In an article posted January 29th, 2020, Mark Cavitt writing for the Oakland Press tells us about a new resolution adopted by the County of Oakland Michigan which impacts the way the County awards construction projects.

Resolution 19416 states that performance of public construction and maintenance in the County of Oakland will be performed by Contractors that meets the “Responsible Contractor and Best Value Bid Evaluation Standard for Construction Project Policy”.

The standard states that “best value will be determined by looking at a variety of criteria including: quality, references, experience, proposed schedule, safety, time and cost. The responsibility of a bidder will be determined by looking at: experience on projects of similar size and complexity within the past 5 years, references from owners, credit worthiness/financial condition and bonding capacity among other criteria.”

The resolution establishes that the county shall create, “a standard measurement of responsibility qualifications for each, construction project bid.”

The resolution goes on to identify the information that may be required as;

Experience on projects of similar size and complexity within the past 5 years.
References from owners.
Credit worthiness/financial condition and bonding capacity.
Proof of Insurance and/or Certificate of Insurance.
Certification from the bidder that construction workers will not be misclassified.
Disclosure of any debarment by any federal, state or local governmental unit.
Disclosure of any violations of any federal, state, or local laws, including OSHA/MIOSHA violations.
If required by bid standards, ensure there is a criminal record check for each employee the bidder proposes to use on a construction site or alternative security clearances approved by the County.

For far too long public sector procurement has strictly observed the practice of awarding contracts to the lowest “responsible” bidder.  Lawmakers have relied on the interpretation of the word “responsible” as a form of qualifier, but that single word created vagueness and ambiguity that allowed too broad of an interpretation.  Often this interpretation translated into “any” bidder with insurance and a license was deemed “responsible”.  This left public sector works exposed to unqualified or barely qualified suppliers instead of in the hands of “Responsible Contractors”.

The issue that will likely come up from a policy like this will be award challenges from Contractors who fail to meet the County’s standard. 

The success of this policy will be tied to establishing clear and objective scoring methodologies.  This can be challenging, so in support the move by Oakland County, I wanted to spend some time discussing the keys to establishing sound and objective scoring methodologies for evaluating supplier qualifications.

Best Practices – Commercial Terms – The Critical Commercial Terms You Need to Make Your Contracts Stronger.

With the start of the New Year, I’ve jumped right back into the deep-end with several projects that began towards the end of last year and grew hot over the break.

Each of these projects have required some amount of re-write of contract terms.  Coincidentally all of these agreements started on Vendor paper (or the Vendor’s form of agreement).

As I have completed my reviews (all around the same time), it became evident that the vast majority of these were lacking some of the same things.

Some were vague in their description of scope of work, others had poorly defined payment terms, others simply offered no contractual remedy in the event of a breach.

In previous articles we reviewed the differences between a scope of work and a scope of services.  Collectively these two pieces of information convey the scope of the agreement.

Of course this is the number one part of an agreement that needs to be right, but there are a few others: