Best Practices – Standard Form Agreements – The World’s Equivalent to the AIA

There are a number of organizations around the world that also offer standard construction forms.

To GMP or not to GMP that is the question?

In a recent article about pricing models, I gave a brief overview on a pricing model known as Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP). This pricing model is often used because of the provisions that protect Owner’s from change orders. These provisions are often misunderstood and Owner’s believe that once the price is set, it cannot be…

When do You Need a Permit? (Part 2) Zoning Application

As part of a multi-part series on the most common types of permits, this entry addresses the 6 considerations of zoning applications. Click here to read the first part where I explain these 6 considerations in detail. This week’s news story is right out of my back yard here in Bucks County Pennsylvania where we…

Pricing models what are they and when are they used?

Many property Owners and construction professionals have the misconception that the only way to solicit pricing for design and construction services is to request a fixed price lump sum quote. There certainly are occasions when fixed price lump sum quotes are a good choice, but this should not be taken for granted. In order to…

How Much Time Should Procurement Take?

In an article posted on December 4, 2016 the Bangkok Post announced that the First Batch of air-conditioned NGV buses have arrived.  The article reports that these buses will be delivered by December 29 following a procurement cycle that took FOURTEEN (14) years! That’s right!  The next time you complain about the time it takes…

Why you need a milestone schedule and how to create one.

One of the most important parts of any project is it’s schedule.  The schedule of a project impacts cost and quality.  If your solicitation is silent on schedule, bidders will be forced to make assumptions.  Invariably, their assumptions will vary causing your quotes to have a wide spread. Publishing a schedule brings it’s own set…

What are the phases of work of a typical project?

No matter how big or small, all construction projects follow the same basic phases of work. Spending an appropriate amount of time (relative to project complexity) at each phase can mean the difference between the success or failure of your project.  If you try to skip a phase or fail to perform the proper due…