ConstructionAdvisorToday

Misuse of Termination for the Convenience of the Owner

Bruce Jervis, Editor
Construction Claims Advisor

A termination for convenience clause gives a project owner broad discretion to abandon all or a portion of a project, without breaching the contract, for almost any reason. The contractor, who is not in default, is supposed to be made whole. The contractor is entitled to payment for all work performed prior to termination, as well as termination costs such as subcontractor settlements and demobilization. But the contractor cannot recover breach of contract damages such as anticipated profit on the deleted work.

New ASTM Construction Productivity Standard Released

A new standard developed by an ASTM International subcommittee is expected to facilitate better measurement of construction productivity at the task, project, and industry levels.

Proact Online Software Tool Tracks Sustainability and Operational Performance in Buildings

The sustainability consulting company CodeGreen Solutions has unveiled an online software tool called ProAct.

The software, which tracks sustainability and operational performance in existing buildings, is expected to be instrumental in helping building owners comply with mandatory energy and water efficiency reporting required by the "Greener, Greater Buildings Plan." The new laws, which recently passed in New York City, require all buildings exceeding 50,000 square feet to report energy and water efficiency benchmarks by May of next year. Other requirements of the laws, including energy audits and commissioning of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, can be avoided if buildings earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, but such certification is not required.

LEED LEED Building BD+C Exam Prep: Presented by Experts Who Helped Write the Exam!

Today, WPL Publishing will begin sponsoring a multi-media Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Building Design and Construction Exam Preparation Webinar Program. To register, visit http://tinyurl.com/36meegt. 

Included in the program are five 90-minute webinar training sessions and preparation materials. The following 90-minute sessions are scheduled: 

• Session 1, May 27, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT): Introduction/Sustainable Sites.
• Session 2, June 3, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT): Water Efficiency/Energy and Atmosphere.
• Session 3, June 10, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT): Materials and Resources.
• Session 4, June 17, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT): Indoor Environmental Quality.
• Session 5, June 24, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT): Innovation and Design/Regional Priority/Exam Preparation. 

The LEED Building Design and Construction (BD+C) exam tests a candidate's knowledge of the suite of BD+C rating systems, including New Construction, Core and Shell and Schools. This requires mastery of the requirements, key strategies, implementation and documentation contained within.  Participants in this series will:

Unabsorbed Home Office Overhead: Real Damages or Contractor Windfall?

Bruce Jervis, Editor
Construction Claims Advisor

When a contractor enters into a fixed-price contract, the contractor anticipates a certain cash flow from the contract which will absorb a portion of the contractor’s general and administrative expenses. If the project owner suspends work under the contract, the contractor will not be able to bill at the expected rate and will incur unabsorbed home office overhead. For decades, these damages have been calculated according to the “Eichleay formula.”

Delmar Publishes Construction Estimating Handbook

Delmar Cengage Learning recently announced the release of the Dewalt Construction Estimating Complete Handbook for building and construction professionals.

The handbook is intended to serve as a comprehensive but concise guide covering all aspects of the construction estimating process. The publication is geared toward professionals who want to polish their estimating skills, junior estimators, assistant project managers, and students. The guide covers bid planning, scope review, quantity take-off for all trades and divisions, cost analysis, value engineering, Excel spreadsheet estimating tutorials, and other areas.

USGBC, Green Building Council Italia Ink Memorandum of Understanding

Steve Rizer, Editor
Green Building Insider

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Building Council Italia (GBC Italia) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the organizations believe will "further green building and promote carbon emissions reductions in Italy and worldwide."

Under the agreement, GBC Italia is expected to become the first organization in the European Union that intends to implement the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system. In the GBC Italia version of LEED, local standards and codes will be referenced, Italian-specific units will be incorporated, and alternative compliance paths will be provided as appropriate to account for regional variances and contexts. The MOU also calls for collaboration between the two green building councils through the sharing of tools, research, and information involving green building.

Design Build Contacting and the Allocation of Risk

The expanded use of the design/build method of construction procurement reflects a widespread belief that it offers significant advantages to the project owner. With a single source of responsibility for both design and construction, there is less of the reciprocal finger pointing common in the more traditional design/bid/construct format. Public project owners in particular are convinced that the design/build method reduces claims during the construction phase.

New Report Analyzes the Cost of LEED-New Construction

BuildingGreen LLC last month announced the release of a report examining the costs of meeting the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED-NC) rating system.

For the first time, cost information on hundreds of specific technologies and approaches that teams are using to earn points in the current LEED-NC rating system is available in a credit-by-credit format, BuildingGreen stated. The report is entitled "The Cost of LEED: A Report on Cost Expectations to Meet LEED-NC v2009."

E-Builder Launches Enterprise 7.4 Upgrade

E-Builder recently announced the launch of e-Builder Enterprise 7.4, the first of four upgrades for 2010, including more than 70 enhancements to its flagship software-as-a-service (SaaS).

The new functionality supports collaborative BIM model review, automated file synchronization with client servers, more flexible reporting capabilities to enable visibility into both business processes and project key performance indicators, extended file categorization for improved search, and new data exchange functionality that leverages the latest agcXML standards. In addition, the company added several features to streamline data entry and approval processes for budget, cost, and schedule management, all based on feedback from the e-Builder user base.