ConstructionAdvisorToday

Change Order Limitations Can Lead to Mischief

Change order limitations are sometimes imposed on public works contracts by statute, regulation or the contract itself. The underlying policy is to protect the project budget and the integrity of the public procurement process by limiting the expansion of the contractual scope of work. A limitation typically states that if the estimated cost of a change order exceeds a certain percentage of the original contract price, the additional work must be put out to bid.

Formal Launch of France GBC Progresses

The World Green Building Council (World GBC) earlier this month reported that a GBC representing France "is being constituted gradually."

Among the organizations putting the France GBC together are Effinergie Association, HQE Association, Qualitel Association, Resobat Association, CSTB, Afnor Group, and the French Insitute for Energy Performance in Buildings. France Green Building Council is also supported by "Plan Batîment Grenelle," the national French state task force for greening the building industry.

QA Graphics Expands Capabilities to Provide BIM Design

QA Graphics has expanded its capabilities to provide building information modeling (BIM) design for building product manufacturers.

QA Graphics provides various graphic outsourcing solutions for the building industry, including the creation of 3D models and animations for manufacturers' building products, designing control system graphics, and the development of energy education dashboards to provide education about a building's sustainable features. The company has worked with several manufacturers to provide 3D design and animation services to represent their heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing equipment.

Project Owner Liablility for Nondisclosure of Superior Information

The concept of “superior knowledge” or “superior information” is unique to construction contracting. Contract law in general holds a party responsible for intentionally withholding significant information in order to mislead the other party. This is usually characterized as “fraudulent misrepresentation” or “fraudulent inducement.”  With construction contracting, a project owner may be liable to a contractor for failing to disclose significant information even though the nondisclosure was not intentional or fraudulent.

Avatech Helping to Design BIM Content and Develop Building Product Model Publishing Strategy

Baltimore-based Avatech Solutions Inc.'s professional services group is working with the Building Technologies Division of Siemens Industry Inc. in designing building information modeling content and developing a building product model publishing strategy.

Hara To Manage, Optimize Effectiveness of Sustainability, Energy Initiatives for Las Vegas Green

The City of Las Vegas has selected Hara, a provider of environmental and energy management software, to consolidate the city's energy and natural resource emissions data into a comprehensive environmental system of record and to track, manage, and optimize critical sustainability initiatives.

Subcontractor "Pass-Through" Claims Still a Matter of Controversy

Subcontractor “pass-through” claims, sponsored by a prime contractor against a public project owner, are both useful and controversial. A pass-through claim results from a claim liquidation agreement between the prime and the sub. The prime agrees to pursue the project owner, at the prime’s expense, for the subcontractor’s increased costs. The prime will pass through the recovery, if any, to the sub. In return, the sub agrees to accept only what the prime is able to recover from the owner and otherwise hold the owner harmless.

Construction Expert Offers Advice on Change-Management Issues Involving Construction Projects

Before developing a strategy for managing change in construction projects, it is imperative to understand why change occurs, Bruce Hallock, vice president of Marsh Risk Consulting, told attendees of a webinar that CPC/BIM sponsored June 22.

There are six primary causes of change in construction, Hallock said during the webinar, entitled "Change Management: Managing Change vs. Administering the Change Order Process." Such causes include the following: differing site conditions; design revisions; errors and omissions; performance errors; market conditions; and conscious decisions.

Advances Reported in Various Green Building Computer Programs, BIM

Several entities recently announced developments involving green building programs and building information modeling (BIM) technology. Such entities include Integrated Environmental Solutions Ltd. (IES), GreenWizard Inc., InPro Corp., and the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA).

IES, a provider of integrated performance analysis software and consulting services for sustainable building design, June 22 released version 6.1 of its software suite, called "V6.1 of the IES Virtual Environment (VE) suite."

Much Maligned "Total Cost Method" Gets New Life

The “total cost method” of quantifying construction claims has always had a bad reputation. The technique compares the cost of the work as bid with the cost of the work as performed and attributes all the cost increase to the acts or omissions of the project owner. It has been considered a bad practice because it is imprecise and it lacks proof of causation by the owner. Now, however, the technique has been resurrected as the “modified total cost method.” And it is enjoying success.