ConstructionAdvisorToday

Board of Contract Appeals Results: Are They Still Predictable?

Several years ago the federal boards of contract appeals were consolidated into two principal boards: the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals. While the Postal Service board and Tennessee Valley Authority board continue to exist, the boards have otherwise been consolidated from 11 down to two.

The CBCA has assumed the responsibilities of former boards such as Agriculture, General Services, Department of Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Energy and Labor. The ASBCA has retained its traditional DOD jurisdiction for the Corps of Engineers and NASA boards. This consolidation leads to an interesting question. Are the results of contractor appeals to the new boards consistent with what contractors previously expected under the old boards?

Navigant Consulting, Inc., a global expert services firm serving the construction and engineering industries and presenters of WPL's upcoming webinar on Construction Scheduling, recently studied this issue. The investigators examined results from the old boards in construction related cases, categorizing them as for the government, for the contractor, or mixed. The investigators then performed a similar examination of results from the new ASBCA and CBCA. The results were then compared.

Navigant Experts Present: Construction Scheduling Games Revisited. Analysis & Defensive Strategy

3-Part Webinar Series — Starts Next Thursday:
Wednesday, March 2, 2011  ♦  1:00 – 2:30 PM EST
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Presented by:  Amanda Amadon, Steve Pitaniello and
James G. Zack, Jr. -- For bios, click here.

This three-part webinar series is designed to benefit various professionals in the construction community, including contractors, public and private owners, subcontractors, construction managers, owners' representatives, architects, and other design professionals who provide project oversight services.

Next Wednesday, WPL Publishing and experts from Navigant Consulting will begin hosting a series of 90-minute webinars to help construction professionals avoid the pitfalls of “scheduling gamesmanship.”  For additional details and registration information, click here.

GSA Sustainable Facilities Tool Released

Noblis Inc. earlier this month announced the release of the U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA's) Sustainable Facilities Tool.

GSA is rolling out its latest sustainability initiative, the web-based Sustainable Facilities Tool, to help government and industry personnel identify and prioritize cost-effective, sustainable strategies for small projects that do not normally engage workplace consultants or designers. The Sustainable Facilities Tool's initial focus is on workplace projects of less than 10,000 square feet.

Texas A&M; Seeking Participants for BIM Survey

Texas A&M University’s College of Architecture is invitng construction professionals to participte in a survey that aims to gauge how the transition to building information modeling (BIM) is impacting small architectural firms.

The study seeks to identify common BIM adoption variables that can be used to develop adoption strategies as well as business processes emerging from BIM transition. Results of the study will be made available once the investigation is complete.

Do Liquidated Damages Include Phantom Owner Costs?

Liquidated damages for late completion of a project are sometimes referred to as a “penalty.” This is inaccurate. While liquidated damages may feel like a penalty to a contractor, they cannot be punitive in nature. In order to be enforceable, liquidated damages must reflect the costs, reasonably foreseeable at the time of contract formation, the project owner will incur if the project is not completed by the scheduled deadline.

President’s New Better Buildings Initiative Wins Trade Groups’ Praise

Advocates of policies to promote green construction have applauded President Obama (D) for the Better Buildings Initiative that he unveiled earlier this month.

The initiative aims to achieve a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency for commercial buildings over the next decade. The plan is expected to spur innovation by reforming tax and other incentives to retrofit buildings, creating a new competitive grant program for states and localities that streamlines their regulations to attract retrofit investment, and challenging the private sector to invest in building upgrades through a new "Better Buildings Challenge," according to the White House.

Trimble Selected as Preferred Distributor for New Tekla BIMSight 3D Modeling Solution

On February 16th, Trimble announced that it has been selected as a preferred distributor for the new Tekla BIMSight 3D Modeling Solution.

Trimble will offer a free download of the 3D modeling solution on BIMtoField.com, a Trimble website designed to help building owners, contractors, and engineers better understand the potential of solutions that allow the transfer of building information modeling (BIM) data to field-level systems for increased productivity and cost savings.

Government Mishandling of Bid Packages

If a bid on a public contract is not complete or does not conform to the solicitation, it is considered nonresponsive and must be rejected. But what if the deviation or nonconformity results from government mishandling of the bid package? That was the apparent situation in a recent bid on a federal contract. The bid was rejected because it was accompanied by only a photocopy of the bid bond, not the signed original. The disappointed bidder cried foul.

Port of San Diego Launches Green Business Challenge

The Port of San Diego has launched a Green Business Challenge (GBC), which the organization described as a "friendly year-round competition to reduce emissions and increase efficiency among commercial and office buildings" in the area.

ICLEI USA, a local government association addressing sustainability and climate change, will assist the Port of San Diego with measurement tools, resources, and training to help participants reach their goals.

North American Version of ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition 2011 Introduced

GraphiSoft earlier this month announced the North American version of ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition 2011, the latest release of its entry-level building information modeling (BIM) solution.

The new ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition 2011 is based on GraphiSoft's ArchiCAD 14 Virtual Building technology “but with a feature set and price tailored to meet the needs of small architectural practices, home builders, and building contractors,” according to the company. “STAR(T) Edition 2011 enables customers to create a virtual building model and efficiently manage and share all of the project's data. The software is also able to automatically produce all of a project's documentation on demand.”