In this method of implementing plant construction projects the Owner contracts with the Engineer to develop the project’s drawings and construction specifications. The Engineer may also purchase hardware and equipment and may also develop control software. Once the design is complete the Owner goes out for bid and construction Contractors are selected. The Engineer often remains on the project to observe the construction process, answer questions and assist in the startup testing. The following diagram defines the legal relationship between each party.
The success of every construction project depends as much on the project owner as it does on the engineers and contractors themselves.
The owner:
Sets the parameters that define the project;
Establishes reasonable goals for the project;
Obtains adequate funding, including appropriate contingencies;
Develops and understands reasonable expectations for the project, its goals, and the parties involved in the design and construction;
Develops or defines project design and construction criteria, programs, and needs;
Ensures the proper assignment of responsibilities and of the related risks of the construction team and providing for authority to manage them;
And so on.
The engineer's role during the typical construction project is first to develop the construction plans and specifications, then to administer the construction contract. During the construction phase of the project the engineer’s role is:
Representing, advising, and consulting with the owner during construction;
Coordinates the work between the Owner and the Contractor;
Providing interpretations and clarifications of the requirements of the construction contract;
Providing observation of the work of the contractor as it progresses;
And so on.
The essence of the contractor's contractual responsibilities include the furnishing of the labor, materials, and equipment and related services (the work) for a contract price and within the contract time.
The contractor must be able to complete the work in a manner that gives him or her the ability to do so in his or her own, unique way. It is this willingness to take risks for the potential for reward, which drives construction contractors. Examples of these independent duties of the contractor include:
Schedule and coordinate the work by the contractor and its subcontractors;
Supervise (control, direct, and coordinate) the performance of the work;
Provide labor, material, and equipment as necessary for the work;
Initiate, maintain, and supervise all safety precautions and programs in connection with the work;
Select and provide the means, methods, techniques, sequences, and procedures of construction; and
Warrant and guarantee that all work will be in accordance with the contract documents and will not be defective.
It is important that the contractor's independent duties not be confused with those of the owner and engineer. Duplicating the responsibilities, by either shifting or reassigning the contractor's responsibilities to the engineer, does not serve the goals or objectives of the owner. It usually results in confusion or ambiguity that ultimately leads to disputes, claims, or litigation. The cooperation and assistance of the owner, the contractor, and the engineer is critical to the success of the project. But the bottom line for the contractor is the ability and willingness to assume and to fulfill the independent duties for furnishing the work in accordance with the requirement of the contract documents within the contract price and within the contract time.
In the future we will explore the Design/Build construction project where the role of the engineer changes substantially from that of the traditional construction project.
The National Society of Professional Engineers produced a series of articles concerning this legal relationship between Owner, Engineer and the Contractor during a traditional construction project titled “For The Client” At the following website you will find the complete text of these articles that were used to develop the summary that we have presented: http://www.nspe.org/liability/in1-cli.asp
In this method of implementing plant construction projects the Owner contracts with the Engineer/Contractor or Contractor/Engineer company or team. Depending upon who takes the lead in the project, to develop the project’s drawings, purchase equipment and construct the plant. There is a fundamental difference in responsibility between the two types of project execution methods. Under the Design/Build, (D/B), approach there is a single point of responsibility, i.e. the engineer/contractor team. Using the traditional approach, the engineer has specific responsibilities, which are separate and different from the responsibilities of the contractor.
A design-build contractor provides a single source of responsibility to the owner for project design and construction. Regardless of whether design services are provided by an in-house design staff, joint-venture partners, or subcontracted to architects/engineers (A/Es), system integrators (S/Is), or others, the design-build entity cannot divorce itself from design responsibility.
The design/build method requires the owner to develop a detailed project scope document to define the basic needs for the project. This scope definition is often provided by the Architect/Engineer under the traditional project method but must be performed before the D/B project can be bid. The D/B contractor requires more initial information to develop their proposal than does the A/E firm. The looser the definition at the bid stage the more changes can be expected as the project moves forward. The main difference is that under the traditional method, the design issues are developed and resolved during the design phase and before the construction bids are obtained. Under the Design/Build method, many of these issues must to be developed and resolved before the D/B project is bid or costs will spiral out of control.
Often the Owner will contract out this initial requirements gathering effort along with the development of a functional specification if they don’t have the resources to perform this task in-house. This is a far better practice than going out for bids with a very limited project scope document. We at Pfeiffer Engineering have developed a four-step process for helping our client go through this requirements gathering/scope preparation effort. In the long run it saves significant time and will prevent the majority of changes typically encountered in a D/B project if the project is well defined up front.
|
|
Design/Build |
Traditional |
|
Owner Risk |
Greater |
Lesser |
|
Contractor Risk |
Greater |
Lesser |
|
Initial Owner Effort |
Large |
Small |
|
Need for requirements gathering by Owner |
Large |
Often performed by the A/E or SI |
|
Length of Project |
Shorter |
Longer |
|
Responsibility |
Single Point |
Separate Responsibilities |
|
Owner Involvement |
More |
Less |
|
Quality Check |
Self Policing by Contractor |
Engineer Checks Contractor |
|
Dispute Resolution |
|
Engineer can act as a mediator |
|
Simple Project |
Best Fit |
|
|
Highly Complex Project |
|
Best Fit |
The success of every construction project depends as much on the project owner as it does on the engineers and contractors themselves.
The owner:
Sets the parameters that define the project;
Establishes reasonable goals for the project;
Obtains adequate funding, including appropriate contingencies;
Develops and understands reasonable expectations for the project, its goals, and the parties involved in the design and construction;
Develops or defines project design and construction criteria, programs, and needs;
Ensures the proper assignment of responsibilities and of the related risks of the construction team and provides for authority to manage them;
And so on.
Additional owner tasks under D/B;
Detailed definition of project requirements
Set the material, equipment and construction quality specifications
Perform construction inspections
Approve all materials and methods
The engineer is no longer a separate entity working for the owner but rather is part of the design/build team.
The essence of the contractor's contractual responsibilities includes the furnishing of the labor, materials, and equipment and related services (the work) for a contract price and within the contract time as under the traditional approach. In addition, under the Design/Build approach the Contractors role is increased to include the majority of the design aspects of the project.
The contractor must be able to complete the work in a manner that gives him or her the ability to do so in his or her own, unique way. It is this willingness to take risks for the potential for reward, which drives construction contractors. Examples of these independent duties of the contractor include:
Schedule and coordinate the work by the contractor and its subcontractors
Supervise (control, direct, and coordinate) the performance of the work
Provide labor, material, and equipment as necessary for the work
Initiate, maintain, and supervise all safety precautions and programs in connection with the work
Select and provide the means, methods, techniques, sequences, and procedures of construction
Warrant and guarantee that all work will be in accordance with the contract documents and will not be defective
Additional duties under the Design/Build method
Responsible for the design
Responsible for the performance of the project