Specifications, Bids and Contracts

Question 1

Acceleration Cost

Answer 1

Cost incurred by a contractor when the project is interfered with by the owner in such a way that the contractor must employ more manpower or work more hours. If the contractor contributes to the cause of its own delays, acceleration cost may not be granted.

Question 2

Bid

Answer 2

An offer to perform a contract for work and labor or for supplying materials at a specified price. In the construction industry, a bid is considered an offer by the contractor to the owner. A bid, as an offer, becomes a contract once the owner accepts the bidder’s offer with all other contractual requirements in order

Question 3

Bid (Solicitation of)

Answer 3

The 3 primary documents used in the solicitation of bids by an owner are 1. Instructions to Bidders, 2. Invitation to Bid, 3. Bid Form

Question 4

Bid, Public Works Project (Advertisements for)

Answer 4

This process is governed by law and must be followed a specific way (depending on municipality rules). Generally it follows the following procedure: 1. Notice must be given to interested and qualified members of the construction community in advance of the bidding. This notice must be placed in a publicly accessible place (newspaper, magazine, government website, trade publication, etc.) This is typically called the “Notice to Bidders” and contains the following: Type of project, Location, Type of Contract, Bonding requirements, Dates to perform work, Terms of payment, Estimated construction cost (some may exclude this), time/manner/place to submit bids, location to obtain bid documents, deposit required on bid docs, Owner’s right to reject any and all bids, req’s regarding wage rates. 2. The Invitation for bids must be posted in public places and distributed to the local construction community. 3. All bidders must be treated alike and be afforded an opportunity to bid under the same terms and conditions. 4. Prequalification may be required.

Question 5

Bid, Prequalification

Answer 5

Prequalifying contractors allows for a select list of bidders (or short list) be available for various projects. It averts construction problems by limiting bidding to contractors who have the experience and financial stability to complete the project. It is more desirable to eliminate a contractor before bidding rather than show that a contractor is not qualified after that firm has submitted the low bid.

Question 6

Bid, Regular

Answer 6

While not always the same, typically anything that would lead to bid rejection constitutes a “regular bid”. So bids without a bid security, bids that fail to acknowledge addendum, late bids, not dated or missing minor info, etc.

Question 7

Bidding, Accuracy of

Answer 7

The owner is typically responsible for any errors in the bid documents, however, statements are often included which place direct responsibility for the info on the contractor.

Question 8

Bidding, The Award of

Answer 8

While contract award is given to the lowest bidder, there are stipulations that make this not all about the final $ amount. A phrase like “lowest responsible bidder submitting a regular bid” might be used.

Question 9

Bidding, The Award Phase

Answer 9

Proceeds in this manor generally: 1. Bids are opened; 2. Owner evaluates the bids; 3. Notice of Award is issued; 4. Contractor acquires the required bonds and insurance; 5. Owner conducts pre-construction conference; 6. Owner awards the construction contract; 7. Notice to proceed is issued/Contractor signs the contract; 8. First day of construction is counted… and construction begins

Question 10

Bidding (The Bid Form)

Answer 10

The form to be used by all bidders to submit their bids. It typically includes: Price (lump sum or unit price), Time of completion (if not given by owner), Bid Surety, Agreement to provide contract surety, acknowledgment of having reviewed addenda (list # of addenda reviewed), list of subs used in the bid, experience record/financial statement, plant & equipment inventory, Declaration regarding fraud and collusion, statement regarding site examination, signature.

Question 11

Bidding (Notice to Proceed)

Answer 11

Issued by the owner and stating the contract start date. Note that the contract may not be signed by the contractor when the notice to proceed is issued, or to have the contract “clock” started without the contract docs having been fully executed. Generally the notice to proceed obligates the owner to the contract, so signed or not it is official once notice is provided to the contractor.

Question 12

Bidding (Lump Sum)

Answer 12

Lump sum contracts set a fixed fee for a scope of work.

Question 13

Bidding (Unit Price)

Answer 13

Because the bidding information outlines the type of work required, but not the amount, a unit price contract would be an ideal way to address an uncertain scope of work. Unit price contracts price a unit of work, and the total project cost is determined by the number of units required in a project. For example, excavation could be priced at $10/cubic yard and a total fee would be based on the number of units of excavation required (ex. 5,000 cubic yards). Unit prices can incorporate any and all anticipated costs associated with the installation of the unit, including labor, overhead, profit and materials, and would thus be an ideal way of ensuring that the contractor could profit from a defined type of work with an uncertain scope.

Question 14

Bidding, Process of

Answer 14

After the design phase: 1. Advertisement for bidders; 2. Contractors acquire bid docs; 3. Contractor conducts quantity takeoff; 4. Addenda issued; 5. Contractor determines prices for all quantities (gets additional info from subs); 6. Contractor finalizes bid; 7. Contractor submits bid; 8. Bids are opened

Question 15

Bidders, Instructions to

Answer 15

The purpose of this form is to outline the requirements necessary to prepare and submit a bid properly, and, as such, provide detail guidance to bidders, including the process for the award of contract and the rejection of bids. The rules by which the project will be bid include: 1. Instructions relative to the procedure for writing and submitting the bid (forms, items to be priced, alternatives only allowed where called for, etc.); 2. Contractor may be required to submit an experience record (used for post qualification); 3. Listing of all documents that are in the bid docs (dwg’s, specs, alternates, instructions, etc.); 4. The construction time period; 5. Indication of who is responsible for subsoil data, test borings, errors in the plans, etc. and if a site visit is required; 6. The req’s of the bid guarantee; 7. The insurance to be provided; 8. Bonding req’s; 9. Conditions for handling bid irregularities; 10. Where and when to deliver the bids; 11. Closed or public opening of the bids stated; 12. Prebid conference may be described.

Question 16

Bidders, Responsible

Answer 16

This issue involves post qualification and allows the owner to look at more than just the $ amount submitted. It allows them to review the contractors work history, if they are over extended on other projects, underfinanced, or simply inexperienced. The endorsement of a contractor by a surety is often deemed sufficient to satisfy this criteria.

Question 17

Bidders, Responsive

Answer 17

One who has submitted a bid under a competitive sealed bid which conformed in all respects to the invitation for bids so that all bidders may stand on equal footing. One is responsive if one replies to the specific questions set forth.

Question 18

Bid (Design-Bid-Build Process)

Answer 18

Design completed before Bid, Bid completed before build. Advantages of this process include: 1. Owner benefits from competitive marketplace; 2. owner has the appearance of being impartial; 3. process fully embraces free market system; 4. may be the only viable method available for some gov. agencies. Disadvantages include: 1. Accurate costs cannot be known until the design is completed; 2. bids that exceed the owner’s budget cannot be constructed without jeopardizing the project; 3. various parties tend to be adversarial under this process; 4. Errors or Omissions in the design may lead to costly change orders.

Question 19

Bid Depository

Answer 19

A local for subcontractors to submit their bids for a particular project.

Question 20

Bid Rejection

Answer 20

The act of not allowing a bid to be included because of an impropriety in the process of submission or as a result of the owner’s arbitrary decision to reject the bid (which they reserve the right to do in a typical contract). However, in rejecting a bid, they run the risk of interfering with the bidder’s right to do work or of defamation of character.

Question 21

Bid Rigging

Answer 21

Scheme in which businesses collude so that a competing business can secure a contact for good or services at a pre-determined price.

Question 22

Bid - Additive and Deductive Alternates

Answer 22

These are ways to increase or decrease a Base Bid. Typically Additive Alternates favor the Owner (i.e. if the contractor forgets to include any work or costs, they are out the money and the owner gets a freebe), while Deductive Alternates favor the Contractor (i.e. again if the contractor forgets to include any work, then when the work is deducted from scope they don’t have to credit the owner making them not lose as much money). It is always better to do Additive Alternates, but limit the amount of them used (if any) in a bid to keep it from getting to complicated.

Question 23

Change Order

Answer 23

Document issued directing the contractor to erect some portion of the project in a manner different than described in the original plans and spec’s. This change MUST have an effect on the price and/or time of the contract, otherwise is considered a field order or minor change.

Question 24

Competitive Bidding

Answer 24

A process whereby sealed proposal are submitted to the owner for consideration. This is mandatory on public works projects. A private owner may use competitive bidding but is not legally bound by the process.

Question 25

Construction Management

Answer 25

A process of professional management applied to a construction program from conception to completion for the purpose of controlling time, cost and quality.

Question 26

Contract, Lump Sum (also Fixed-Price)

Answer 26

A contract where the project will be completed for a fixed price and no more. The primary benefit is that all parties have agreed to a predetermined budget for a defined scope of services. While the total budget for a project can be altered by mechanisms such as change orders, the lump sum contract reduces the potential for significant cost overruns. According, and unlike unit price contracts, fixed-price contracts do not require precise measurements of in-place quantities to determine payment. Payments on a Lump Sum contract is based on a cost breakdown for the work performed during the period of payment (e.g. 1 month) and verified by the owner or Architect for reasonableness.

Question 27

Contracts, Cost Plus

Answer 27

The contractor is reimbursed for most of the direct expenditures associated with a particular project PLUS an allowance for overhead and profit (usually a percentage). This can also have a guaranteed maximum so that the owner has a ‘not-to-exceed’ price on the total project (something that is difficult to do on this type of contract). This type of contract doesn’t lend itself to competitive bidding and is almost exclusively used in the private sector. Also this type of contract doesn’t place the owner and contractor in adversarial relationship (like most other contracts), however, the contractor must be trustworthy. Payments on a Cost-Plus contract is based on actual expenditures made on a project during the payment period (e.g. 1 month).

Question 28

Contracts, Unit Price

Answer 28

The primary feature is that pricing for the various units of work is determined before the start of construction. The owner estimates the number of units for each element of work (e.g. excavation 2,500 cu.yd., concrete 2,000 cu.yd. etc.) then the contractor determines the unit price for the various items in the contract. The contractor must be careful in figuring the unit price as things like overhead and profit must be built into the price. Also, if forming is required for the concrete, the cost of that needs to be included as well. Unit Price contracts are appropriate when the project is fairly well defined, but the actual quantities are hard to estimate until after construction has started. Note that some Unit Price contracts may have a maximum quantity before the unit price must be renegotiated (e.g. 20-25%). After this point the owner can, if stated in the contract, adjust the unit price to lower his/her end costs. Payments for a Unit Price Contract are based on actual in-place field quantities.

Question 29

Contracts, Unit Price (Balanced & Unbalanced Bids)

Answer 29

The difference between balanced and unbalanced is not in the total price, but in the unit price of each item. For example, a bid may be for 3 items and total $120,000. The contractor may determine that most of the work will be at the start of the project, and therefore increase the unit price of the first item while lowering the unit price of the others. The result will still be a bid for $120,000, but there will be more money made at the start then at the middle or end. This will cover mobilization or other things that might not be an itemized part of the contract. This can hurt the owner in cases where this unbalancing is more extreme to an area where the contractor thinks the owner miscalculated the quantities. If the actual quantity is much higher than the owner expected, the higher unit price charged by the contractor leads to a much higher end cost.

Question 30

Contract Documents

Answer 30

Broad term used to include all of the contract documents. This would include: Invitation to bid, Instructions to bidders, General conditions, Supplementary conditions, Bid proposal form, Bid bond form, Contract bond form, List of prevailing wages, Noncollusion affidavit, Agreement, Conditions of the Contract, Modifications, Addenda, Drawings and Technical specs.

Question 31

Contract Documents (Project Manual)

Answer 31

The written documents used in constructing the “Work”. Consists of the bidding documents, geotechnical and existing conditions, the Agreement, bond forms, General Conditions, supplementary provisions, and the technical specifications. This is usually a single binder (but can be more if very large) or “book”, and can now be done online as well. Note that while supplementary provisions and technical specifications “may” appear depending on the project and what it entails, the Project Manual will ALWAYS contain General Conditions.

Question 32

Duty

Answer 32

An obligation that a Landscape Architect is bound or required to perform

Question 33

Duty, Protection of Public Health

Answer 33

An obligation to not manipulate the environment to cause conditions that endanger the health of the public (not just the client, but anyone)

Question 34

Duty, Protection of Public Safety

Answer 34

An obligation to provide sufficiently sound construction design that can support the use intended

Question 35

Duty, Protection of Public Welfare

Answer 35

An obligation to preserve the economic value and natural resources of land

Question 36

Fast Track Method

Answer 36

A way of organizing a design program which allows the contractor to begin construction on earlier phases of the project before the plans are completed for the entire project. As changes may result when going from phase to phase, provisions must be included in the contract to compensate the contractor for additional work.

Question 37

General Contractor

Answer 37

The builder of the portion of the building which is considered the general portion not to be confused with the ‘prime’ contractor.

Question 38

Invitation to Bid

Answer 38

A solicitation for competitive offers on behalf of contractors to a procuring agency or owner. The invitation is not an offer to contract, but is simply a request for offers. It would include the project description, project title, time and place for receipt of bids and the type of contract. It would also include the identification of principals (i.e. the LA or other issuer of invitation), explain how the contract documents can be procured and state information related to any relevant bids or bonds. NOTE: The Bid Form is a separate document and would be included along with but NOT within the Invitation to Bid itself.

Question 39

Plans vs Specifications

Answer 39

On a private project, unless stipulated otherwise in a contract, the information shown in the specifications should prevail over that shown in the plans when conflicts arise between the 2 documents. However, during a public project, the majority of the contracts dictate that plan information should prevail over that shown in the specifications.

Question 40

Specifications

Answer 40

Written instructions to a contractor that supplement drawings. They define the standards of materials and workmanship that a contractor must produce, define the physical, technical, and operational aspects of a constructed design, they are given greater legal significance than drawings in the event of a conflict between spec’s and drawings. Together the specification and drawings form the technical requirements of a job.

Question 41

Specifications, Construction Specification Institute Format (CSI)

Answer 41

ASLA’s adopted construction specification format. It provides for a system for organizing the specs. CSI has also developed a Uniform System that provides a data filing system and a cost accounting system that is based on the CSI format. There are 16 divisions of the CSI Uniform System 1. General Requirements 2. Site Work 3. Concrete 4. Masonry 5. Metals 6. Wood & Plastics 7. Thermal & Moisture Protection 8. Doors & Windows 9. Finishes 10. Specialties 11. Equipment 12. Furnishings 13. Special Construction 14. Conveying Systems 15. Mechanical 16. Electrical

Question 42

Specifications, General Information about

Answer 42

For a spec to serve its purpose it must satisfy some basic criteria including: Technical accuracy and adequacy; Definite and clear stipulations; Fair and equitable requirements; a format that is easy to use during bidding and construction and legal enforceability

Question 43

Specifications, Best Practice

Answer 43

When drafting construction documents and specifications, specifications should generally only appear in a single location to avoid confusion, error and conflicts. Likewise, dimensional information should only appear in a single place - the construction details (not the specifications). Installation and methods of construction would be covered in the specifications. It is generally considered a best practice to use standard terminology between all document types to reduce the potential for errors and the need for requests for information (RFI) to the landscape architect.

Question 44

Specifications, All-Inclusive (To Be Avoided)

Answer 44

These items state something to the effect of “The intent of this spec is to provide…<a>”. This means that the Architects ‘intent’ is to be construed from the drawings and specs, so a contractor is being asked to include items that were not shown because the Architect ‘intended’ for them to be there.
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Question 45

Specifications, Incentive/Disincentive

Answer 45

The idea in which an owner will accept material of differing quality by paying more for higher quality work and less for lower quality work. E.g. compaction of subgrade, if the contract says an average of 90% compaction is sufficient the owner will pay the contract amount for that work. However, if the contractor goes further and does a 95% level of compaction, this would warrant a small increase to the payment per square footage of area done, while only doing an 85% compaction would result in a small decrease in payment per square foot. Then anything less than 80% would not be acceptable.

Question 46

Specifications, Closed

Answer 46

This spec ensures that only a specific type of item or system is used and does not have any flexibility to use an ‘equal’ item. As such this is generally only allowed in private construction as public projects require competition (i.e. an “or equal” standard). It can be either a performance or design spec. To be used in a public works project, a min. of 3 manufactures must be named which makes it an ‘open spec’, however, still restrictive.

Question 47

Specifications, Open

Answer 47

Nonrestrictive in that they allow a wide variety of choices. This spec gives the contractor the widest opportunity to get the lowest prices for delivering the project.

Question 48

Specifications, “Or Equal”

Answer 48

A proprietary specification that has the words “or equal” after it. This should be avoided without showing what the ‘equal’ brands/models include. If this is used, there should be time allowed for contractor to submit products for approval before the bidding is finished.

Question 49

Specifications, “Or Approved Equal”

Answer 49

A more open spec in the it allows for all acceptable products an opportunity to be considered. This places the determination of the acceptability of the substitution directly with the Architect or Engineer.

Question 50

Specifications, Performance and Design (To Be Avoided)

Answer 50

Combing both a performance and design spec into one is generally a bad idea, as if the contractor follows the procedures as specified, they will not be bound by the performance portion of the spec. (e.g. the wall shall consist of 2x4’s spaced at 24” o.c. and shall support a vertical load of 500 lbs per lin.ft. - i.e. if 2x4’s 24” o.c. only supports 250 lbs/lin.ft. that’s not the contractors problem as they followed the design spec)

Question 51

Specifications, 3-part spec

Answer 51

A 3-part specification consists of the following sections in this order: Part 1 - General, Part 2 - Product, Part 3 - Execution

Question 52

Specifications, Performance

Answer 52

A document that specifies the operational requirements of a component or installation, i.e. it must tell the contractor what the final installed product must be capable of doing, but not how to accomplish the task of meeting that standard. E.g. the installation of a pump for irrigation that must have a pumping rate of X, a pressure of Y, the temperature will be between A and B, and with a pH of Z; or the strength of concrete shall be 3,000 psi but NOT its finish or general workmanship.

Question 53

Specifications, Prescriptive (Design Specs)

Answer 53

Provides a much more detailed explanation of the materials that the contractor must use and the means of installing those materials. These spec’s sit more of the project design control onto the shoulders of the AE and away from the contractor, and it provides more certainty regarding the final product composition than the performance spec. It will typically be formatted into 3 sections: 1) General - contains reference to national standards, design requirements, a list of submittals from the contractor to the Arch, quality control requirements and product handling requirements. 2) Products - describes in detail the various products required for the task along with the individual structural and performance requirements of each product. 3) Execution - explains how to prepare the materials and conduct the installation, including the testing requirements to be followed. NOTE: A contractor that follows the design spec’s to the letter, but the item being constructed fails, is NOT at fault. The owner must assume responsibility.

Question 54

Specifications, Proprietary

Answer 54

Spec’s that require the use of a single approved product type and are often used where there is existing equipment or installations already on site. AE’s typically avoid this spec due to it leading to the perception of favoritism toward a certain manufacturer and may eliminate competition during the bid phase, which may increase the project cost. This is a ‘closed’ type specification.

Question 55

Specifications, Summary of the 3 Types

Answer 55

Performance: how it should function but not how to build it; Prescriptive: AE says how to do construct it but NOT how it should perform, i.e. “follow this method and we will accept the result”; Proprietary: a closed spec that deals with a specific item and nothing else will be accepted.

Question 56

Specifications, Technical

Answer 56

This is what all spec’s fall under (Prescriptive, Performance, Proprietary). These cover information that is not easily shown on the drawings, or if shown would clutter the plans with a great deal of text. These are to cover such topics like: quality of concrete, quality of workmanship, preparation of soil, compaction requirements, etc. They will follow the CSI format in many cases, and be shown in a standard format: General - which stipulates the ground rules for the work to be performed and defines the scope of work to be performed within the spec section; Product(s) - which describes the materials, equipment, accessories, components, fixtures, etc. and the development and manufacturing process to be used in producing them; Execution - which describes the preparation, workmanship, installation, erection, and application procedures to be employed along with quality requirements and performance criteria that must be satisfied.

Question 57

Specifications, Technical (Organization of)

Answer 57

They will be in a single binder (or 2-3 if too much material for just 1) and of this the technical spec will be in the later portion (can be more than half of the book). They typically follow a general order of the construction process starting with site-type items and conclude with the finish items.

Question 58

Specifications, Reference

Answer 58

These are found in technical specifications and make items, established tests, or formal procedures a part of the contractor documents by reference. E.g. “this item to conform to ASTM-#”. Ref specs not only specify quality, they also set up a standard procedure by which the acceptability of the finished product can be determined. Reference specifications are often developed by industry professionals and associations and would thus be well-vetted. Because they refer to a pre-existing standard, they also reduce the length of the project specifications.

Question 59

Specifications, Standard

Answer 59

An entire set of technical specs that have been developed by an owner. Once developed, they can be used for many similar projects and will apply to the entire industry (e.g. for building a highway, bridge, etc.)

Question 60

Unified Bid

Answer 60

In a multiple prime construction contract, solicitation for bids is presented to the bidders in several separate prime contract packages. The bidders are permitted to bid on either one or as many of the bid packages as are presented.

Question 61

Warranty of Specifications

Answer 61

The owner’s implied warranty, when providing the plans and spec’s to a contractor, that they are possible to perform and are adequate for their intended purpose and free from defect. This is NOT overcome with the usual clauses requiring bidders to visit the site, check the plans, or generally inform themselves of the requirements of the work.