Volume 40, August 2000: Pre-construction Coordination - Quality Control

Perspectives
A Quarterly Information Source from Benchmark, Inc.
Volume 40 August 2000

Pre-construction Coordination - Quality Control

by Steve Nelson, RRC

Managing construction planning activities with a roofing contractor between contract award and project start is a critical preventive approach to construction quality control. Typically, a thorough bid meeting is conducted with reputable contractors, at which time all of the contractor's questions are answered to their satisfaction. The bids come in close, indicating that project requirements are apparently well understood by everyone.

The two low bidders are interviewed concerning their approach to the job, a contract is awarded to the successful bidder and a project start date is established. At this point, many owners wait for materials to arrive and roofing to begin before providing quality control in the form of construction site visits.

Despite the qualifications of the contractor and the thoroughness of the bidding process, it is not unusual to arrive at the job site to discover that "similar" products have been substituted for some of the specified materials, or that details are not being constructed as the designer intended. A better price or more timely delivery may be the reason for using "acceptable alternative" materials. As for detailing, ". . .we have always done it this way . . ." and ". . . the manufacturer will accept this . . . " are common responses justifying the redesign of the system.

Other site-specific procedures dictated in the Project Manual, such as access and staging, special scheduling or progress reporting may also be ignored because the field crew has no Project Manual on the roof.

In some cases, these sorts of field changes may not alter the general design intent of the project and may be acceptable for the owner's purpose. However, on many projects where strict code approvals, insurance requirements or job site restrictions must be met, voluntary changes such as these may not be acceptable and could set the job back while corrections are made. If little or no on-site construction observation is performed, discrepancies may not be discovered until late in the project or at project completion, further complicating the situation. Coordination of pre-construction planning between the owner's representative and the contractor can help ensure that the project requirements that were so clearly communicated during the bid process are passed on to those individuals responsible for performing the work on the roof.

Review of Project Submittals
The Project Manual should require that the contractor submit for review and approval evidence that the implementation of the project is intended to follow the requirements of the contract. This is also a measure of how well the estimator has communicated job requirements to the contractor's project manager. Timing of the submittals can vary, but most should allow for review before materials are delivered and construction begins.

Following are common submittal items, the appropriateness of which may vary with the size and complexity of the project:

Signed contract
Certificate of Insurance
Contractor's "Notice of Award" to the roof system manufacturer
Bonds (Performance / Labor and Material Payment)
Permits and Fee Receipts
Schedule of Values (on which to base project invoicing)
Product Literature (samples if necessary) for all materials to be used on the job
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), where appropriate, for materials to be installed
Construction Schedule
Project Personnel Contact List (with emergency contact numbers for both on and off hours communication)
Shop Drawings (for fabricated items or requested detail modifications)

Once these items are received and approved by the owner's representative, the contractor has met the initial administrative requirements and can proceed with scheduling delivery of materials to the job site.

Pre-construction Meeting
To ensure that there is minimal distortion or loss of information in the communication of project requirements between the contractor's office and field personnel, a pre-job conference should be held on site. Ideally, those attending should include; the owner's representative, the project designer, the contractor's estimator/project manager/field superintendent/foreman, subcontractors' foremen, and the roof system manufacturer's field inspector (if not present at the bid meeting).

Revisiting job requirements with all parties present allows conflicts and misunderstandings to be resolved before they impact the project. A suggested agenda includes review of the following topics:

Introduction and role of all involved parties
Contract price and terms
General scope of the work
Bid meeting minutes
Contractor submittals
Construction schedule
Lines of communication and distribution of correspondence
Progress meetings / job problem resolution
Emergency and leak response procedures
Administrative procedures (progress reporting, field orders, change orders, documentation of unit price work, invoicing, etc.)
Job site conduct / Interaction with building tenants or patrons
Safety requirements
Temporary facilities (parking, toilets, staging and access, electrical supply, etc.)
Housekeeping on roof and grounds
Construction details (on the roof if possible)
Project close-out (final inspection, receipt of warranty, retainage invoicing, record drawings, etc.)

As part of the meeting, a pre-construction damage assessment can also be conducted to record existing building damage for which the contractor will not be held responsible.

The result of this level of pre-construction coordination should be a clear understanding among all parties of the end product to be delivered, of the basis on which the work is to be judged, and of what the consequences or remedies will be for unacceptable performance. Establishing this understanding as a preventive measure before construction begins should greatly increase the likelihood of a successful project.