The contractor must also hire subcontractors who have particular expertise to carry out certain parts of the project that cannot be built by the contractor. Subcontractors participate in construction processes based on the services they provide as part of a construction project. The contractor must complete the project on time, which involves many construction management activities: in short, these are some of his most notable tasks and responsibilities: 1. Duty to inquire. Tender documents generally require bidders to bring questions about inconsistencies, conflicts or ambiguities to the attention of the owner and design professionals prior to submission. Such requirements can become an elaborate and tense effort to transfer responsibility for a basic rule of contract interpretation to the contractor: that ambiguities against the party who wrote the documents be resolved. In its practical application, owners and design professionals have often tried to hide behind the “duty to ask of the contractor” in confusions and ambiguities even very subtle and hidden in the contractual language. Ultimately, however, it is the obviousness or significance of an ambiguity that may require the contractor to inquire about the work in order to require clarification of that ambiguity. This may be true regardless of whether the specific liability of the contract is clearly stated in the wording of the contract or not. However, in some legal cases, it was found that such an obligation to investigate was not established as an obligation on the part of the contractor if the discrepancy in the contractual documents was subtle in nature or was hidden from appropriate verification. This is the theory generally applied by courts, but in arbitration (where the arbitrator is freer to consider a matter in the manner he or she deems fair), the above distinction is likely to apply even more. During the construction process, the contractor is responsible for monitoring progress and managing any necessary changes. Of course, contractors should always keep an eye on the scope of the project, time and budget when making decisions.

1. Compilation of relevant information from all sources which may possibly relate to a particular part of the work. 2. Correlation of this information with the respective specific requirements of the order as specified in the contract. 3. Distribution of relevant information to those who need it in a timely manner to include the information in their own work. All these activities must be carried out in compliance with the restrictions imposed by the current progress plan. In this respect, the general contractor or the prime contractor is, in a real sense, nothing more than a channel. “Coordination” becomes an ongoing mechanism through which gaps in contract documents can be detected in a timely manner to avoid costly impacts on the project. “Coordination” is not the means by which contractors become responsible for design errors.

Don`t let him become one. In the United Kingdom and some countries of the British Commonwealth, the term “general contractor” was gradually replaced by “prime contractor” in the early twentieth century. [5] This was the term used by large professional, commercial and consumer organizations when awarding works contracts, and as a result, the term “general contractor” was no longer used except in large organizations where the prime contractor is the lead manager and a general contractor shares responsibility with the professional contractors. 10. Correctly process all contractual payments. The contractor is generally responsible for paying all costs directly related to the physical completion of the work (once it has been paid by the owner for the work). These include the cost of labor, materials, equipment, tools, machinery, transportation, and consumer sales and consumption taxes. In addition, (in a simple fixed general contractual agreement), liability is also likely to be assumed for all costs of supplying all the elements necessary and ancillary to the work, such as temporary heating, lighting, utilities, etc. This description is the case, as with many construction projects. However, know what the specific requirements are for each project and manage them accordingly. Beyond absolute liability, most construction contracts generally require the contractor to make payments to its subcontractors in the same manner and to the same extent that payments for the work of those subcontractors were made by the owner to the prime contractor. The remuneration clause, which has long been an integral part of many contracts between the general contractor and subcontractors for private and public works, has been questioned in recent years.

In some States, the clause has been declared null and void. Therefore, it is best to check the statutes of the state before withholding payment from a subcontractor if and when this situation occurs in the state where you currently work. The federal Miller Act requires contractors to file a payment guarantee for federal construction projects, but this requirement also impacts compensation when paid. In a 2001 case, Walton Technology v. Westar Engineering, the subcontractor sued the contractor under the Miller Act and demanded payment even though the general contractor had not been paid. The Federal Court of Appeal held that, despite the contractor`s “pay at the time of payment” clause, the guarantor was liable, so the subcontractor was able to recover the amount owed by the general contractor using this “call for suretyship.” Construction managers may also be responsible for the management of commercial companies. Nevertheless, in many projects, clients may be responsible for commercial contracts if they have the necessary experience. If commercial contracts are not entered into on the client`s side, the management contractor is responsible. 4.

Explain the work. The contractor is usually responsible for the physical design of the work from the basic and reference information provided by the owner and then making available to the rest of the project. If the work is defective due to errors of the owner in the initial data, the contractor cannot be held responsible for the indirect effects (provided that his own adjustments have been made at least at the level of the expected professional standard for this activity). This may be true unless it is a type of error that should have been discovered by a competent contractor who adheres to their own standard professional practice. General contractors often start as construction workers. As they gain work experience, they learn about various aspects of construction, including masonry, carpentry, framing, and plumbing. Aspiring general contractors communicate with subcontractors and can gain the management skills they need to run their own business. As mentioned earlier, a contractor has several responsibilities that can vary depending on the contract. There are many roles that a contractor can take on at different stages of a project, and this section covers the most common ones. Essentially, the owner and contractor are required by law to act in good faith in the performance of their contractual obligations.

This includes collaborating and maintaining an open line of communication throughout the life of the project. A properly drafted construction contract allows owners and contractors to work together to achieve time, budget, and quality goals. 9. Review, transmit and coordinate workshop drawings. Technically, this activity of checking store drawings, submitting for approval and distributing should be included in point (8) above “coordination”, but it is dealt with in particular here, as it is one of the most common and time-consuming as a contractor. It is also the one that affects virtually every component of any project. Shop drawings submitted for approval must clearly and completely describe the specific products they represent. They should include accurate information about how these respective products interact with other parts of the work. Where there are differences between the subject matter submitted for approval and that specified, those differences should be highlighted in such a way as to allow for a specific examination without risk of oversight. It is unlikely that a contractor`s failure to notice or otherwise highlight such differences will relieve that contractor of any liability for those differences, even if the submission has the architect`s express consent.

The contractor is responsible for coordinating all dimensions to the extent necessary to properly install the work in relation to the surrounding structure. The contractor is usually not obliged to invent dimensions, indicating the dimensions originally missing in the design. This is the responsibility of the architect. For example, if a draughtsman in the steel construction shop takes over the decision on the position of the column, as may seem logically correct, but is not necessarily the result of the calculation or extrapolation of other data on the plans, such a provision should be brought to the attention of the designer for review and approval by that designer. Otherwise, the draftsman, and therefore the contractor, can probably take full responsibility for how this “missing” dimension fits well (or badly) into architecture, plumbing, plumbing, finishing, or other considerations. .