Change Management: other side of the coin
May 16/23
by Michael Copas
In the last article on this topic, we explored the outgoing forms of CCDC 24, this time we will review the incoming forms from your contractor and others.
Related blog:
The Change Process
In the last article on this topic, we explored the outgoing forms of CCDC 24, this time we will review the incoming forms from your contractor and others. These forms are less structured and come from a variety of sources including your Client, the Owner, the contractor as mentioned, your Consultants, and depending on the contract type, each of the specialty trades. The CCDC 2 contract tends to limit all communications about the project to the contractor, while management and other contracts may have communication coming from each discipline separately. These communications have two primary functions, with the first being a Request, and the second being a Quote.
With that in mind the following is how FIVE by Statslog proposes these incoming forms be handled.
Since there are multiple sources for requests they will be treated as if they are different forms. So we will have a Request from: the Owner (Client), the General Contractor, Project Manager, Project Manager, (Builder), a Consultant ( Mechanical, Electrical, Structure, etc.) and their trade counterparts. As a matter of good practice I recommend keeping a record of each of the above. A convenient location for such records is under the Request Tab, with a different Request Type for each sender.
FIVE by Statslog recognizes that all forms are more easily found if they have a number, and date. The data and number within the form should also include: the 5 Ws, (What, Where, Why, When, and Who). So, a Request report (the Tab’s opening spreadsheet) will contain Form Type, Number, Date (when), and Title (what) as required data, and should also have a Reason (why), Location (where), and source of request (who). A user can add photos and a PDF of any drawing required. A user should always attach a PDF of the direction received. This practice will have the following specific form possibilities.
Request #1
An Owner Request, may be an email, letter, or phone call, saying, “I want to add a floor, a room, or sink.” It is important to keep a record of such directions. See the recommended data set above.Request #2
Often referred to as an RFI (Request for Information) and is submitted by the Builder. In the past couple of decades this has become the way for Builders to generate change claims from scratch. It is less a request and more a fishing expedition. Recording details of these has become necessary for self protection.Request #3
Consultant Request usually comes in the form of an Instruction or Notice from your Consultant. Rarely are these forms recorded independently, but merely as attachments to an outgoing form. Again a separate record of this independent incoming form is good practice and can be linked to any outgoing form in FIVE, making the activity less time consuming, but with exceptional benefits if ever challenged.Request #4
Trade Requests in a management project can become a huge distraction. Separate requests, although rarely appropriate, do happen and if not recorded, are problematic. Habitual recording of all requests and linking to any outgoing form makes the task easier to maintain, and is definitely provides risk reduction, rather than just good practice.
Quotes are somewhat different.
Quotes like Requests are incoming forms and also come from multiple sources, but are generally preceded by a Notice or Instruction from you or your Consultant. That means the Quote link has a precedent form and an antecedent form. In FIVE this gives the data a complete lineage for ease of search, timing as well as justification of actions.
Quote #1 from a Trade generally arrives with a covering recommendation from your Consultant, however if it comes unsolicited, it should be recorded as such but remain unprocessed until your Consultant’s recommendation arrives.
Quote #2 from a Consultant is often called a Recommendation. It covers a Trade Quote and states if the quote is reasonable, and then recommends acceptance, modification, or rejection. It should address each of the 5Ws mentioned earlier, whether or not that information is proved in the quote..
Quote #3 is occasionally used by users to send to an Owner (Client) a Quote for Additional Architectural work for this project. It is sent to the Owner but is not applied to the contract being administered in FIVE,but is a convenient way to record this information.
Recording these incoming forms organizes and shapes the whole change process so that management is possible. In FIVE a user can sort and constrain Request, and Quote reports, so that individual members of the project team can be monitored for the timeliness of their actions. So, if you’re being pressed for the timeliness of your actions, you have the tools to respond. As Ontario gets close to the implementation of the New Lien Act, Oct 2019, this will become an increasingly valuable tool.
Michael Copas is a co-founder of Statslog Software Corporation, which has been providing continuing service to contract administrators in the offices of design professionals since 1984.