Common Construction Contract Relationships and Practices
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| Most construction contracts contain similar elements defining the relationships between the owner, architect and/or engineer, and contractor. Additionally, general conditions representing common construction practices are included in the contract. Naturally, construction contract documents separate out the responsibilities of the parties with the owner carrying the burden of authority over the design professional and contractor and ultimate responsibility of payment for the work performed and materials used, the design professional accountable for the plans and specifications along with the interpretation of the same, and the contractor carrying the bulk of responsibility for the actual construction process.
As common practices go, the contractor determines the method of construction and the means to obtain the results required by the plans and specifications. He also generally determines the sequence of events and phases of construction to meet his timely performance obligations under the contract. Contract documents will often include the duty of the contractor to keep the project site free of hazards and it is commonly understood that injuries occurring on the project site are first the responsibility of the contractor. Of course, final allocation of duty on this point can change with the circumstances surrounding the injury as well as the specific understanding and agreement of the parties' contract provisions concerning responsibility.
The design professional commonly acts as the owner's agent during the construction process, ensuring progression of the construction according to the plans and specifications. The design professional's duty in this regard is outlined in the agreement between the owner and the design professional. Of key importance to the contractor is the timely receipt of progress payments for the construction. The contract documents routinely identify whether progress payments will be received and, if the parties have chosen to include this in their agreement, it is common practice for the receipt of a progress payment to be dependent on the design professional's certification of entitlement. Another critical duty of the design professional is to determine whether the construction project has been "substantially completed." Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. |