Contract Docs Suck

We have finally cleaned out our podcast studio, which had been converted into a company-Christmas-party venue. We start out today with some post-Christmas chit-chat about the challenges of Lego (or Legos if you’re an amateur), dog fur, and brotherly Christmas-gift arms race. Then we get down to business. 

As we kick off our conversation about construction docs, we start with some thoughts about history. It’s currently easier than ever for us to access any and all information… This creates some amusing pronunciation problems: Rivet? Revit?

We’ve come so far from the day of slide rules. We tend to romanticize the old days, but they were certainly more simple in some respects. This conciseness often led to a greater clarity. 

The new tools have made some parts of the process so easy, but so much is still missed. 

We find ourselves having to fill in the gaps with safe inferences, estimating upward to cover our butts. This leads to raised costs. Increased time spent in RFI just adds to the problems. (We make a reference to this RFI-related episode.)

We discuss the contributing forces: The owner has a why and a when. They also have financing concerns, insurers, and more. The architects have concerns about the how. They have risk-exposure concerns and legitimate needs for control over the process. Of course the list continues from there through several more stakeholders, each of whom has a legitimate set of priorities.

We discuss early release. Eddie shares about projects that have broken ground with only 30% documentation. He also explains how scope gap can develop in those situations. Details are missed. This sets a troubling precedent and establishes the tone for the rest of the project. 

Eddie suggests that most of the industry is currently operating on the border of the minimum standard of care. That’s where bids are set. We talk through the various considerations surrounding some past projects and bids. 

When we’re given incomplete plans, we submit RFIs. When the pile of RFIs overloads the responsible parties, the responses they give are insufficient. And the downward spiral of quality continues. 

Better planning = a better outcome. Think about how much more productive you would be if you didn’t have to spend any time on RFIs. Surveys suggest most people think they’d be 2.5x more productive. If we can recognize this, our outcomes will be better. When you crunch the numbers, it makes pretty clear sense to invest more time on design. 

Communication is easier than ever, but this means good communication is harder than ever. So many notifications! So many messages! It’s up to each person to set aside those distractions and focus on doing the job well. 

We’d like to hear your thoughts on these things. Shoot us a message if you have some insights.

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