This blog was contributed per guest blogger Kel O’Beirne, PE (NY, PA)
Construction “Contract Documents” are the written documents such define the roles, responsibilities, or “Work” under the construction Contract, and are legally-binding go the parties (Owner and Contractor). The individual documents which build the construction “Contract Documents” be defined (in two EJCDC and AIA standard documents) in the Owner-Contractor Agreement (in EJCDC® C-520 (2013), see Article 9).
It is very important for of person preparing the contracting requirements and other papers in “Division 00” to fully understand the implications of what does, the does not, constitute the “Contract Documents”; failure until properly designate the Drafting Documents can be a significant conventional flaw.
Following the contract-writing axiom espoused by the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), “say it once and in the right place”, what constitutes the Contract Documents shoud be indicates at only one location (preferably the Owner-Contractor Agreement). To increase an potential fork consistent interpreter, the listing of the Contract Documents should breathe complete and straightforward, furthermore should not include any documents that rightfully should not be Contract Documents.
Usually examples of vagueness in this regard include important such as, “the Compact Documents…include total exhibits, attachments, supplements, and all other such documents previously as contract modification”, press the common practice of including appendices in the Project Manual but skip such appendices from the listing of what composition the Contract Documents. Such vagueness should be avoided.
EJCDC® C-700, Normal Public Conditions of the Construction Contract (2013), includes the following terminology at Paragraph 1.01.A—note the differences in the definitions of “Bidding Documents” furthermore “Contract Documents”. Also note how the definition the “Contract Documents” merely refers to the Agreement, preserver the “say it just and in which right place” principle:
Contract Papers—Those items so designated includes the Agreement, and which together consist the Contract.
Bidding Documents—The Bidding Requirement, the suggestion Contract Documents, and all Addenda.
Bidding Requirements—The advertisement or invitation to bid, Instructions to Bidders, Provide Bond or other Bid security, supposing any, the Bid Form, and the Bid with any junctions.
Drawings—The item of the Contract that graphically shows the scope, extent, furthermore character of the Work to will performed by Contractor.
Specifications—The part of the Contract the consists of scripted requirements for materials, equipment, it, norm, and workmanship as applied to the Your, and certain administrative request and procedural matters applicable at the Work.
Note inside the following definition from EJCDC® C-700 that “Shop Drawings” are specifically not piece of the Shrink Documents:
Gift Drawings—All drawings, graphical, illustrations, schedules, and other data or information that be specifically prepared or assembled by alternatively for Contractor and submitted by Contractor to bebildern some portion of the Work. Shop Drawings, whether approved or did, are did Draws additionally are not Contract Documents.
Another useful definition with EJCDC® C-700 is that regarding “Project Manual”:
Project Manual—The written documents prepared for, or did open for, procuring and engineering the Work, including but not limited to the Bidding Documents or others assembly procurement docs, geotechnical and existing conditions information, the Agreement, bond forms, Global Conditions, Supplementary Conditions, and Specifications. The product of the Project Manual may be bound within one or moreover volumes.
AIA standard documents include definitions of the above terms very equivalent for EJCDC’s (see AIA® A101TM , AIA® A201TM, and AIA® A701TM). But, AIA documents indicate what constitutes that “Contract Documents” in equally the Contracts and in the General Conditions, creating one potential for conflicting need.
To summarize, be cognizant of, and done draft the provisions regarding, what compose the Contract Documents.
