1
Construction
Contract Documents
Michael E. Purdy
Contracts Manager
University of Washington
(206) 221-4235
mpurdy@u.washington.edu
Procurement Models
z Models of construction contracting:
– Design/Bid/Build
– Small Works Roster
z Limited Public Works process
– GC/CM
– Design/Build
– Job Order Contracting
Managing Your Contracts
z Review boilerplate annually
z Know your contract documents
– Provide training for administrative & technical staff
z Use appropriate contract format
– APWA / WSDOT
– AIA (subscription fee)
– Custom specification
– CSI (organizational structure only)
– Other
Contract Content
z Scope
z Time
z Cost
z Terms and Conditions
Contract Components
z Bidding Documents
z General Conditions
– Changes to General Conditions
z Specifications
– Forms
– Prevailing Wage rates
z Drawings
z Reports: investigations of physical conditions
– Survey of Hazardous Materials
– Soil boring logs
Contract Formation
z Review Specs: Review consultant’s work for
consistency with boilerplate and your processes
z Definitions: Use definitions consistently throughout
– Capitalization of defined terms
z Dates: Maintain consistency of dates of components
of the contract documents
z Project Name: Keep project name project consistent
on all components of the contract documents
Contract Formation
z Formatting: Format documents for clarity:
– Last revision date
– Reference project name and number on each page
– Number of pages (page x of y)
– “End of Section” reference
z Make Changes as Necessary: Identify issues that
should be considered and addressed on a project-
by-project basis.
z Maintain Integrity of Boilerplate: Establish document
control standard to maintain integrity of boilerplate
Contract Formation
z Say it Once: Address subject matter once in
documents
– Avoids conflicts and need to change in multiple locations
z Make the Contractor Responsible: Assign
responsibility to contractor only
– Contractor is responsible for the work of subcontractors
z Limit Submissions with Bid: Require minimum
information to be