Construction and Evaluation: Bidding, Administration, and Closeout
This domain tests the architect's role after documents are issued: bidding and award, construction contract administration, payment certification, closeout, and evaluation of the completed building.
Bidding and award
- The invitation to bid, bid form, bid security, and addenda issued before bid opening. Addenda after opening are not addenda.
- Award normally goes to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder; responsiveness means complying with the bid documents, responsibility means being capable of performing.
- Bonds: bid bond, performance bond, and payment bond protect different parties. Substitution requests and or-equal proposals are evaluated on equivalence, not preference.
Construction administration
- The architect observes for general conformance with the documents. The architect does not supervise, direct, or control the contractor's means, methods, or jobsite safety.
- Submittals (shop drawings, product data, samples) are reviewed for conformance with the design concept and the information in the contract documents. Review is not approval of dimensions or construction means.
- Instruments: RFI for questions, ASI for clarification without cost or time change, change order for modifications, payment certification through the application and certificate for payment with a continuation sheet.
- Closeout: substantial completion, punch list, final completion, warranties, O and M manuals, record documents, commissioning, and post-occupancy evaluation.
Worked example
Contract sum $2,000,000 with 10 percent retainage on work in place. Prior certificates total $800,000, with $80,000 retained. This month the contractor reports $300,000 of work in place and $50,000 of stored materials, and the contract permits storage with a bill of sale. Amount due = 300,000 + 50,000 − (10 percent × 300,000) = $320,000. No retainage is taken on the stored materials because the contract does not authorize it. If the contractor had reached 50 percent completion and the contract releases half the retainage, the calculation changes again.
Traps that cost marks
- Believing a site visit transfers responsibility for defects to the architect.
- Treating a payment certificate as a warranty that quantities are correct.
- Assuming the architect's duties end at substantial completion; warranty review and final payment remain.