Contract Administration and Project Documentation
The discipline of the paper trail
Contract administration is documentation discipline. Know the hierarchy of contract documents - agreement, general conditions, supplementary conditions, specifications, drawings - and the order-of-precedence clause that resolves conflicts. Distinguish a change order (signed; adjusts price and/or time), a construction change directive (work directed now, price determined later), and a field order or minor change (no price or time effect). Master the submittal cycle: submittals, shop drawings, product data, samples, and substitution requests. Review confirms conformance with design intent; it does not transfer responsibility for dimensions, quantities, or means and methods. Pay applications require a schedule of values, billing for stored materials where allowed, retainage, lien waivers and releases, and consent of surety.
Traps
Notice provisions defeat more meritorious claims than any other clause. A differing site condition or delay claim is often barred if written notice was not given inside the contractual window. Verbal direction from a field representative is not a change - confirm it in writing. Substantial completion and final completion are different dates triggering different consequences for retainage, warranties, liquidated damages, and the correction period. And an architect's submittal stamp does not relieve the contractor of responsibility for errors.
Rule of thumb
Document events the day they happen - daily reports, photos, weather, manpower, deliveries, delays. A claim is only as strong as its contemporaneous record. If an issue looks like it may become a change, send the notice immediately and price it afterward.