Project and Practice Management Flashcards
The type of foundation system to be used on a construction project should be determined by
A. the structural engineer
B. a geotechnical engineer
C. a civil engineer
D. the architect
The answr is A.
Solution
The geotechnical engineer makes the various soil tests required for a particular site and suggests the type of foun dation, based on the bearing capacity of the soil and other factors. However, responsibilty for the design of the foun dation and type of system employed is ultimately the struc tural engineers.
Typically, the geotechnical engineers report is contracted and paid for by the client, and the services of the structural engineer are included in the architect’s scope of services.
In order to finance public improvements with the goal of encouraging private development, a city’s redevelop ment agency would most likely use
A. general obligation bonds
B. developer impact fees
C. business improvement districts
D. tax increment financing
The answer is D.
Solution
Tax increment financing is a method cities use to issue bonds to pay for improvements (such as new sewers or streets) within a specified district that are intended to stimulate private development within the district. During the time of redevelopment, taxes are based on the assessed valuation prior to the redevelopment. After the development period, the increase in taxes due to the development (the tax incre ment) is used to repay the bonds.
General obligation bonds are typically used to fund a specific project, such as a library or fire station. They are not used to encourage private development, although later private development could be a consequence of the new public facility being constructed (such as apartments or restaurants built in the vicinity of a publicly funded baseball stadium). Because all taxpayers in the jurisdiction issuing the general obligation bonds must pay off the bonds through a property tax, a voter majority is required.
Developer impact fees are generally used to fund infrastruc ture improvements made necessary by new development. Although these fees are a common method of raising money, they can have a negative effect because developers look for areas to build in where impact fees are not charged.
Business improvement districts are used to fund public space improvements, such as streetscapes, to enhance an area’s appeal and, indirectly, its property values. Taxes are assessed on those property owners in the district who would benefit from the improvements, so this type of financing is not intended to encourage private develop ment.
Terms to Know
ad valorem tax: a tax based on the value of the property
A client has requested that the time for design and construction document production be shortened. The architect’s best course of action would be to
A. hire additional employees
B. have the design team work overtime
C. assign more existing employees to the design team
D. ask the client to reduce the scope of the project
The answer is C.
Solution
Of the choices given, trying to utilize existing employees would make the most sense from the standpoint of person nel and office management.
Hiring new employees would be shortsighted unless their long-term need was assured. Having people work overtime is generally not an efficient or productive approach in the long run and should not be used to complete an entire pro ject. The client should not have to reduce the scope of the project just to accommodate the lack of staffing in the archi tect’s office. The architect may be justified in asking for a change to the owner-architect agreement if the original pro ject parameters are changed by the client.
Which of the following is normally NOT provided as part of an architects standard services?
A. a project manual
B. program development services
C. structural design services
D. a review of shop drawings
The answer is B.
Solution
Under Article 2.2 of the second part of AlA Document B141, Standard Form of Architect’s Services: Design and Con tract Administration (CCAC Document 6, Article 1.1, Sched ule of Client’s Responsibilities), the owner is responsible for furnishing a program setting forth the owners objectives, schedule, and space requirements and relationships. How ever, at the time of writing the agreement between architect and owner, the architect and owner may mutually designate additional services. These additional services are listed in a table in Article 2.8. If the client requests programming development or other services not normally performed, they should be listed here.
Under Article 2.4, the architect’s design services include normal structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering services, even though these are commonly performed by consultants.
Study Note: Normally, the owner is also required to fur nish a property survey and the services of geotechnical engineers (soils reports).
An architect has been asked to develop an agreement for services between owner and architect to design a small, speculative office building for a new client. In order to increase the likelihood of making a profit on the project, which of the following compensation methods should the architect propose?
A. square footage
B. stipulated sum
C. percentage of the work
D. multiple of direct personnel expense
The answer is D.
Solution
The multiple of direct personnel expense includes the salaries of people working on the job and their required benefits, plus overhead and profit. Because this is a time-based method of compensation, each hour spent working on the project includes a profit factor. For a new client wanting a specula tive type of building, the architect should use the multiple of direct personnel expense method, to increase the odds of getting paid for all services performed.
There are too many unknowns to use the other compensa tion methods. Square footage methods are best used for repetitive types of projects for which the architect has good historical time and expense data. Work based on a stipulated sum may run over the originally allotted time, decreasing or eliminating any profit first estimated. With a percentage of the work method, a great deal of time may be expended even on a low-cost building, such as a speculative office.
Study Note: There are at least 10 methods of calculating compensation for architectural services. Four are time based: multiple of direct salary expense, multiple of direct personnel expense, professional fee plus expenses, and hourly billing rate. Other methods include stipulated sum, percentage of cost of the work, square footage, unit cost, multiple of consultants’ billings, and royalty In many cases, different methods of compensation are com bined on the same project.
Which of the following project management activities would most likely ensure that construction documents are completed on schedule and within budget?
A. documenting all meetings and correspondence
B. establishing time and fee projections
C. monitoring time sheets
D. setting milestones
The answer is C.
Solution
Monitoring the progress of a job is critical to ensuring that the original schedule and fee projects are being met.
Although establishing time and fee projections is a critical component of project management early in the project, continual monitoring is also required. Setting milestones for when certain intermediate work is to be completed is also important, but actual work completion must be compared with the estimated schedule to meet the final deadline.
When deciding whether to accept a project from a potential client, the architect should be most concerned with the
A. architect’s current level of staffing
B. project’s financial feasibility
C. project’s distance from the architectt office
D. question of whether the client has worked with an architect before
The answer is B.
Solution
Although the architect should be concerned with all of the parameters listed, the financial feasibility of the project is the most important. Without a viable project, the architect may perform preliminary work without getting paid, and the project might never be completed, negating the reason for accepting the project in the first place.
When developing a schedule for design services, the architect should be concerned about all of the following EXCEPT the
A. architect’s number of available staff
B. client’s decision-making and approval process
C. structural consultant’s workload
D. size of the project
The answer is C.
Solution
The architect does not have direct control over the consultants’ workload or ability to do any given job.
The design schedule is impacted by the size and complex ity of the project, the number of people available to work on the project, and how quickly the client can make required decisions and approve the architect’s work during the vari ous stages of the design. In addition, the abilities and design methodology of the architect’s team can affect the time it takes to produce a job.
An electrical engineer would typically perform load calculations and develop panel schedules in which phase of basic services?
A. pre-design
B. schematic design
C. design development
D. construction documents
The answer is C.
Solution
Prior to doing load calculations and developing the specific panel schedules, the electrical engineer would need specific information from the architect concerning power outlet locations and service needs of the equipment the client was planning on using. This information would be developed during the pre-design (programming), schematic design, and design development phases and would then be avail able to the electrical engineer for design development. The final checking and drafting would be done during the con struction documents phase.
Study Note: Know the responsibilities of the various consultants during the major design phases of a project.
During a construction project, the electrical contrac tor discovers a code violation error on the electrical engi neer’s drawings. Determining how to correct the problem and paying for any costs associated with the error is the responsibility of the
A. architect
B. electrical engineer
c. electrical contractor
D. general contractor
The answer is B.
Solution
AlA Document Cl41, Standard Form of Agreement Between Architect and Consultant (CCAC Document 9, Canadian Standard Form of Agreement Between Architect and Consul tant), states that consultants are responsible for code com pliance regarding their areas of the work. By signing their documents, the consultants become responsible for compli ance with applicable codes and regulations.
Study Note: Review AlA Document C141 (CCAC Docu ment 9). Consultants are also responsible for the accu rate production of their own drawings and specifications and should check their own documents for consistency. However, from a legal perspective, the architect as prime consultant is liable to the owner for the consultant’s work.
An architectural firm is commissioned to remodel a large warehouse building into a multiscreen cinema com plex. During the pre-design phase, the architect tells the client that the existing structure must be reviewed and sur veyed by the consultants on the design team. Which con sultant would be LEAST critical to involve at this time?
A. civil engineer
B. structural engineer
C. mechanical engineer
D. electrical engineer
The answer is A.
Solution
The condition of the major systems and structures of the building would be of most concern during the preliminary examination of the building proposed for remodeling. Any possible civil engineering work, such as site grading, drainage, and the like, could wait until a later time.
An architect suggests that the client contract directly with the structural engineering consultant. A primary rea son for suggesting such an arrangement might be because it
A. gives the architect more control over the consultant’s work
B. permits the consultant to start work earlier
C. permits the owner to better coordinate the efforts of the project team
D. relieves the architect of responsibility for paying the consultant
The answer is D.
Solution
When an owner contracts directly with a consultant, the architect is not involved with contract provisions, contract disputes, or payment to the consultant. However, the archi tect sacrifices some control over the consultant’s services by not contracting directly with the consultant.
Some clients discover shortly after hiring the architect for programming and design services that they must move out of their existing facility sooner than expected. The new schedule requires that construction and move-in be com pleted in 18 months instead of the original 21 months. Which recommendation from the architect is the most feasi ble?
A. Consider fast-track construction.
B. Use CPM scheduling and use a negotiated con
tract rather than bidding the project.
C. Assign more staff in the architect’s office to pro gramming and design and work overtime to get construction started earlier.
D. Suggest that the client streamline its decision making process and hire a construction man ager.
The answer is A.
Solution
Reducing the total time by three months means about a
15% reduction. Fast-track construction would probably take this amount of time off the process.
CPM scheduling would not help much, and negotiation rather than bidding would reduce the time a little, but cer tainly not by three months. In addition, negotiation would most likely result in a higher cost to the client. Adding more people to the design process would only help a little, and overtime is generally not efficient. Streamlining the deci sion-making process would not reduce the time required and would probably not be acceptable to the client.
Which of the following statements is true?
A. An owner has an exclusive license to reproduce drawings for the contractors use in building the project.
B. An owner may assign the license to the instru ments of service to a lender if it is a condition of financing.
C. If an architect is found to have defaulted on an owner-architect agreement, the owner receives a nonexclusive license to reproduce the instru ments of service and may authorize another architect to complete the project.
D. An owner may use the instruments of service from a project for an addition or renovation to that project.
The answer is C.
Solution
AlA Document Bl41, Section 1.3.2, addresses issues related to the instruments of service. The instruments of service include sketches, drawings, models, specifications, CAD files, and any other deliverables that help move a project from an idea to a real building.
Subparagraph 1.3.2.2 grants the owner a nonexclusive license to the instruments of service for the purposes of constructing the project, which means that the owner may reproduce the documents as necessary to facilitate con struction. If the agreement is terminated, the license is ter minated and the architect retains ownership of the documents. If the architect is judged to be in default by a court or arbitration board, the owner is given a new, nonex clusive right to copy the documents and may use them to complete the project with the assistance of another archi tect.
Subparagraph 1.3.2.3 states that the owner may not assign his license to any other party without the architect’s con sent. It also prohibits the owner from using the instruments of service for a future renovation without the architect’s knowledge and consent.
What is a utilization ratio?
A. a measure of an employee’s billable time versus overhead time
B. a comparison between programmed and non
programmed spaces
C. a calculation of the efficiency of a mechanical system
D. a way to express the buildable area of a site
The answer is A.
Solution
A utilization ratio is used by firms to determine the amount of time spent on billable work as a percentage of total time for which an employee is compensated. A utilization ratio can be used in an analysis of the profitability and financial standing of a firm. It is calculated by dividing direct hours (or hours billed to projects) by total hours. Generally, employees at lower levels in the firm (drafters, interns, etc.) have higher utilization ratios than project architects and partners, who likely devote a portion of their time to over head activities such as firm management and marketing.
