Project Planning & Management Flashcards
When assembling a team the project manager should consider which six issues?
- the type and complexity of the project
- the size of the project
- staff availability
- experience levels
- billing rates
- personalities
What are the common methods for scheduling design and construction projects?
(1) Bar chart or Gantt chart
(2) Critical path method
In the critical path method (CMP) what does a dashed arrow represent?
Dashed arrows represent dependencies, known as dummies. These are used to give each activity a unique beginning and ending number.
What does a heavy arrow indicate in a CMP?
Critical path.
What is a work plan?
A detailed project schedule, breaking the project down into its component tasks and assigned staff members and other resources to each task.
A good work plan includes which seven items?
(1) the scope of services in the agreement
(2) a breakdown of the services to be provided into phases and individual tasks
(3) dependencies
(4) milestones
(5) the staff needed to do the work
(6) allocation of time and fees to phases and individual tasks
(7) what work will be done by consultants, and what fees and other costs will be associated with their work
What is a dependency?
A case where one task cannot be started until some other task has been completed.
What is the total working fee?
the fee available to pay people to do the job after subtracting fees for profit, consultants, and other expenses
When should code requirements be reviewed and applied?
Reviewing and applying code requirements should begin during programming and continue throughout the project.
Which eight items should be included in the project notebook?
(1) general reference
(2) contracts
(3) fees and schedules
(4) programming
(5) budget
(6) job communication
(7) construction administration
(8) close-out and follow-up
What is standard information that should be included in all meeting minutes?
project name and number, date, place of the meeting, time, people attending and the subjects covered, (weather conditions and temperature if meeting is held on the construction site).
Define project perfection syndrome.
the desire to continue to pursue perfection
Which AIA document is the standard Owner-Architect Agreement?
AIA Document B101, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect
Which Basic services are covered in the five traditional phases of design-bid-build and described in AIA Document B101?
Schematic Design Design Development Construction documents Bidding or negotiation Construction Administration
In AIA Doc B101 Article 1, “Initial Information” what information and assumptions is required by the architect and the owner?
Project’s objective Site information Owner’s Program Physical, legal, financial and time parameters Key personnel for both parties
Where is the architect’s standard of care described in the standard AIA contracts for a design bid build project?
AIA B101, Article 2, Architect’s responsibilities
What types of insurance is required for the Architect to carry under B101, Article 2?
General liability
Automobile liability
Workers’ compensation
Professional liability
The schedule provided by the architect must include which five items?
Time for the owner’s review
Performance of the owner’s consultants
Approval of submissions by authorities having jurisdiction
Expected dates for the start of construction
Expected dates for substantial completion
According to the B101 was go prepares the project schedule?
The architect
According to the B101 who prepares the construction schedule?
The contractor
According to the B101 can the architect or owner ever guarantee that bids or negotiated prices will not vary from the budget or front the estimate the architect made?
No, only the contractor can guarantee prices
Under the B101 who is responsible for furnishing land surveys to describe the legal limits of the site, grades, locations of utilities, easements, right-or-way, and other aspects of a standard survey?
the owner
According to the B101 what are the instruments of service?
Drawings, specifications, and other documents, including those in electronic form, are considered instruments of service whose authors and owners are the architect and the architect’s consultants.
What is the “waiver of consequential damages” included in B101?
Both the architect and owner waive consequential damages. This limits claims to damages resulting directly from a breach of the agreement.
Define “privity” in terms of the B101.
the principle that a contract cannot be used as the basis of a legal claim except by those who are parties to it.
Define the “waiver of subrogation” clause included in the B101.
It means the owner and architect cannot sue each other for damages if they are covered by property insurance, as is required by the owner-contractor agreement. The waiver prevents the insurance company from suing any of the principal participants in the project to recover what has been paid for an insurance loss.
Either party can terminate the agreement with no less than __ days’ written notice if the other party fails substantially to perform according to the terms of the agreement.
seven
The architect is allowed to suspend performance of services with __ days’ written notice to the owner if the owner fails to make fee payments when due.
seven
What is included in the cost of work?
labor and materials furnished by the owner and the cost of items specified or designed by the architect, plus a reasonable allowance for overhead and profit.
Does the cost of the work include professional fees, land cost, financing costs, or other costs (such as land surveys) that are the responsibility of the owner?
No, these costs are considered as part of the overall project budget.
What five options does an owner have if the lowest bid or negotiated proposal is greater than the budget?
(1) increase the budget
(2) authorize rebidding or renegotiation
(3) terminate the project
(4) cooperate with the architect to revise the project’s scope or quality
(5) implement some other mutually acceptable alternative
Under Article 8 of AIA Document B101, when one party (architect or owner) begins a claim or cause of action, what must be tried first?
Mediation
According to Article 8 of the B101, no dispute resolution proceedings whose outcome would be binding may be held before at least __ days from the date that the request for mediation was filed.
60
Which AIA document should the architect use if the owner requests a sustainably designed and constructed project?
AIA Document B101 SP, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect, for use on a Sustainable Project
If an owner is interested in pursuing LEED Certification for a project which AIA document should be used?
AIA Document B214, Standard Form of Architects Services: LEED Certification
A sustainability plan is a contract document that identifies and describes which following seven items and objectives?
(1) sustainable objective
(2) sustainable measures that will be used to achieve the objective
(3) strategies that will be used to implement the sustainable measures
(4) associated responsibilities of the owner, architect, and contractor
(5) details about design reviews
(6) details about the testing required to verify achievement of the sustainable measures
(7) details about the sustainability documentation required for the project
What is the standard AIA document used between the owner and the contractor?
AIA Document A101, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Contractor
Why is the date of commencement important within the AIA Document A101.
It is from this date that the construction completion time, or contract time, is measured.
What is substantial completion?
Substantial completion is the stage at which the work, or a designated portion of it, is sufficiently complete that the owner can occupy it or use it for its intended purpose.
What are liquidated damages?
they are fees paid by the contractor to the owner for every day the project is late (except for delays due to uncontrollable circumstances)
What is the schedule of values?
It allocates the total contract sum to various portions of the work, such as mechanical, electrical, foundations, etc.
According to the AIA Document A101, who is the initial decision maker (IDM) in a case of dispute resolution?
the architect
When a dispute aries between the contractor and owner, the IDM reviews the claims and supporting evidence, and then has 10 days to take one or more of which 5 actions?
(1) request additional supporting information from the claimants
(2) reject the claim in whole or in part
(3) approve the claim
(4) suggest a compromise
(5) advise the owner and contractor that the IDM is unable to resolve the claim
Which 7 contract documents are included in Article 9, “Enumeration of Contract Documents,” in the A101.
(1) AIA Document A101, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Contractor
(2) AIA Document A201, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction
(3) supplementary general conditions
(4) all specification sections
(5) all drawings
(6) addenda, if any
(7) additional documents, if any
Do the contract documents include bidding documents?
No, the contract documents do not create a contractual relationship between the architect and contractor.
What is the “work” in terms of the A201?
the contractor’s obligations to provide improvements to the project
What is the “project” in terms of the A201?
The project, may also include construction by other contractors or the owner’s own forces. The work may be the whole of the project or just part of it.
What are the instruments of service according to the A201 section 1.1?
any representations of the tangible and intangible creative work of the architect and the architect’s consultants.
Who are the owners of the instruments of service according to the A201, section 1.1?
the architect and the architect’s consultants are the owners of their respective instruments of service.
Once the work has begun in which three instances can the contractor request evidence from the owner that financial arrangements have been made to fulfill the owner’s obligates under the contract?
(1) the owner fails to make payments
(2) a change in the work materially changes the contract sum
(3) the contractor identifies in writing a reasonable concern regarding the owner’s ability to pay
What is the typical information that is required to file for a mechanic’s lien to be placed on the property?
legal description of the property and proof of legal title
How many free copies of the contract documents is the owner required to supply the contractor according to the A201?
one
According to Article 10, “Protection of Persons and Property,” the contractor is solely responsible for taking on-site precautions against injury or damage to which four things (or groups)?
(1) the contractor’s employees
(2) other people affected by work
(3) the work itself
(4) other property at the site or adjacent to it
When the CDs require that hazardous materials be brought onto the site, who is responsible for those materials?
The owner, except to the extent that the contractor is negligent in using and handling them.
What should the owner’s property insurance protect against?
Fire
Theft
Vandalism
(Must be an all-risk policy)
What amount of coverage should an owner’s property insurance be?
The full value of the work
What is a surety bond?
It protects the owner against default by the contractor
The contractor may terminate the contract if work has stopped for more than 30 days, through no fault of the contractor, for which five causes?
(1) a court order
(2) an act of government
(3) the architect’s failure to issue a certificate of payment or give a reason for not doing so
(4) the owner’s failure to make payment on a certificate of payment within the time stated in the contract documents
(5) the owner’s failure to give proper evidence that financial arrangements have been made to fulfill the owner’s obligations
The contractor may terminate the contract if the work has been repeatedly delayed by the owner for a total of __ days in a __ day period or for__.
120, 365, a total number of days equal to the construction time given in the original contract documents
Can the owner suspend or terminate the work for convenience, without cause?
Yes
If the architect certified that sufficient cause exists, the owner can terminate the contract with the contractor for any of which four reasons?
(1) the contractor fails to supply enough properly skilled workers or proper materials
(2) fails to make payment to subcontractors
(3) disregards laws and ordinances
(4) is guilty of substantial breach of a provision of the contract documents
Notice of a claim must be given within __ days of the event that gives rise to the claim.
21
If the IDM does not render a decision, or if either party does not agree with this decision, what is the next step?
The claim goes to mediation
What are consequential damages?
Damages that are not caused directly and immediately by the other party’s actions, but from the consequences of those actions
What is Quality Control?
An organized set of procedures, systems, and tools established by an office that aid in meeting the expectations of the client, maintaining a high level of professional service, and reducing risks and liability
Define “special conditions.”
the provisions that are completely unique to a particular project or project site
Which AIA Document is used between the architect and an architect’s consultant?
AIA Document C401
What is contemporaneous documentation?
It is the recording of communications, decisions, and other actions that are not normally relegated to a standard form or whose occurrence cannot be predicted to take place at a given time or circumstance, such as a regulatory scheduled project meeting
Define the Net Service Revenue (NSR)
Net fee determined by subtracting consultant fees from the gross fee for the project
Define Estimate-to-complete (ETC)
Labor hours and dollar amounts estimated from current date to project completion
Estimate-at-completion (EAC)
JTD plus ETC labor hours and dollar amounts estimated at project completion
Define Job-to-Date (JTD)
Labor hours and dollar amounts estimated from current date to project completion
Define billed/invoiced amounts
Amounts billed to clients based on contract compensation amounts and percent complete
Define earned revenue amounts
Revenue recognized in the accrual accounting system based on subjective percent complete times net service revenue
What is planned labor?
Raw labor costs determined from bottom-up project work plan
What is JTD (job-to-date) labor?
Raw labor costs estimated to be expended on project from the current date to the project completion date
Define EAC (estimate-at-complete) labor
The sum of JTD labor and ETC labor
What does reported percent complete (RPC) mean?
The amount of a project or phase that is complete as reported on a specific date in the project life cycle
Define the Planned - EAC
The planned labor cost minus the EAC labor costs
What is work in progress (WIP)?
Billable time and expenses that have not yet been included on a final client invoice
Are general obligation bonds backed by the government?
Yes, general obligation bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the governmental unit
How are revenue bonds secured?
Revenue bonds are secured by the revenue from a self-liquidating project, such as a toll bridge, tunnel, or parking garage.
How are mortgage bonds secured?
Mortgage bonds are generally used in connection with the purchase or construction of utilities, and they are secured by a mortgage on the utility
What is contingent liability?
The architect’s liability for the acts of independent consultants, contractors, and others, whom she/he may engage to do work or perform services for her/him
What is comprehensive liability?
Comprehensive liability refers to a broad form of liability insurance which combines in one policy coverage for all liability exposures
What is direct liability in reference to the architect?
The architect’s liability for her/his acts and those of her/his employees is known as direct liability
What is a pre-bid conference?
A pre-bid conference is held to inform the bidders about unique circumstances of the project not readily apparent in the bid documents.
What is the critical path?
The answer is 1-2-3-4-5. The critical path is the path with the longest total required time.
What is a take out financing?
A loan that takes over a short-term construction loan on the basis of a permanent mortgage
A bond involves which three parties?
(1) The surety—the party that issues the bond
(2) The principal—the contractor
(3) The obligee—the owner
What does the cost of construction include?
cost of raw materials, manufactured materials, and labor
What are the 5 parts of the typical construction contract?
(1) Owner-contractor agreement
(2) General conditions
(3) Supplementary or other conditions
(4) Drawings
(5) Specifications
How many feet are in an acre?
43,560
