Tips On Managing Change Orders
In the latest issue of CM Advisor (not yet available on-line), Lisa C. Sachs writes an informative artcile about managing the Change Order process for your projects.
Sachs spells out the three opportunities you have to “embrace the inevitable and minimize the pain.”
The first and best opportunity is in the pre-construction phase before the budget is fixed.
Perhaps, you or your firm was not involved in the pre-construction phase. Sachs states, “You can include language in the front end documents to at least mitigate the battles that will ensue.”
Finally, if the design and bid phases have passed you by without the proper Change Order management strategy in place, you can always make clarifications prior to the construction beginning.
Here is a brief summary of ways to manage the Change Order process and the phase of the project in which is would be best suited:
Design Phase
- Plan an adequate contingency
- Ensure that there are adequate soft costs
Pre-Bid Phase
- Include upfront language in the contracts balancing risk and costs
Construction Phase
- Request all information in preparation for Change Orders and agree on up-front costs
- Resolve schedule issues as they occur
The article goes into specific details that can reduce the amount of conflict and loss when Change Orders arise. Sachs explains how to implement them as part of an overall Change Order Management strategy, and the article is well worth a full read.
photo credit: Multiple fragments of tissue
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