Common use of Construction Engineering Clause in Contracts

Construction Engineering. Issues The third category is when the potential errors, omissions, or questions of a material nature are encountered in Construction Engineering Services and not related to the Design Plans. These events will be referred to as “Construction Engineering Issues” until such time as the cause, effect, and responsibility have been determined. In the event that the MDOT TSC Construction Engineer decides that the Design and/or Construction Engineering Issue is not material, the Local Agency Project Supervisor will proceed unilaterally. A copy of the Design Issue decision, changes, and/or other relevant documents must be sent immediately to the LOCAL AGENCY, and the Construction Engineering CONSULTANT, if applicable. Typically, this will be a e-mail of the work order. The LOCAL AGENCY will forward these decisions, changes, and/or other documents to the Design Consultant. This step is important for two reasons. First, the Design CONSULTANT, and/or the LOCAL AGENCY will have an opportunity to review the change and take action if they disagree. Second, this will give an opportunity for everyone to learn of the deficiencies in order to improve the product in the future. In the event that the MDOT TSC Construction Engineer is uncertain regarding the designer’s intent, he/she must contact the LOCAL AGENCY to determine the intent. The LOCAL AGENCY will contact the CONSULTANT staff when appropriate. The process will initially focus on solving the problem with the objective of minimizing the impact on construction. After that, the process will focus on responsibility according to the multi-step procedure that follows. The step of determining responsibility must be taken any time the Design and/or Construction Engineering CONSULTANT is brought into the process and incurs costs. These steps must also be taken any time errors and/or omissions in consultant prepared Design Plans or Construction Engineering Services result in increased cost during construction or decrease in the quality of the project. The determination of the degree of responsibility for substandard work must include a review of the CONSULTANT’S scope of work, the standards in effect when the work was done, design information provided to the CONSULTANT, and directions provided by the LOCAL AGENCY. In making this determination, the LOCAL AGENCY must discuss the error and/or omission with the CONSULTANT and any involved LOCAL AGENCY personnel to obtain all information and points of view. The LOCAL AGENCY is to make a record of conversations and other documentation that support whatever determination is made and then place copies of those records in the project files. Separate budgets will be created for payment to Design and Construction Engineering CONSULTANTS for their correction of Design or Construction Engineering Issues that are judged not to be their responsibility and for changes by the LOCAL AGENCY for their activities during this process. PROCESS – DISPUTE RESOLUTION For levels one and two of these proceedings, the first focus should be on resolving the Design or Construction Engineering Issue in order to minimize the impact on construction. The LOCAL AGENCY and the consultant will attempt to jointly determine the solution. In the event that such agreement cannot be reached, the LOCAL AGENCY alone will decide on the appropriate solution. In the event that the Design and/or Construction Engineering CONSULTANT does not agree with any of these decisions, it may appeal its financial responsibility to the next level. After the Design or Construction Engineering Issue is resolved, the focus shifts to responsibility and financial implications. All decisions must be completely agreed upon by the representatives of the LOCAL AGENCY.