Preparing "Front End" Documents Using SpecLink

Two new checklist sections have been added to SpecLink to help in the often complicated process of preparing the contracting requirements necessary for all construction contracts and the bidding requirements necessary for competitively bid projects. These requirements are located in Division 0 Procurement and Contracting Requirements and, due to their location at the front of the Project Manual, are often referred to as the “Front Ends.” Some of these documents, such as the Owner-Contractor Agreement and General Conditions are legal documents that most design professionals should not want to take responsibility for. However, regardless of who prepares the legal documents, the design professional (usually the architect) is expected to include them in the published Project Manual and to coordinate the other parts of the Project Manual with them. Besides the legal documents, there are many external forms and other documents that relate to the Front Ends – the two new checklist sections, 00 4000 and 00 5000, include fairly comprehensive lists of such documents.

The Front Ends are usually the last part of the Project Manual to be prepared, or at least to be finalized. The main reason is that details such as when the bids are due cannot be determined until the contract documents are nearing completion. Another factor is that is often difficult to get adequate instructions from the Owner – so start as early as possible. The simplest way to get the Owner’s instructions is to use either AIA G612 or EJCDC C-050 &C-052 – these are checklists coordinated to other documents published by those organizations. AIA’s document is available free of charge. Both organizations’ documents cover such questions as whether competitive bidding is required, who will prepare the Front Ends, and what type of contract is required (e.g. fixed price, cost-plus a fee, etc). Both also serve as a useful educational tool because they cover so many issues.

The two most important documents for all contracts are the Owner-Contractor Agreement and the General Conditions – but SpecLink does not include either of these because the most commonly used documents are copyrighted by their authors. These are “standard” or “model” documents that can be used as is or edited to suit specific project conditions – see the article elsewhere in this newsletter for more information about AIA, EJCDC, and ConsensusDOCS documents. Since SpecLink does not include any of the typical legal documents, the principal issue the specifier must deal with is how to incorporate those documents into the Project Manual. AIA’s Agreements and General Conditions are designed as standard pre-printed forms that can be simply incorporated by reference to the document number and edition date, with an optional Supplementary Conditions document for modifications to the pre-printed form. On the other hand, EJCDC’s and ConsensusDOCS Agreements and General Conditions are designed to be edited to suit the project – they really don’t stand alone without edits like the AIA’s documents do. That means that they cannot be incorporated by reference because the bidders can’t tell what they say unless the documents are published in the Project Manual. AIA also makes it possible to edit their documents – the edited documents would need to be published in the Project Manual for the same reason. SpecLink includes two “sections” for the Agreement (00 7100 / 00500) and the General Conditions (00 7200 / 00700). These sections function either as “cover sheets” for the actual document (inserted manually) or as placeholders for the actual document imported into a user section. Either method is valid – which to use usually depends on the mode of reproduction. If a stack of paper is sent to the printer, the external documents can simply be interleaved.

But if electronic files must be sent to the printer or issued to bidders, then the external documents probably need to be imported into the SpecLink project file. Although all contracts typically include an Agreement and General Conditions, only competitively bid projects include bidding requirements. The two most important bidding documents are the Instructions to Bidders and the Bid Form. SpecLink includes samples of each, which should be edited to suit the project. If an AIA Agreement/ General Conditions is to be used, AIA A701 Instructions to Bidders should also probably be used – either by incorporation by reference with a supplement for modifications or by inserting the actual edited document into the Project Manual.

Other types of forms that may be necessary include Bid Security or Bond, Bidder’s Qualification form, Performance and Payment Bonds, Application for Payment, Schedule of Values, Change Order, and Certificate of Substantial Completion – see Sections 00 4000 and 00 5000 for a list.