Page 303 - TCDB combined Book

Chapter 5 CONSTRUCTION 281

Change Orders:

Changes on most projects are inevitable and therefore require an organized system of
preparation and costing necessary to obtain approval. We do not recommend accumulating
changes, or holding off preparation and or submission until the project is complete. The policy of
not proceeding with any Change Order work until approved and signed by the Client is obviously
the best choice but not practical in all instances.

Preparing a Contemplated Change Order (CCO) will provide the change cost, and affect,
if any, on the schedule and assist in expediting Client changes. The Client would approve this
Contemplated Change prior to your preparation of the actual Change Order. Change Orders that
involve subcontractor’s costs should not be proceeded with until the Client has given his
approval. Minor changes can be handled on-site with a signed Work Order, ensuring that an
authorized person is signing. Unless you are prepared for conflicts with the subcontractors and
your Client it is recommended that you settle Change Orders as they arise and avoid the major
problems that can result from procrastination. All contemplated changes must be controlled and
processed through your office. We recommend that no direct contract dealings between
subcontractors, suppliers and your client be tolerated for any reason.

Using the Contemplated Change Order (CCO) format will eliminate proceeding with
unapproved changes and put the onus on the Owner to expedite approval before any work
commences.

Job Cost Coding:

Establishing a Job-Cost Coding System will allow your historical data to be used for future
proposals resulting in more consistent and accurate estimates. The Construction Budget will be
the basis for comparing the pertinent Job-Cost information and the Masterformat or similar type of
numbering system will facilitate the record keeping required. Labor estimates can be compared
with actual on-site labor results and material purchase costs can be compared and updated also.
The Job-cost format can be computer based or a manual Index Card System. The weekly Time
Cards for labor can be coded to the appropriate numbered division and phase and then compared
with the estimated quantities. The resulting information will provide accurate
labor hours for future proposal estimates having comparable labor tasks. The use of accurate Job-
Cost information for your estimating database will reduce the uncertainty and guess-timating on
most labor and material costs for your proposal estimates.