Masonry Magazine October 1999 Page. 13
business questioning the hallowed and sacred tablets know as the architectural documents.
Alright, so I got some shots in. My point is: most people (unfortunately, the very same people who make up future owners) have always assumed that we bidders in a competitive bid situation receive and bid off of complete, pristine, and professional construction documents when the reality is that nothing could be further from the truth! I'd personally estimate that perhaps 5% of the plans from which I prepare bids are adequately complete to genuinely offer the owner an "apples to apples" competition. Fifteen percent are pure folly; and the remaining percentage makes up the middle ground between the best and worst. This means that more often than we'd care to admit the low bidder on CB projects is likely arriving at his number through a means other than a thorough and precise understanding of the construction documents - hardly the way the (construction) founding fathers intended!
Why such poor quality architectural work? I don't really know. Perhaps it's economically driven; the result of increased competition between architectural firms, competition from design/build contractors, and/or deficient labor pools from which to draw talented designers. It's also entirely likely that the percentages above would apply to most other occupations (including we builders). It just seems different with architects. Perhaps I'm being too rosy, but in my mind, architecture had always enjoyed a somewhat pristine and unblemished reputation for accuracy and attention to detail. Earlier in my career, architecture was synonymous with excellence and reliability. Now I'm not so sure.
But, back to CB. Another bit of neurotic skepticism I've had to endure over the years from my builder cohorts goes something like this: that the lack of information in the bid documents is actually a pre-meditated and desirable element (created by the owner and architect) of the CB process. This theory suggests that crucial information is left out of the documents in order to (and here's the neurotic part) "trick" one of the bidding contractors into being substantially lower than the pack and then legally and contractually forcing him to perform the work at a (below market value) loss.
Now, I've never personally bought into this for two reasons. First, I (perhaps naively) still believe that the people are simply too honest to stoop to that level, and second, I don't think they're smart enough to pull it off without being exposed. However, there is a lesson here. It's important to understand that there are members of the building community who swear that this is true. We even have joke about it. It's known as the "who-missed-what" method of construction award or (put another way) Congratulations(???), you're low!!"
Well, whatever you call it ... it isn't good. And whether it materialized through the (unlikely) pre-meditated efforts of the owner/architect or just plain apathy, incompetence, and laziness on the part of all the parties, including the builder (far more likely), we in the building construction industry have allowed ourselves to be slowly, but methodically, drawn into an award methodology that forces us to often employ less than desirable Continued on page 14
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MASONRY-SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1999 13