In Five
Points the Government MUST Consider Before Doling Out Billions to the
Construction Industry construction expert Barry LePatner has this
to say:
Make fixed-price contracts mandatory. In a seemingly helpful provision, the stimulus legislation calls for contracts "to the maximum extent possible" to be awarded as fixed-price contracts through competitive procedures. Unfortunately, that appears to be the extent of what the government understands as being protective of the federal dole.
"One merely needs Google the phrase 'construction cost overruns' to begin to realize the enormous proportions of the waste our country has been dealing with for decades," says LePatner. "Fixed-price contracts on these projects are an absolute must. Without them, contractors will use change orders and delay claims to drive up the costs of these crucial infrastructure projects. In order to obtain these fixed-price contracts, the government should also require that contractors create their bids based on 100 percent complete documents from the architects and engineers. Otherwise, it will be impossible to estimate the true scope of these projects."
Excerpted
from The American Surveyor.
