Construction Administration...or is it?

I see the term used everywhere: on websites, marketing materials, correspondence, and even contracts.  The term I’m referring to is “construction administration.”  A/Es frequently use this term to describe their services during the construction phase of a project; but on closer examination, they could be identifying scope of services beyond what they are insured for and licensed to provide.

To clarify, let’s analyze what “construction administration” means. 

First, let’s take a look at the word “administration.”  Open just about any dictionary and you’ll find the word “management” included in the definition.  Even the dictionary I keep on my desk (Webster’s II New Riverside Dictionary, 1984) uses “management” as a single word definition for “administration.”  Second, the word “construction” focuses on the act of constructing rather than designing.  Therefore, it doesn’t take much of a leap to go from “construction administration” to “construction management”—i.e. managing the construction of a building. 

So, for those A/Es out there that refer to their construction phase services as “construction administration,” are you really providing “construction management” services?  Probably not, but for liability purposes you probably don’t want that distinction clouding the intent of the services you were expecting to provide under your owner-A/E agreement.

Review any of the AIA owner-architect agreements, past or present—AIA Documents B141-1997 or B101-2007, for example—and you’ll find that there is no mention of “construction administration.”  Even the ConsensusDOCS 240 owner-design professional agreement doesn’t use the term; they just leave it at “construction phase services.”  Since the AIA Document B101-2007 is the most current, we’ll take a closer look at that document.  In Section 3.6.1.1 under “Construction Phase Services,” it states the “Architect shall provide administration of the Contract between the Owner and the Contractor” (emphasis added). 

So the administration the architect provides is not of the construction itself, but of the contract for construction.  Therefore, the construction phase services an A/E provides is more appropriately termed “contract administration.”  Further, AIA Document B201-2007, which should accompany the owner-architect agreement, is titled “Standard Form of Architect’s Services: Design and Construction Contract Administration” (emphasis added).  Although it includes the word “construction,” the title still connects it with the contract, thereby making it very specific to construction contracts.

Now, some of you may be thinking that I’m playing with semantics, and there is really no concern that an A/E provides “construction administration.”  However, to support my contention, when I attended a seminar by one of the largest professional liability insurers in the country, they specifically mentioned this “semantic” issue.  If it were not a problem, then I would doubt they’d be making a point of the difference in presentations for design professionals across the country.  An attorney's business is in the words used in documents and they'll try to use those words to defend their client, so why give them the ammunition?

There is this growing segment of construction industry professionals that call themselves “construction managers,” or CMs, which have their own professional organization called the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA).  The CMAA identifies two types of CM services: Agency CM and At-Risk CM.  For At-Risk CM, commonly referred to as CMAR, the CM is the constructor/contractor and is fully responsible for the outcome of the project—thus, the “at risk” element.  Agency CM—AIA calls it “CM as Advisor”—provides services as the owner’s representative or agent that parallel many of the A/E’s contract administration services.  However, many of the other special services provided by Agency CM go well beyond standard A/E services and clearly fall within the realm of managing or administering construction activities, such as involvement in the contractor’s safety program.  It is these special services that A/Es should avoid unless they are specifically licensed or insured to do so.

The bottom line is that A/Es provide construction contract administration—that is the way standard AIA owner-architect agreements describe A/E services during the construction phase.  A/Es should contact their liability insurers to see if using any other term for describing their construction phase services, either in contracts or other forms of communication (e.g. websites, marketing materials, etc.) is outside their coverage or is open for interpretation that may be difficult to defend.

Comments

[Liz O'Sullivan]

Great post. Thank you. It's taken me a few years, but I finally have trained myself to say "construction contract administration." It's important.

[Ron Geren]

Liz: I'm glad you liked it. It's an ongoing battle that will take a long time to correct--if it ever will be.

[effective ROI]

I am searching construction management because I need it to my school project research. Thankful that you posted it in here so everyone can see.

[Peter T. Caravousanos, AIA, CCM, LEED AP]

Hi, Ron, Great article, i do agree with you. Although something to consider also to support your point,..Architect CA obligations can / do apply during early stages in project development also, (pre-construction) such as administering the contracts of other consultants, I.e: engineers, asbestos, LEED, geotechnical, acoustic, security, etc...therefore I prefer to stick with the term "contract administration", especially for liability reasons and because the term is broad in nature, and is expressly defined by each specific agreement. I'd leave the term construction administration and the like for design builders and CM's.

Sincerely,
Peter T. Caravousanos, AIA, CCM, LEED AP
917-797-2821/ [email protected]