Ron made reference to the architect, but if this project is in the construction team's hands, then my question is, "Where is the General Contractor in all this?" The fastest way to get anyone's attention in the construction business is to tell them it's going to cost more money. As someone else suggested, go to the first meeting armed with whatever spec's or special instructions you have that prohibit work from being loaded in without coordination sign-off. But I would also - and this could be tricky, 'cause it sometimes pisses people of - you look your GC or CM or whoever is supposed to sailing the ship right in the eye and tell them the following:
1) That your firm bid the project in good faith, and in accordance with plans, spec's and instructions to bidders; 2) That these documents singularly or collectively direct all trades to a certain standard of care WRT coordination of work; 3) That your firm has observed those provisions and are at the table to undertake that coordination as directed; 4) That you take strong exception to the tin-knockers statements regarding industry standards, and that sprinkler systems are very often run below ductwork, especially in non-combustible construction, and for a number of very good and time-proven reasons 5) That in consideration of the aforementioned talking points, if the GC won't do their job and coordinate the work of other trades that is fast becoming an obstruction to your work, you respectfully demand an additive change order in an amount to be fairly negotiated, for all the additional time it will take to detail the required offsets, the additional material to pipe around the sheet metal, and the field labor it will require to do so. All within your rights as spelled out by the specifications that mandate all trades work to be coordinated. You should also be prepared to do all of these in a logical and chronological order and I would VERY strongly advise you to begin keeping a log of all correspondence - even and especially phone calls and conversations as may occur at this first meeting - because your diary and correspondence logs, along with actually contract documents, letters and memos between you and the GC, will become the basis for your demand for additional payment at the end of the project. This is what's called Claims Management. Steve Leyton Protection Design & Consulting San Diego, CA -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brian Harris Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 7:02 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Renegade HVAC Contractor I could use a little ammo for an upcoming coordination meeting I have on Monday. We are working on a pretty big school and the HVAC sub (per the spec) is suppose to be spearheading a set of coordination drawings that all subs need to agree on and then sigh off on before "any work can be fabricated or installed". These drawings still have not been completed and are actually not even close to being done. Here's where it gets good: * He has already begun installing his duct and has actually completed a couple wings. (without the approved coordination drawings) * He wants to run all his ductwork 8" above ceiling throughout and says sprinkler pipe needs to run above him, "that's industry standard" !! * He says he's never heard of ductwork being run through the joist, it's always the sprinkler lines that run up high. (this is in areas with ceiling tiles) I could go on and on but I think you get the point, what I would love to have is some hard facts/references that I can provide at the meeting so this doesn't turn into a bigger pissing contest than it already has. I don't dare release our pipe for fab without the drawings being signed off but in the mean time he is installing away! Regards, <http://www.firstdefensefire.com/> E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (6.0.1.441) Database version: 6.12940 http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/ __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4291 (20090730) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4291 (20090730) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
