The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) recently issued the version 1.0 draft of the National Building Information Modeling Standard (National BIM Standard). The National BIM Standard has been in the works for over four years, and is a collaboration between over 30 subject matter experts throughout the capital facilities industry. An industry review and comment period is now in effect until May 21, 2007.
Continue Reading...With the enactment of AB 573 (Wolk), many California public agencies face new restrictions on the indemnity protections they can require when engaging design professionals.
Continue Reading...New laws concerning the construction industry will go into effect in 2007, some of which are previewed below. These laws encompass a wide variety of issues including indemnification of design professionals, the ability of architects to practice as limited liability partnerships, “green” building construction, expansion of design-build procurement, revocation and suspension of contractors’ licenses, execution of public university contracts, and regulation of the conduct of architects.
Continue Reading...In response to our last post regarding the green building revolution, one of our readers sent me a link to a very interesting blog article regarding the Genzyme Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Genzyme Center is an office building for approximately 900 employees which received the highest LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating of Platinum. Some of its most impressive features include
Continue Reading...The San Francisco Chronicle ran an interesting article on the trend toward "green building" yesterday. Increasingly, cities are looking to require privately developed buildings to comply with a series of environment-friendly construction elements. Pleasanton was one of the first cities to adopt such requirements, Boston and Washington D.C. recently joined the movement, and San Francisco is looking to do the same. While green building may increase construction costs up to 2%, the savings from reduced energy and water needs, reduced waste and reduced maintenance could exceed this amount by 10 times over the life of the building. Click here for the full article.
In response to a tragic explosion during excavation work near downtown Walnut Creek in November 2004, State Senator Tom Torlakson introduced Senate Bill 1359 to make construction work around underground pipelines safer. The bill went into effect on January 1, 2007.
Continue Reading...The Daily Journal recently published my article examining the recent Supreme Court decision Michaelis v. Superior Court, regarding when a public agency must disclose proposals submitted to it pursuant to a Request for Proposal process. Click here to read the article in Adobe PDF format.
When a homeowners sues a subcontractor for damage caused by the defective waterproofing work on retaining walls that the subcontractor installed, is it a complete answer for the subcontractor to say that it did exactly what the general contractor told them to do (regardless of what the standard of care is) and that the general contractor was satisfied with its work when it finished the job? A recent case holds that it is not.
Continue Reading...The Governor signed a new law today which limits a public agency's ability to impose indemnity obligations on design professionals. AB 573 (Wolk) creates a new Civil Code section 2782.8 which makes indemnity clauses imposed by public agencies on design professionals (including architects, landscape architects, engineers and land surveyors) unenforceable except to the extent that they are based on the negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct of the design professional. Click here to see the text of the bill. Design professionals will obviously find this to be welcome news. It may also clarify an issue which is often a source of conflict between public agency owners and design professionals.
New York City recently awarded a contract for the installation of bus shelters, newsstands and toilets to Cemusa, a Spanish company, under which the City will receive over $1 billion in revenue over 20 years. Two unsuccessful proposers, NBC Decaux and Clear Channel Communications, have sued to challenge the award, however. They argue that the City unfairly coached Cemusa to revise its proposal during the negotiation process. The City has been attempting unsuccessfully to improve its street furniture for approximately 30 years. Click here for a link to a UPI article summarizing the issues.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) utilizes computer technology to represent building structures and systems in terms of functional, as well as graphical attributes. This technology may some day change the nature of collaboration between design professionals and contractors on construction projects. This article examines the benefits and challenges of implementing Building Information Modeling. Click here for the full article in adobe PDF format.
On June 22, 2006, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Michaelis v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 1298, clarifying when a public entity must disclose competitive proposals submitted in response to a Request for Proposal (“RFP”), that are requested pursuant to the Public Records Act (“PRA”). In short, such proposals are exempt from disclosure until the negotiation process is concluded, but must be disclosed prior to a public entity’s final decision on a contract award with sufficient time to allow the public to scrutinize and protest the proposed award. The decision provides definitive guidance applicable to all manner of proposals submitted to public entities that utilize a negotiation process, including proposals for construction related-services such as architectural, engineering, surveying and construction management services.
Continue Reading...On June 13th, in Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California, Inc. v. Professional Engineers in California Government, (2006) 2006 Cal. App. LEXIS 874, the Third District Court of Appeal struck down provisions of a union agreement between the state and civil service engineers limiting the state’s right to contract with private engineers, holding that the provisions conflict with Proposition 35 and are unconstitutional.
Continue Reading...On June 6, 2006, Santa Clara County voters soundly rejected Measure A, which proposed a half-cent tax increase designed to rescue the financially struggling BART extension to Santa Clara County. Measure A was defeated 127,935 (57.41%) “no” votes to 94,891 (42.59%) “yes” votes.
The $4.7 billion BART extension is now in serious doubt, as without the additional Measure A funds, the Valley Transit Authority lacks the money to operate the 16.1 mile extension and federal officials won’t approve a $750 million contribution to the project unless VTA comes up with a stable financial plan.
On May 5, 2006, California lawmakers approved a series of bills that would place a record $37.3 billion public works spending plan before voters in November, reviving the earlier proposal that failed to pass the Legislature earlier this year when lawmakers and the governor could not reach a compromise.
Continue Reading...
A recent California appellate court decision held that an employee of a subcontractor on a public works project has no right to recover a prevailing wage underpayment from the prime contractor. (See Violante v. Communities Southwest Development and Construction Company, (April 17, 2006, E037333) ___ Cal.App.4th ___ [06 C.D.O.S. 3209].) In Violante, the plaintiffs were employed by a subcontractor on a master planned community development with 2000 residences and many public improvements. Plaintiffs’ alleged that they were not paid prevailing wages for their work by their direct employer, the subcontractor, and brought suit against the general contractor.
Continue Reading...Pursuant to three separate bills, the state legislature expanded existing statutory authority to award construction contracts on a design-build basis to apply to more cities and counties as of January 1, 2006. In each case, the duration of the statutory design-build authority was extended to the year 2011, and the dollar threshold was lowered to $2.5 million per project for counties. Following is a short summary of the bills:
· AB 1329 (Wolk): This bill added section 20175 to the Public Contract Code, and authorizes cities in the counties of Solano and Yolo to award construction contracts on a design-build basis. The authority only applies to buildings and directly related improvements, and does not apply to streets, highways, public rail transit, or water resources facilities and infrastructure. The statute has a sunset provision for the year 2011.
Continue Reading...In opinion number 05-405 dated January 24, 2006, Attorney General Bill Lockyer concluded that a school district must competitively bid a contract for factory-built modular building components for installation on a permanent foundation.
Continue Reading...http://www.bart.gov/about/projects/oacnews.asp
On February 13, 2006, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (“BART”) issued an advanced notice of a Request for Qualifications for the design, build, finance, operation and maintenance of a three-mile connector railway between the existing Coliseum BART station to the Oakland International Airport.
Continue Reading...In opinion number 05-405 dated January 24, 2006, Attorney General Bill Lockyer concluded that a school district must competitively bid a contract for factory-built modular building components for installation on a permanent foundation. The opinion analyzed the competitive bidding requirements that apply to school districts, including those under Public Contract Code section 20111 which requires school districts to “let any contract for a public project … involving an expenditure of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or more, to the lowest responsible bidder.” After considering the definition of “public project” pursuant to Public Contract Code section 22002(c), the Attorney General concluded that “as a general rule, a school district intending to contract for the construction, reconstruction, renovation, improvement, or repair of any school building, where the work will require an expenditure of $15,000 or more, must follow a competitive bidding process.”
Continue Reading...On February 28. 2006, Attorney General Bill Lockyer issued an opinion addressing whether interim documents submitted to a city in support of a building permit application are subject to public inspection under the California Public Records Act.
Public agencies undertaking construction projects frequently require the contractor to provide a surety bond to guarantee the contractor's performance. The article explores how surety bonds function in the event the contractor defaults on the project.
Enter keywords:
