Question 1

"Payment Contrary to Specifications" video - Contract Consideration Series

Accepted Answer

(13m) This video addresses a long standing inconsistency in the MMCD specifications for payment of some items.

In the CA course, Brian Weeks stresses that the Contract Administrator does not have the authority to alter terms of payment agreed to by both parties to the Contract and accepted by the bonding company. In once class, a student correctly pointed out that on almost every contract they had to waive some payment conditions to prevent the Contractor from walking off the job.

This is a result of some of our payment conditions not being practical in the real world and people having to find “work around” solutions. In general, ignoring Contract language is not good practice, so let’s look at an example and how it is, vs. should be handled.

Watch this and other Contract Consideration videos on MMCD Association's YouTube Channel.

Question 2

"Coping With COVID-19" video - Contract Consideration Series

Accepted Answer

(22m) Brian Weeks reviews options for owners and contractors during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on what is allowed under the MMCD standard language, and depending on the stage of the project: active tender, pre-award, or after construction has started.

Watch this and other Contract Consideration videos on MMCD Association's YouTube Channel.

Question 3

"Quality Assurance and Quality Control Testing" video - Contract Consideration Series

Accepted Answer

(15m) There is a certain amount of confusion shown in forum and class questions about the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Brian Weeks brings some clarity to this topic as well as discussing testing and retesting options.

Part of the confusion comes from the difference between how other contracts handle these two types of testing compared to the MMCD. Other contracts often have the Owner engage and pay one or more testing firms to do Q/A. These firms work concurrently with the Contractor, but report directly to the Owner. As Brian will discuss, the MMCD handles testing differently, with the Contract Administrator (or CA for short) receiving Q/A test reports from the Contractor and reporting back to the Owner.

Under the MMCD, the Owner specifies tests to be done for its own reassurance that the work is meeting the contractually required standards. These tests are part of the Contract requirements and the Contractor is obliged to perform them, or arrange for them to be performed during the course of the work.

Watch this and other Contract Consideration videos on MMCD Association's YouTube Channel.

Question 4

"The Contract Documents" Video - Contract Consideration Series

Accepted Answer

(8m) In the first Contract Consideration video in our series, Brian Weeks answers the question: "What are the Contract Documents?" and touches on the components of a complete tender package, supplementaries, and the document hierarchy.

View this and other Contract Consideration videos on the MMCD Association YouTube channel.

Question 5

Intro to Contract Consideration Video Series

Accepted Answer

Meet Senior Course Instructor, Brian Weeks, and learn about MMCD's "Contract Consideration" series of short videos that dig into issues commonly encountered by Owners, Contractors, and Contract Administators.

View this and other Contract Consideration Videos on our YouTube channel

Question 6

What is the Contract Consideration Video series?

Accepted Answer

The MMCD Contract Consideration video series provides answers to commonly encountered issues and concerns for Owners, Contractors, and Contract Administrators. Presented by Brian Weeks, viewers can browse over 30 videos and learn about the role of the Contract Administrator, MMCD Dispute Resolution mechanisms, how to respond to an RFQ, Change Orders, why Force Account schedules are "an awful idea", and more.

The videos are free to view to watch here

Question 7

"The Contemplated Change Order" video - Contract Consideration Series

Accepted Answer

(10m) Brian Weeks reviews the process to generate a Change Order under the MMCD with a reminder about the implications of Changes vs. Extra Work. For more information, also watch "Responding to a RFQ" and "Issuing a Change Order".

View this and other Contract Consideration videos on MMCD Association's YouTube Channel.

Question 8

"MMCD Principles" video - Contract Consideration Series

Accepted Answer

(9m) The MMCD was written to contain a fairly complete set of contract terms, but the writers knew they couldn't plan for every eventuality or use of the documents. They anticipated that there would be unforeseen situations when the author preparing the contract or person administering it would need to make choices about whether or not to include MMCD clauses and language in contracts, or how best to interpret a clause during the course of a project.

To help users make these choices, Brian Weeks reviews the philosophies, principles, and strategies that form the spirit and intent of the MMCD.

Watch this and other Contract Consideration videos on MMCD Association's YouTube Channel.

Question 9

"Risk Allocation" video - Contract Consideration Series

Accepted Answer

(9m) Under the Master Municipal Construction Documents philosophy, the standard documents minimize the amount of risk transferred from the Owner to the Contractor in a project. Brian Weeks discusses the tools the MMCD uses to allocate risk and the protocols for situations such as discrepancies in quantities or prices, or encountering Concealed or Unknown Conditions or Hazardous Materials.

Watch this and other Contract Consideration videos on MMCD's YouTube Channel.

Question 10

"Using IT-4" video - Contract Consideration Series

Accepted Answer

(9m) Parts 1 and 2 of Instructions to Tenderers apply to the tendering process. Part 1 changes with each project; however, the terms in Part 2 generally do not change - unless they are inappropriate for the project.

Brian Weeks discusses how tender authors can use IT4 To modify, delete or add conditions for tendering to meet the specific conditions of their projects.

Watch this and other Contract Consideration videos on MMCD Association's YouTube Channel.