Construction documents （投标以及合同相关文档）

The construction documents translate the owner's needs so the contractor can get them correctly. They are the communication link among all parties in the project. The documents can be divided into three general sections-bidding, contractual, and technical----each of which is made up of many subsections. Such as bid requirements, the agreement, technical specifications, drawings, addenda（附录）, and contract modifications all form part of the construction documents.

1. Bidding information（投标信息）

The bid documents are sent out with the drawings and specifications and are often bound in the specification book. This section of documents contains the following:

★Invitation to bid（投标邀请）

The invitation to bid is a request for pricing. The owner usually prepares it with the assistance of the designer or construction manager, it includes information that is relevant to the project

▷The type of project（项目类型）    Different types of projects attract  different contractors.

▷The size of the project（项目规模）  Small contractors can only handle a certain work –load, on the contrary a large contractors might find it unprofitable to bid on a project under a specific size.

▷The location of the project（项目地点）  Many contractors are local or regional. If the staff has to travel a long distance, there will be additional costs.

▷Start and completion date（开工与完工日期）  Contractors must ensure that they have the staff available for the duration. If they have to get labor from a distance, this will affect their price.

▷Bonds（担保）If these are required, the owner needs to let the contractor know.

▷Legal requirements(法律要求） Several items might be addressed here, the owner may want to describe the circumstances under which the bid would be disqualified or under what circumstances the contractor could withdraw the bid.

▷Bid due date（投标截止日） This can help the contractor staff the bid correctly so that all the pieces can be gathered in the allotted（分配） time.

Before the bid date, in order to ensure that contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers and manufacturers understand the components of the documents. A pre-bid conference held early can be valuable to the owner. It focuses potential bidders on the project and gives the designer a forum to explain the intent of the project. It may uncover holes in the documents or ambiguous wording(模棱两可的用词). A pre-bid conference also allows contractors to ask questions, which will be followed up with a written response.

★Instructions to the bidders（投标人须知）

The instructions are usually bound in the specifications. Although they may repeat some of the information in the invitation to bid or on the bid form, the instructions are mostly concerned with the following.

Bid due date\Instructions about filling out the form\places to indicate fees for additional work\unit price\location to deliver the bid\method of awarding contracts\expected dates of award and start of project

★Bid form（投标表格）

The bid form is the document upon which the bidder submits the price. The form is usually prepared by the designer, with blanks to be filled out by the bidder. This makes the bids comparable. Items may include some or all of the following:

▷Name of contractor

▷Price both in numbers and in words, which minimizes decimal point mistakes

▷Unit prices if quantities are unclear and cannot be figured accurately until construction

▷Time required for the job

▷Amount of the bond

▷Legal states: for example, if the bidding company is a corporation, a partnership, or an individual

▷Signature, title, and date…….

★Alternates（备用，候补）

 Alternate is a request for a piece for substituting one material for another, for adding to the scope of work, or for deducting（扣除） from scope. Some bid documents contain many alternates to be priced by the contractor. 

★Addenda（附录）

After the documents are issued before the bids are due, changes often need to be made. The most common reason is the need to correct simple mistakes in the bidding documents. Contractors dig deeply into the documents and can spot things missed by the drafter or specification writer. Often the contractor may propose a better method or product to fit the character of the project.  Also, the owner is often making a final review of the documents during the bid period. This may generate additional requests that need to be included in the bid documents.  Addenda simply complete documents that had to get on the street before totally complete.

投标常见失误

2.Contractual information （合同文档）

Many contracts are issued during the course of a project. One of the first is to the architect and the construction manager for pre-construction design and technical services. The contract issued with the construction documents goes to the firm that will perform the work. This contract includes an agreement, general conditions, special conditions, and sample of bond, insurance requirements, and a sample insurance form.

★Agreement （协议书）

There are several forms of contracts, as discussed in chapter4, but general provision（规定，条款） are common to most agreements.

▷Identification of the parties（合同双方确认）  Owner and contractor are fully described here.

▷Description of the project and work （项目以及工作描述） To establish a baseline in the scope, the description must be clear. One method is to refer to the drawings and specifications with all addenda as the basis of the scope. If changes are requested in the future, this description will be the basis of negotiation.

▷Date of start（开工日期）The date that the contract is expected to start is very important. He or she usually price for certain time period (e.g.30days)but if the start date is far away, the price must be revalued. There are a number of reasons why the date can be vary. The owner may need to obtain permits or community approval to develop the site, or there may be delays caused by the discovery of hazardous materials.

▷Date of substantial completion（完工日期）This is the date that the contractor needs to figure into his or her schedule. Probably some work will continue after this date, but the owner expects to be able to use the facility by this date.

▷The contract sum（合同总价）This is the amount of money that the owner has agreed to pay the contractor for the scope of work outlined in the construction documents.

▷Progress payments（进度款）Unless the scope of the work is minor and short, the contractor usually receives interim（期中的） payments (often monthly) during the progress of the work. Typically the designer reviews the work accompanished during that month and approve or adjusts the sum submitted by the contractor.

 ▷Interest rates（利率）If the contractor is not paid within a specified time(usually 30 or  45 days) interest will be charged to the owner.

 ▷Retainage（保留金）A percentage of the money is retained by the owner as protection against work that is not done correctly or sufficiently. It ensures that the contractor will finish the project, particularly as the project nears completion. Typical retainage is 10 percent. Retained money is released at the time of substantial completion.

 ▷Final payment（最终支付）  This is a significant event for both the owner and the contractor. The owner gives up all claims against the contractor and proclaims satisfaction with the job, so does the contractor by accepting the final payment.

★General conditions（通用条款）

The purpose of the general conditions is to establish the legal responsibilities, obligations, authority, and rights of all parties involved in the project. As their name implies, these conditions are general in the nature and apply to any construction project. Although the owner can devise(设计，制定) his or her general conditions, most prefer to use a standard version.

★Special conditions（特殊条款）

These are sometimes called supplementary conditions or special provisions of the contract. They are intended to supplement the general conditions.

★Bonds（担保）

If the contractor fails to perform in accordance with the contract, a bond will protect the owner. Sometimes an owner requires a bond from the contractor. The owner will pay for the bond. If a contractor has an agreement with an owner to perform a certain scope of work for a specific price and doesn't complete the work, the bonding company will either pay for work to be completed or find someone to complete the work. There are three types of bonds commonly required in construction:

▷Bid bonds（投标担保）These are furnished with the bids and basically guarantee that the contractor will enter a contract with the owner for the price of the bid. The purpose of the bid bond is to ensure that a bidder doesn't withdraw his or her bid after becoming the successful candidates, if the bidder does withdraw, the owner will be compensated for the time it costs to get another bidder. Bid bonds are return to all bidders after the contract is signed.

 ▷Performance bonds（履约担保）These guarantee that a contractor will perform the contract in accordance with the terms of the agreement. If the contractor goes bankrupt or otherwise cannot complete the work, the bonding company becomes liable for it. However, liability is only for the cost of the contract and does not cover all the delays and indirect costs resulted from the withdrawal of the contractor in the middle of the job.

▷Payment bonds（支付担保）Also called labor and material bonds, these insure that the contractor will pay all bills, thus leaving the owner unharmed by claims and liens(扣押).When a contractor goes bankrupt, he or she usually leaves unpaid bills. The owner does not want to be left responsible, particular for the bills for labor, materials and equipments.

Summary-------Because performance and payment bonds cost the owner money, they may not always be desirable. If the owner feels confident of the company or the job is simple or shot, a bond may not be necessary. However, with a complex, long-term project, it is sensible to require a bond. If one is required, it will be identified in the contract documents

★Insurance（保险）

There are many forms of insurance that a contractor can purchase to protect against risks during a construction project. Some are obligated（强制要求） by contract and law:

▷Workers'compensation（工伤险） (compensate the employees who are injured on the job. It covers disability and medical treatment for injures resulting from accidents that occur during employment.)

▷Comprehensive liability （第三者责任险）(protect the contractor against third- party claims. It covers injury to nonworkers at the site, damage caused by construction vehicles, damage occurring after completion but as a direct result of the contractor's work. )

▷Builder's risk(在建财险） (protect against property damage during construction. It is essentially property insurance for the building while it is under control of the contractor. It covers losses resulting from fire, water, explosion ,theft and so on. The general contractor can obtain this insurance, but the owner may decide to carry it. If so, the contractor should examine the policy to make sure he or she is covered sufficiently.)

summary------A contractor always seeks the advice of an insurance agent before deciding on coverage. The agent can review the construction documents for risks inherent（内在的，固有的） in the type of the project and the complexity.

一个有趣的保险广告

3.Technical information（技术文件）

The technical information is presented in two formats: drawings and specifications. These two different formats (one graphic, one narrative) do not exist independently but as a unit.

Because different parties are assembling the plants and specifications, inconsistencies are possible. Normally the specifications will govern. However, the contractor may call for the designer to resolve the conflicts. When an item shows up in one place but not the other, the contractor is usually ask for clarification from the designer.

★Drawings（图纸）

Many professionals are involved in developing the drawings. No matter who leads the effort, there are general guide lines that every follow so that coordination is simpler and translation in the field more predictable. For instance, the drawings normally follow general order of construction from site work to finish work. And each section has typical symbols and abbreviations. 

按图施工的最高境界

★Specifications（技术规范）

The technical specifications are written descriptions of the quality of the project. They detail the materials, equipment, and workmanship to be incorporated into the project. The specifications can be written by an in-house group or by a consultant whose primary business is specification writing (specification writer).

Depending on how specific the owner wants to instruct the contractor, specification can be divided into the following common types. 

▷Design specifications：（设计规范）These are known as descriptive specifications, they detail materials, workmanship, installation, and erection procedures. The contractor's obligation is to follow the instructions as laid out in the specifications. This puts a huge burden on the designer.

▷Performance specifications：（性能规范）These lay out the expected results of the work and leave the methods to the contractor. Performance may be expressed in a number of ways, such as operational capacity, appearance, color, structural tolerance and so on. Performance specifications always give an incentive to the contractor to devise innovation to the work.

▷Proprietary specifications：（专有规范） These state exactly the materials or method to be used. The purpose is to ensure the owner gets a preferred product or method.

▷Open specifications：（开放规范）These are nonrestrictive and allow many different choices within set criteria.

规范、标准和技术说明之间的区别 （Code, Standard, specification）

 Conclusion

Sometimes the project is bid out to one prime contractor; sometimes it is broken into smaller bid packages. How it is handled is determined by the delivery method chosen by the owner.

Bidding period is a time of anxiety. Anxiety levels are high for all parties. Owners are concerned about getting the best contractor for the best price; designer are concerned about that their design meet the budget, and contractors are concerned about submitting a bid too high and losing the job or submitting too low and losing money on the job. But if the bidding process is handled well, the profit is also good.

土木工程中，招标文件与合同到底有什么不一样

Reviewing questions(复习思考): 

1. what should be included in bidding information

2.Disscuss the bonds and insurance closely related to construction project.