Requests for Information – The Paper War and How To Prevent It
Jim is the Principal, James Zack Consulting, LLC and Senior Advisor, Ankura Construction Forum™. The Forum strives to be the construction industry’s resource for thought leadership and best practices on avoidance and resolution of construction project disputes globally. Formerly he was the Executive Director of the Navigant Construction Forum™ and earlier, the Executive Director, Corporate Claims Management Group, Fluor Corporation, one of the world’s largest EPCM contractors. Mr. Zack was previously Vice President of PinnacleOne and the Executive Director of the PinnacleOne Institute and a Senior Construction Claims Consultant for CH2M HILL, Inc. Mr. Zack has, for more than 51 years, worked on both private and public projects throughout the U.S. and in 39 countries abroad. Mr. Zack is a Fellow of AACE, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Guild of Project Controls and the Society of Construction Claims Specialists International. In the construction claims field, he is a recognized and published expert in mitigation, analysis and resolution or defense of construction claims and disputes. Mr. Zack is a Certified Construction Manager (CCM), a Certified Forensic Claims Consultant (CFCC), an Expert Certified Construction Claims Specialist (ECCCS), an Expert Certified Construction Delay Analyst (ECCDA) and a Project Management Professional (PMP).
This webinar discusses the genesis of RFIs, their development in the industry and a frequent common use. The webinar discusses the impact of RFIs on construction projects, drawing upon data provided by a global construction software provider and other studies to assess how RFIs and the RFI process impact both small and large construction projects. The webinar addresses the abuse of the RFI process, examining how RFIs may be misused to increase profitability, a practice that has become somewhat institutionalized in the past few decades.
- Learn how the RFI process came about and its intended use in the construction industry
- Better understand the impact of RFIs on construction projects based on data from approximately 1,400 projects including the average time and cost to review and respond to an RFI
- Gain an understanding of how the RFI process has been and can be abused
- Be exposed to legal decisions concerning how the number of RFIs on projects has been used to prove both delay and cumulative impact claims
- Understand what definitions should be included in construction projects to help lessen the impact of RFIs
- Examine a proposed RFI specification which may be included in contracts to mitigate the impact of RFIs
- Understand how electronic tracking and monitoring of RFIs will help further mitigate the adverse impact of RFIs on projects and,
- Finally, learn about the best management practices concerning the management of RFIs
Areas Covered
- Purpose of Research
- Generis of RFIs
- Impact of RFIs on Projects
- Cost and Time Impacts
- Abuse of the RFI Process
- RFIs In Action – A Case Study
- Legal Decisions Concerning RFIs
- Owners – Part of the Problem
- Incorporate an RFI Clause
- RFI Review System
- Electronic Tracking System
- Forward Thinking Index™
- RFI Best Management Practices
- Means of Preventing RFIs
- Final Notes
Course Level - Intermediate to Advanced
Who Should Attend
- Owner and Contractor Project Managers
- Resident Engineers or Architects
- Agency Construction Managers
- Construction Managers at Risk
- Design Managers
- Legal Counsel representing owners or contractors
Why Should You Attend
- Discover the time and cost impacts of RFIs on projects
- Learn how the RFI process can be abused and used as the basis of claims
- Learn how to mitigate the adverse impact of RFIs through contractual mechanisms
- Understand the value of an electronic RFI tracking and monitoring system
- Be exposed to the best management practices concerning RFIs and the RFI process
Topic Background
The webinar discusses a case study involving a laboratory building at a wastewater treatment facility to illustrate how the process can be abused and examines the legal arguments for cumulative impact due to a large number of RFIs. The webinar explains how owners inadvertently contribute to the abuse of RFIs by failing to adopt practices that may contractually safeguard against the potential negative impacts of the RFI process. The webinar sets forth a framework for reducing the impact of RFIs that consists of three principal recommendations: the incorporation of critical definitions and an RFI control specification; electronic RFI tracking and monitoring systems; and sets forth best management practices concerning RFIs that owners and contractors can adopt and implement for managing the RFI process.
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$200.00
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