Civil Engineering

QUESTION

Construction of a new factory is proceeding well using an NEC3 ECC Option C contract. In December, the Project Manager asks the Contractor for a

quotation for the proposed construction of an extra car parking area during the following February, when access to this area of the site can be

given.
The Contractor’s quotation of £150,000 (as a ‘change to the prices’) and a four week delay to the Completion Date has been accepted by the Project

Manager since the work will delay the critical path.
The PM has changed the Works Information and instructed the Contractor to carry out the work.  Access is provided on 2nd February as agreed and the

extra parking area is constructed.  The weather is unusually good and the work is completed in three weeks.  Invoices and records show that the

Contractor actually spent about £130,000.

i)    Can the PM ask for a quotation for a proposed instruction? If so what does the contractor do next?
(2 marks)

ii)    The contractor had built in to his quotation a risk allowance for ‘poor February weather’. Was the PM correct to accept this?
(2 marks)

iii)    How does the PM assess the new Completion Date?
Later, the PM suggests changing the new completion date to ‘correct it for the one week saved’. What response should the contractor make?
(4 marks)

iv)    Explain in detail the derivation of how much and when the Contractor will be paid.
(8 marks)

Paper details:1. Summarize the (key) structures described in the book “Devil in the White City.” Summarize the:
– Location of structure(s)
– Time period of construction, performance
– Approx. cost
– Materials of construction
(Those should be given in a table)
2. Summarize the functional characteristics of the structures (their technical function, what they are for, how they were made, the construction process) described in the book. What, if anything, does this process tell you about advances in technology over the time period covered?
3. Summarize the cultural implications of these structures. In particular, try to use these four cases to make the argument that the cultural impact of an addition or subtraction from the built environment is (is not) related to the COST of that project.
4. Summarize the sustainability of these structures. Are any of them more environmentally benign? Did any improve their environments? Did they improve the social systems in which they operated?
5. Consider the impact of the passage of time on our ability to build meaningful and important projects. The four cases that you are considering cover a very wide range in time. Over that time, has our ability to conduct projects changed? Are there things we do better now? Worse? Has our acceptance of the built environment or our understanding of how it is provided changed? Use these four cases to provide SPECIFIC arguments, and bolster as you see needed with additional research on other projects.

A book report might be useful; however, the assigned book report should NOT be a completion of the one attached.