Tulsa Commercial Contractors must be able to work with different owners and architects and their different requirements. I am not sure how all Tulsa Commercial Contractors handle the difference between the architects, but throughout the building process there will be requirement that the Tulsa Commercial Contractor or the construction manager have to follow.
The first and longest process that the Tulsa Commercial contractor must follow will be the submittal process. A submittal is information transferred between the parties involved to ensure that the process continues as designed. For example, before the rebar is ordered and delivered to the site, the rebar supplier will draw the rebar and show the different sizes where they go. The supplier will turn in the drawings or the shop drawings into the Tulsa Commercial Contractor or the construction manager for review and in turn the Tulsa Commercial Contractor will then turn in the shop drawings for the rebar into the architect for him to approve and then the architect make turn those shops over to the structural engineer for their approval as well. Once the engineer reviews it, they will return to the architect, then back to the Tulsa Commercial Contractor or construction manager then back to the supplier or subcontractor.
During the transfer if each party will put notes or comments so that all parties see the same thing. Submittals don’t override the contract documents but are a part of the process. Along with shop drawings the product data is important part of the submittal. It will still follow the same process, but it requires that the product itself match the specifications and drawings. The specification or the drawings may require that the rebar in the footings to be a #4 with a 24” lap and made of a certain type of steel. The product data will specific the type of steel that went into the product.
Sometimes the product specified isn’t exactly what was specified and the architect or engineer may choose to accept the submittal and therefore the product anyways, especially if the product that is submitted is better than the product specified, but this rarely happens since typically a better product would be more expensive. This is one of the things that is different with each architect. Some architects will allow no deviation from the drawings or the specifications.
There are some specification sections that are linked to other specifications. The mechanical specifications usually list metal ducts, air duct accessories, duct insulation, and diffusers as separate specification sections but are linked especially when it comes to shop drawings. This is important when it comes to the actual submittal process because some architects and engineers require that the submittals be broken up by specific specification section.
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An easier example of breaking up the submittals could be flooring. If a project has vinyl tile, ceramic tile, and base that is potentially 3 separate specification sections and they would all fall under the category of flooring, but again depending on the architect they would want a submittal for vinyl tile, one for ceramic, and one for base. Other architects prefer to have all the flooring into one submittal, so they have fewer submittals or more specifications per submittal. While still some architects want all the submittals submitted by specification section but want to hold all the sample or colors selection until all the pertaining specification sections have been submitted and then returned all once creating several more submittals than needed.
The final process in a project is the warranty phase, but just before that is the closeout phase. The closeout phase is where the building’s occupation is transferred from the construction crew over to the owner. Most people believe one day all the contractors are done and they gather up all their tools and hand over the keys to the owners and just leave; however, the actual process of turning over ownership is an actual process. The process by which the building is turned over to the owner is dictated by the architect and the closeout process. The goal of a project from the Tulsa Commercial Contractor, other than customer appreciation and payment is to reach the substantial completion. That date is defined as the date that the owner can use the building for its defined purpose. Some architects get liberal with their definition of substantial completion.
Some architect’s require that a punch-list be completed before they will grant substantial completion, but most architect’s will ask the contractor or construction manager when they want a review for substantial complete and the architect will review the contractor’s work and either grant or not grant substantial completion, but in the process create a punch-list.
A punch-list is a list of items that the architect, owner, or engineer require before they will agree the project has been completed. The reason there are different dates is it can take time to finish small items on a punch-list such as touch-up paint and leaving off door silencers. The owner is usually anxious to get to use their building and not being able to use the building because the contractor forgot to put door silencers or because the contractor needs to replace some flooring or touch up some paint is a little ridiculous.
The substantial completion is the date marked in the contracts to allow the owner to get the building as soon as it is safe and functional and it also the date marked for liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are a fee agreed upon at the start of the project that will be charged to the contractor or construction manager to punish the contractor if they can’t meet the contracted date. If projects are stopped or slowed by unforeseen circumstances such as the inability to pour concrete because of cold or rain. The architect can grant throw change order more time. There could be other reasons such as an inconsistency in civil and site plans that creates a contradiction in elevations making the project come to a stop until the inconsistency is rectified, and the project can continue.