Impact of Construction Document Deficiencies on Heavy/Civil Low-Bid Infrastructure Projects and the Introduction of a Contractor Document Review Assessment

The objective of the study was to examine the impact construction document deficiencies have on heavy/civil low-bid infrastructure projects. It encompasses the expertise of 202 heavy/civil construction professionals comprised of contactors and public project owners. The study was designed to determine the frequency and timing of when a contractor discovers construction document deficiencies on heavy/civil low bid projects. The information was correlated with further study data of when a contractor ultimately reports the discovered construction document deficiencies to the public project owner. This research data was compiled and analyzed to determine if contractors are withholding construction document deficiencies from public owners until after the project contract has been executed. The withholding of document deficiencies can benefit contractors by resulting in additional owner incurred costs and potential justification for project time extensions. As a result, further research was required to examine the impact construction document deficiencies have on project cost and schedule. Based on the study findings, it has led to the development of a Contractor Document Review Assessment. The Contractor Document Review Assessment is a risk mitigation device in which contractors and public project owners can identify construction document deficiencies on heavy/civil low-bid construction projects before the project contract has been executed.