On Nov. 15, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) plans to release its new and updated Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc) family of contract documents. Next February, the AIA will release its updated Construction Manager as Adviser (CMa) family of documents.
These documents get updated on a 10-year revision cycle.
The AIA divides its contract documents into nine families, organized by delivery method. These include families for design-bid-build (the most widely used contract model), design-build, and integrated project delivery, as well as contracts that specifically cover interiors, small projects, and digital practices. The design-bid-build document family was updated in 2017.
Under CMc, the Construction Manager comes on the project during the preconstruction phase to provide early collaboration. In the construction phase, the CM does the construction work, as if it were a General Contractor.
Under the CMa, the Construction Manager is also retained by the owner for early collaboration during the preconstruction phase. But the CMas don’t perform the construction work. The CMa documents are designed for complex projects with more than one prime contractor. During the construction phase, the CMa coordinates and manages the contractors, as well as providing cost estimating and other functions.
Susan Van Bell, Senior Director and Counsel – AIA Contract Documents Content, tells BD+C that the AIA solicited input from CM practitioners about revisions to the documents so that they’d better reflect current practices.
From those conversations, CMs suggested that one change they wanted was a way to tailor the document for the scope of preconstruction services without having the standard contract language be too restrictive.
Van Bell says the 2019 CMc revision addresses this issue by inserting “fill points” into the contract where more preconstruction details can be identified. The update also makes some edits to the standard preconstruction services scope.
A schematic of the family of documents for Construction Manager as Advisor.
The CMc documents now include insurance and bond exhibits, which had been added to the design-bid-build document family in its 2017 revision. Van Bell says there are also new exhibits for both the CMc and CMa documents that cover the role of the CM in sustainable projects.
The revised CMa documents clarify the CMa’s role in such areas as analyzing and coordinating the contractors’ schedules. The CMa is also the responsible party for managing a project’s digital information systems. “We clarified the communication process,” Van Bell says. The 2017 updates that required the establishment of protocols for digital data and BIM were carried into the CMc and CMa updates.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Sep 9, 2022
Top 80 Hotel Sector Contractors + CM Firms for 2022
AECOM, Suffolk Construction, STO Building Group, and Swinerton top the ranking of the nation's largest hotel and resort sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
| Sep 9, 2022
Add sand shortage to supply chain woes
As if it wasn’t enough to have lumber, windows, doors, and metal pipe in short supply, you can add sand, which is theoretically plentiful on Earth, to the list of construction materials that can be hard to come by.
Senior Living Design | Sep 8, 2022
What’s new with AQ: The top trends in active adult living
Today's 55-or-better buyers are ready to design their lives and their homes as they see fit. With so much growth on tap, builders and developers must stay apprised of trends related to home, environment, and culture of 55+ communities.
| Sep 8, 2022
The Twin Cities’ LGBTQ health clinic moves into a new and improved facility
For more than 50 years, Family Tree Clinic has provided reproductive and sexual health services to underserved populations—from part of an old schoolhouse, until recently.
| Sep 8, 2022
U.S. construction costs expected to rise 14% year over year by close of 2022
Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) is forecasting a 14.1% year-on-year increase in U.S. construction costs by the close of 2022.
Giants 400 | Sep 7, 2022
Top 110 Industrial Sector Contractors + CM Firms for 2022
Clayco, Arco Construction, Ryan Companies, and STO Building Group top the ranking of the nation's largest industrial facility sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
| Sep 7, 2022
Use of GBCI building performance tools rapidly expanding
More than seven billion square feet of project space is now being tracked using Green Business Certification Inc.’s (GBCI’s) Arc performance platform.
| Sep 7, 2022
K-8 school will help students learn by conducting expeditions in their own communities
In August, SHP, an architecture, design, and engineering firm, broke ground on the new Peck Expeditionary Learning School in Greensboro, N.C. Guilford County Schools, one of the country’s 50 largest school districts, tapped SHP based on its track record of educational design.
| Sep 6, 2022
Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. (1939-2022) An incomparable spirit
Dynamic leader and Kohler Co. Executive Chairman Herbert Vollrath Kohler, Jr. passed away on September 3, 2022, in Kohler, Wisconsin.
| Sep 6, 2022
Demand for flexible workspace reaches all-time high
Demand for flexible workspace including coworking options has never been higher, according to a survey from Yardi Kube, a space management software provider that is part of Yardi Systems.