it's one of my favorite things.

advice?

first, there are always going to be problems in translating a project from drawings to stuff. figuring out those problems in the field - sometimes on the fly - is exhilarating and a little terrifying. LISTEN to what you're being told - by the contractor, by the owner, by your consultants, by any other stakeholders. take the information back to your quiet desk if you have to. they can wait a few hours.

second, the relationship with the contractor can often make or break the project. i usually start with ground rules, delivered in a firm but humorous way:

-when in doubt, line it up, center it, or call me.
-whatever you do, make it look intentional.

you can make up your own. key is letting them know that you have expectations, that those expectations are reasonable, and that they are one of the stakeholders in making it a good project.

i know that liberty bell said she has found that she has to be a little more aggressive about it because she's a she. but it's just about finding the right dynamic in the relationship.

third, it's not necessary for this to be an adversarial relationship. the contractor may call you and say that a detail has something questionable. don't go on the defensive. most of the time he'll be right; almost never will he be trying to undermine the project. of course, sometimes the things you value may not be as apparent to them.

have fun!

Thanks for your thoughts, Steven Ward. The things they say about you in Thread Central are true - you are definitely a very patient person.

haha...line it up, center it, or call me - that's a good one. I am reminded of a photo a former PM sent to me once - it was a dryer vent installed perfectly on-center in a 3'-wide field of stone, instead of within the vinyl siding just inches to the left - doh! The caption was "What happens when the architect is not consulted." I will have to see if I can pull up that photo from the archives.

DCA, you are right to be apprehensive, and just as right to think this will be a good experience to endure. And you get good advice and vibes from Steven.

My favorite kickoff for CA is the almost inevitable phone call at 4:30 the afternoon before the first big concrete pour is to take place. "The steel is in the wrong place, and the mixer truck will be here at 7am. I've already talked to the owner, and he doesn't want any delays. What should we do?"

And, still, DCA, I'm glad I went through it all. I'm a better architect for it, and you will be, too.

Oh, and Steven is extremely wise in his advice. GCs are used to having architects talk down to them. Unless your contractor is an imbecile, you may have a LOT to learn from a builder who's been in this business longer than you have. Listen, and show respect.

Also, don't worry if you don't have an answer right away. It's a million times better to say, "Let me look something up and get back to you on that" than to give an answer that turns out to be wrong. Everything you say has legal/financial ramifications, so choose your words carefully.

Something the guys in my office told me about CA is that the young people volunteer a lot of information, the people with more experience keep pretty quiet. Contractors can tell your experience level by this and sometimes try to take advantage if you appear green. Haven't experienced this one myself, just passing on the same warning I've gotten.

Everything posted here so far is good advice. I always treat my contractors with respect, consider them intelligent and sensible until they prove otherwise. My version of the "ground rules" speech is "I know you know a lot about building, and I want to hear your opinion about every issue that comes up, and hopefully we can solve most of them with a conversation and maybe a quick field sketch instead of a change order and all the associated paperwork". Of course you do need to keep a paper trail of the important stuff - this is expecially critical if things do happen to turn adversarial between you and the GC.

Which hopefully they won't. There are a few really hardboiled and unethical a-hole builders out there, but most of them, as stated above, are also stakeholders in getting a good project built and as long as you treat them with respect and don't come off as flighty and unreasonable you should be able to have a good working relationship with them

As for being a woman, I admit that I find I am *personally* more comfortable playing a little toward the "Gee I'm a girl and I really need your experienced help in understanding this framing problem" side of the spectrum. If you are not comfortable with putting on that role, then don't play it: be respectful but firm in your intentions (which is what I become after I've tried and failed with the clueless chick routine, which frankly as I approach 40 is harder to pull off but served me very well in my young learning years). As a woman facilities manager I worked with once said "I expect those guys to respect me and this job, but I'm not above bringing a plate of homemade cookies to a job meeting every now and then if it'll save me a few change orders".

The key thing: respect. If you get a sense that the GC is an honest and reasonable person, then respect that and work with him/her. If you sense that s/he is a jerk for no good reason, then grit your teeth and CYA with paper the whole way through. And yes it will be an invaluable learning experience and tremendous confidence builder once it's done.

oh man, CA is awesome. It's also horrible but man is it also awesome. I'm so glad I'm not at a desk all day, even if I have to be more of a bitch out on the job site and deal with pesky problems. Getting to actually problem-solve in situ is soooooooo amazingly educational in a way that I never, ever would have experienced through drawings alone. I cannot stress how much doing CA has informed everything else in my job, from being more innovative (due to a better understanding of what's actually going on) in design to producing better, clearer, and faster, more to-the-point working drawings.

The hardest part of CA--and really it should be CO (Construction Observation, crucial point)--is knowing when to draw the line and force the contractor to do his job instead of taking it slowly bit by bit upon your own shoulders because you have more quality control that way.

This advice is CRUCIAL. THERE IS ALWAYS MORE TIME THAN THEY TELL YOU THERE IS, but of course the caveat to that is, act on things as soon as you can. (ie, there's no room in CO/CA for slackers.) Answer the question as soon as you can, but don't stress about it or give a bad, rushed answer.

The other good advice for me, kind of in keeping with rationalist's second paragraph, came from something surprising my highly experienced and knowledgable boss did at one of my first site meetings: The sub (a plumber, I believe) was going on and on and on about something that I swear was in an entirely different language than any I knew (topped off with a heavy Boston accent), and my boss listened patiently to the complaint/query. The plumber finally wrapped up and we stood there in silence for a moment. Finally my boss opened his mouth, and out came: "I have no idea what you're talking about! Can you explain it?" We all shared a little laugh, the plumber got 10x warmer towards boss and me, and slowly and pridefully went step by step through the process. He was happy to be teaching something, happy to know something the architect didn't, and we were able to productively solve the problem. My boss has done that one a few times--just when I was all dismayed to be hopelessly out of my element, my boss has confessed that he didn't know something either (usually a very tricky detail, but still, it helps salve my pride!). So, the moral is, don't be afraid to ask. Contractors are usually in the biz because they like making and doing stuff, and they're usually the friendly, outgoing type too. If you don't know it, don't pretend. Be a sponge, even though you'll be afraid your authority will be questioned--chances are, they'll respect you more.

to expound on the "call at 4:30" idea...
my favorite has been the contractor making stuff up in the field (locating my storefront 4" off, deciding where grey block will and won't go on a colored block building, etc) then asking what to do about it when it's waaay to late.

what i'm torn with is this idea of letting the contractor/subs practice "craft". this has proved dubiuos every time in my experience. i get substandard results from very explicit material and woefully worse results when "craft" is allowed. oh wait, i'm not working with those reputable contractors. those times i'm not doing straight retail with these lowest bidder GC's, you get good quality. when a contractor is competent and is on your team, you will learn so much about what really happens in the field. every set of drawings i produce is more and more refined to reflect actual practice and the calls from the field are dropping accordingly. (as soon as i do another building type though, that's out the window)

i agree with CD's being much more satisfying - this self referential bubble of a world where everything is right (you assume). though, while you're doing CA, you're constantly bombarded by calls from the field.

just wait for shop drawings...

DCA- if you refer to it as the ugly side of the profession, that is what it will be for you...contractors can smell your fear-I can smell it from here...
Coming from a former project manager for a GC, now in architecture school, here's my advice-the contractor is not your enemy-he/she is your ally-if you go into the relationship thinking that. I've worked with excellent architects and absolutely horrible architects. The difference? The excellent ones work WITH you-they understand that construction is complicated, there are a lot of time and budget constraints that rule our lives and they are willing to do what is necessary to get to the finish line of the project successfully. In any successful business relationship, take your pride and bs out of the equation. we know it is your design, we know you love it, but sometimes things don't work out as it is drawn on paper. Be willing to compromise.
Your construction PM and superintendent more than likely have been around for a while and know what they are doing-you can learn a thing or two from them and they are always willing to help if you let them.
REMEMBER THIS- they can't build it without you, and you can't realize it without them-its a partnership.
Oh, and my favorite piece of advice-when you are on a jobsite, you are on a jobsite. Not in the office. Different rules. respect theirs. And don't forget the shoes-have some really good, roughed-up work boots-not clean dress shoes-you'll gain some respect if you look like you've been on a site before. :)
Good luck and have fun!!

The single most frustrating thing about CA is when everyone discusses and agrees on a certain course of action and then the contractor simply doesn't do it, and you have to go back after the fact and force him to rip shit up (if you have a lot of personal authoritative capital left with him) or accept it, which blows, because he fucked up, and it's hard to accept that. Luckily the first solution happens more frequently than the second but the whole thing is messy and frustrating as hell every damn time.

This brings up another highly important piece of advice: TAKE NOTES AFTER EVERY SINGLE SITE VISIT/MEETING/PHONE CONVERSATION WITH CONTRACTOR. Record every decision you made, to the best of your ability. This will suck up enormous amounts of time at the front end but since CA can often degenerate into a finger-pointing game it makes things a hell of a lot easier when the contractor legitimately fucks up (and even the best of contractors fucks up a lot--the building process is highly elastic).

Also, this is hard for me, and you have to figure out where to draw the line, but for me the temptation is always to just work directly with the subs to solve problems in the field--but this is HIGHLY dangerous as it leads to fingers being pointed at you later. It's seductive because going through the contractor all the time can be an enormous pain, especially when the plumber himself is calling you up--it's sooo tempting to just answer his question. But EVERYTHING should go through the contractor--otherwise he can duck responsibility/accountability if anything goes wrong with that sub. Also, he needs to be fully aware of everything going on.

contractor should be taking notes too-that's what I did-notes on everything and never had a project go bad b/c I always had everything accounted for.
and i HIGHLY recommend not working directly with the subs-their contract is with the GC-they are legally responsible to the GC, as the GC is legally responsible to the architect-follow the contract ties. the easy way out is working directly with the sub, but if you do this you fail-if anything goes wrong, it will come back to you for not following protocol-if it goes right, you're going to tick the GC off. and legally you are all bound to your contracts...don't screw with those.

Wow...lots of great comments from the heavy-hitters of Archinect.


Perhaps I should have titled the thread "Construction Administration for Women," as many of the comments above speak to the topic.

I think there is a risk of over-using the "I'm just an architect - can you explain that again?" line, but you give good examples of how the strategy can be effective in selected instances.

Another wise PM once began a story with, "No one ever has a perfect project, but..." and I think it's a good attitude. I fear that I will want everything to be perfect but will have to accept that construction is inherently imperfect.

Yeah, you definitely have to balance question-asking with weight-throwing-around; you'll know when to put on which hat, however. There have been many times when I did NOT ask the sub something I didn't know, but instead said "I'll check on that and get back to you" then either asked my boss or literally looked it all up in a handbook (like, basic wiring/plumbing/HVAC vocab that I was missing... wow, it's amazing how much I've learned), usually some combo of the two.

So, yeah, you don't always want to appear stupid. But once again your gut will tell you when to do what.

Why would you want to skip CA? This is what we DO! We make BUILDINGS! Contract docs are just a way of communicating. Never be afraid of your contrcators. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience that you can make use of. Especially now that our industry is expanding rapidly in terms of products, systems and construction methods.

Take this as an opportunity to become a better architect. You will get to see how those pretty drawings you create are actually used. You will learn so much which will enable you to create better designs and better document sets.

It's all about communication. Have fun :)

there isn't much more to be said about CA by the great minds here on archinect . . . . but i'll say some anyway.

it truly is an exhilarating experience. it is definitely not for slackers. it is very time demanding and detail oriented.

the overriding concept of CA is TEAMWORK. everyone is part of a team and everyone has their own specialty. CA is very technical. i need to lean on people for advice and expertise all the time.

one question though . . . it sounds like you've never done CA before. i hope your office isn't expecting you to do everything on your own. are there more senior and experienced people in your office that can help?

Just remember the following

1) don't be a dick to the GC
2) the owner is NOT your friend
3) if you see a sub doing something wrong tell the GC, not the sub, and then follow it up in writing (DO NOT tell the sub directly)
4) look, listen, and learn
5) drink early and often (but not on the job site)

the rest I agree with, but 2) the owner is NOT your friend?!?!?!

As architect, your contract is with the OWNER. You are the OWNER'S representative on site. Your job is to make sure the design that the OWNER hired you for is executed correctly and thus the OWNER is happy. Thus, whether you like it or not, you ARE the owner's best friend.

In the unnatural threesome of GC-architect-owner it is easy to get buddy-buddy with the GC in order to get him to build what you want. In my experience this can easily lead to the owner feeling a loss of control and like the architect is being arrogant and doing an end-run around owner in order to get his fantasy built. STAY AWAY FROM THIS DYNAMIC, it poisons the process and the relationship and regardless of how well the thing is built in the end the client will remember only feelings of frustration and powerlessness and like he is being dicked over by the GC/Architect duo. Remember that your reponsibility is to the owner, not to your GC, however much you value your relationship with the GC.

Now, if you're talking about "try to keep the owner from visiting the site/talking to the GC without you present" now that is a different matter.

whoa sorry, just shit I've been sorting through for myself lately, therefore a bit of a sore point I guess

I felt bad once trying to get a contractor to help me understand something, I apologized for my greeness and hesitatingly asked him to explain. He laughed and leaned forward and said something like, "Don't worry about it, I'd rather explain something to you than have to deal with that asshole boss anyday." He then gave an excellent explanation, and we came up with a fantastic solution to the problem, of which neither of us would have come up with ourselves.
Lesson learned: humbleness, additude, and effective communication go much farther than arrogance.

Know your channels for communication, this will develop as you see how the GC likes to work. Will he ever check his e-mail to get those pdf's you want to send? Probably not, better fax them, etc.

Also, see if your firm has any ways of logging correspondence during CA, and use it. Like tracking shops for instance - record when they come in, when you give them to consultants, how many sets, what was included (drawings, samples, etc), when you gave them back to the contractor, what did you stamp them as... And don't be afraid to reject shop drawings if they are really bad, which they can be.

oops, bad writing up there "that asshole boss" - meaning MY boss, that was also routinely making observations as it was my first CA experience.

Having worn the hat of both architect and GC I can tell you that the client/owner is not your friend. Smiles and hugs today- lawsuits and screaming tomorrow.

My point is to make sure you keep everyone happy, but understand that it's not a love in and the owner will turn on you if they think it will protect their interests. Most problems on the job-site arrise from mis-communication and the architect parading around acting like they know how to do everything. Likewise, if you work well with your GC and subs, they will help you out by not snowing you under with change orders everytime the owner decides they want to alter the design mid-construction. However, to quote the dude from Office Space "Watch out for the cornhole man!"

Construction has this nasty habit of turning intelligent, compasionate people into paranoid, unreasonable, blobs of hatred and antagonism.

So I stand by what I said. The owner is NOT your friend.

I am sure you will have someone in your office “show you the ropes” on how they expect you to represent your office on the construction job.
If this is your first time participating in the construction observation phase of a project take it upon yourself to do all the correspondence and documentation, tell your boss you want to do this. This to me is the most important part of the process. You will have control is this happens.
Be familiar with the forms and process of the paper work.
If you have a tight set of construction documents and specification and you’re personally familiar with them, the process will be informative as many have mentioned.
Most of the headache of construction happens because of poor CD’s and poorly written specs.
At the pre-construction meeting explain what you feel are the challenges in the design, what details you have given especial considerations. Explain the big picture and the important role the G.C. plays from this point on. Like my old boss used to say “this is a team effort, now it’s your time to step up to the plate a hit a homerun for us”
Personally I love to be on the job site, learning and sharing the design vision that we are all creating together.
Keep us posted

so much good advice, i don't have much to add and i hate using sports metaphors but:

a project should be like a football game. on offense are the architect, the owner, the contractor, and all the subs. each member of the team plays a unique position requiring unique skills without which the game cannot be won. there has to be a quarterback (i bet you we all know who THAT should be) but each person is equally crucial, since you can't even play without all the members of your team on the field. each member has their strengths and weaknesses, and the strategy to win is formulated by analyzing those and making adjustments to suit.

on defense would be time, money, and technical impossibility, i guess...haven't massaged this one too much.

my point is, if the quarterback (yes, why i DID mean to say architect) doesn't respect and trust his receivers...his running backs...his offensive linemen...they don't respect and trust him. and the result is you lose the game. so if you go into CA ASSUMING the contractor is going to drop the ball...he just might, and he might assume you're calling the wrong play.

I would agree that the owner is not your friend. The architect should be an impartial interpreter of the construction documents, not just the owner's servant. Owners can be their own worst enemies, especially when they're cutting checks.

"architecture" is so much more about "building" than it is about "drawing" ... you can't be a good architect if you don't know how it comes together in the field

be thankful you've been given this opportunity and make damn sure you learn every possible thing you can while you're in this role ... you will look back on it as the most important developmental period of your career since graduation

you've received some very, very good advice from the others above ... take it to heart.

These comments have been helpful in beginning to change my attitude about CA.

Devil Dog, to answer your question about other mentors in the office - I will have a lot of support, luckily.

I wasn't so fortunate two years ago at a previous job when I was put into the position of being the general contractor AND owner's representative for a small tenant fit-out job with a very aggressive schedule and tight budget. I was pretty much "hung out to dry" in terms of in-office support, which has caused me to be so apprehensive this time around. (It was truly miserable to get a call from the plaster guy while I was ON VACATION, telling me that they could not perform the work as instructed and had left the site for the day. This was after I had given them alternate contact information for a co-worker if they had any questions. arg!)

Anyways, your comments helped me get through today's meeting about construction sequencing...the project is becoming more "real" as we get closer to construction. And I might even be beginning to look forward to it :)

never answer a question at the jobsite unless it is in response to whether or not you would like a donut...

yes i would like a donut, thank you. and can i have a drink out of that flask y'all are passing around?

When a prickly question or issue comes up on site, I often ask myself the question (to myself): 'Is this MY problem?'
Fact is, as architects, we tend to consider ourselves the source of all answers on a project. While this might be true in a sense, in reality, the contract, the drawings and the specifications should be the source for answers.
The example given above, regarding the concrete pour, is a great example of this - you give an answer and you wear it if it's wrong. You point to the specifications and require that the contractor deliver the service he signed his company to, you're OK.
Contractors will tend to re-assign their responsibility to us if possible (don't we all?). Resist this.
You have responsibilities. They have responsibilities. Review the contract thoroughly before starting CA and you should be able to avoid many of the pitfalls, and have a decent relationship with the GC (I agree this is important, but not absolutely so).
Good Luck

If you're planning on doing CA on a federal government project it's a completely different animal.

I heard something like this on a meeting once I am not sure if I got it correct but you get the gesture-
When there is a question on a job site:
The contractor with all the information will never make a decision.
The consultant with limited information will seldom make a decision.
The architect with no information will always make a decision.


* there it goes my perfect propotioned E/C ratio, I guess I need 1051 more comments to get it back.

i cant say much more than what has already been said... good luck and have fun. the only thing i can add is make sure you treat yourself to a read through aia document a201 before you get out there.

and add onto your first day's talk with the GC:
"i dont want to hear about any issues, receive a proposal or get a pencil req. for the first time, while in front of the owner, either pull me aside or talk to me later and i will do the same for you."

no one likes to be made a fool of in front of the owner. and nothing is more embarassing than having a contractor point out an obvious screw-up on the documents. in turn dont do the same to them if you see something they screwed up on.

it is always best to present a problem to the owner with a solution.

I recommend strongly that you take the time to review Chapter 18.9 -Contract Administration of The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice ... you also should benefit from reviewing the following articles:

Zen and the Art if Construction Administration - Part I

Zen and the Art if Construction Administration - Part II

cln 1, very good point about not making either of you look like an idiot in front of the Owner, and the bigger point of not presenting a "problem" to the Owner but a solution already formulated. Save the Owner some needless worry.

The best thing about CA/O is you get to go by the day the roof rafters go up and say Yeehaw! That looks exaclty like I wanted it to look!



And as an added bonus, you may simultaneously get to hear Ozzy Osbourne on the jobsite radio! CA ROCKS!!!!

lb ... you're so much fun !

CA is definitely a crazy train.

i like that rule a lot, solve problems at the lowest level possible. i would go a step further -- give your contractor as much room to solve the minor stuff without you as possible. your job on CA, after all, is to administer the intent contained in the contract documents and the specifications. NOT to make sure the building happens exactly as you or someone else drew it. CERTAINLY not to make sure it's "perfect."

there are big battles and little skirmishes, and you've only got so much ammo. don't waste it on the little skirmishes. if the drawings say the reveal has to be 1/2", and in the field it's 5/8", and it's not crooked or leaking, and it's not bloody obvious from the street...maybe think about whether your whole design centers on that reveal or not.

remember that contract drawings communicate INTENT and thus if there's another way to achieve the intent, then it's worth at least a listen.

and remember that a closed mouth catches no flies.

ochona ... great advice

C A will open your eyes to what your designing just about as much as actually building what your designing. You will discover how a hammer
has a difficult time an accute angle. You will discover wood shrinks and expands, twist and does just about every thing you don't want it to. It is a good eye opener for any designer. I was fortunate in everyone I ever worked with took me into the field to see what was going on.

Oh a word of advice, be nice to the steel workers, there the guys who wear their hardhats backwards.

...and never, ever, EVER use tex-mex slang on a job site unless you can pull it off.

never say "que onda?" instead of "how's it going?" or "como estas?" or "que tal?"

truck is "camion", not "troca" (i think)...i asked "donde esta la troca de concrete?" once in chicago and the superintendent thought i was just some gringo trying to spanglicize words, when back home in haltom city TX troca really DOES mean "truck". just as "carro" really means "car." the workers, turned out, were from el salvador.

and you had better have the huevos to back it if you want to throw words like "ese" or "vato" or "pendejo" into the mix. fortunately i saw the consequences of that second-hand, not first-hand, although i had been told never to say them anyway.

it was the welder who thought he was la pura vida...the rebar guys got together and pushed his truck into a ditch

yuk

men...

every time i go to a construction site to checkup on things, i'm reminded of gay porn.

don't get stuck on a swing stage all day with a glazer while punchlisting- they have short tempers.

few years ago at UPenn jobsite, two glazers got into a tiff while hanging up high, came down to the ground and pulled knives on each other- one DOA.

Few weeks later - same job, our CA came back to the office white as a sheet after watching a worker try to pull a wiley coyote and walk on air- fell 16 stories onto another piece of staging and bounced.

That's why we wear hard hats! (but not backwards)

Speaking of hard hats...

Each of the trades has a different color (architects are usually white), but I can't find a listing online.

I did, however, run across this excerpt from Indianapolis Woman about the executive director of the Indiana State Building Commission:

"The petite administrator never got lost among the hulking construction workers. Her pink hardhat shone from the sea of white hardhats like a lighthouse on a dark shore.

Decorated with a variation of stickers, including Dorothy's ruby slippers and a pair of stilettos, the attention-getter was a leftover gimmick from one of the many nonprofit committees she served. When she forgot it and wore a white hardhat, the upset crews let her know which hat they preferred. "We have to know you're in the building," she recalls a construction worker saying"

The full article is good for a read, too.

I survived.

Yay Just Why, you survived!!!

What's next?

Thanks for noticing, liberty bell:)

It's been a really tough two years since my original post. BUT, the buildings opened last week, and I sure learned a lot in the process. Construction administration still isn't my thing, but I feel as though the experience accelerated my career faster than if I were drawing details in the office all day.

My next project is awesome and already a lot of fun. I'm joining mid-course when many of the decisions have already been made, BUT it's still going to be cool to detail it. I get giddy at daily discoveries ("Really? That's a concealed/hidden door to the fire command room in the exterior polished granite facade? SWEEEET!")

donald trump once said "the only ppl that can steal money from me is contractor"

CA is a life time learning experience... to handle contractor is sort of like good guy bad guy within the same person, kind of schizophrenic but can apply universally.

and a senior CA once taught me:


"there is no due process in construction business, contractor has to prove they are not guilty instead"