There are two uses for the Change Order Request depending on the requirements of the owner and
architect.
Change Order Requests can be used as the vehicle for transmitting the proposed costs (PCO’s) to the
architect or owner for approval. Many architects and owner like to see a chronological numbering
system with all costs submitted. Since PCO’s may be submitted out of order, the COR allows the PCO’
s to be attached to a document that will be numbered in chronological order.
This must be done prior to proceeding with the work unless a previous arrangement has been made,
such as performing the work on a Time and Material Basis. All costs must be reviewed by the
Superintendent and the Administrator / Manager. The following is an outline that must be followed
when preparing and submitting a proposal.
COR’s may not be required if PCO’s are acceptable on your project. Review with the Architect and
owner prior to starting the project.
COR’s can also be used for transmitting a group of approved PCO’s to the owner to request a formal
change order at the end of the month.
Review
Once all quotes have been received review for inclusions and exclusions. When the Prime Contractor
submits a proposal it is responsible for the entire scope of work. When subcontractors review a
proposal they are only quoting a portion of the work. The subcontractor may assume that another
contractor is performing the work and will not put the associated costs in their quote. If the contractor’s
quote is vague as to the scope, call them and get a definite scope prior to submitting the costs. By
reviewing the scopes from the subcontractor you will eliminate something being missed and a
possible liability to Harris.
Confirm all costs are in the required format. Each project will require different formats for costs
when they are submitted. The majority requires labor, material, and equipment lines to be shown in
detail. This allows the costs to be reviewed quickly by the architect and also by the Prime Contractor
prior to the transmittal to the architect. It should be policy to review costs prior to issuing a Change
Order Request. If costs appear to be high or low, the subcontractor must be contacted and revisions
made if necessary. Review the fee, O & P, bonds, and insurance of each contractor to confirm that they
are being calculated correctly and the proper percentages are being used.
Review the change for Prime Contractor Direct work. The Superintendent and Administrator /
Manager should review the change and price work that affects the Prime Contractor’s direct work. A
breakdown of labor, material, and equipment should be provided for review by the architect. Costs for
coordination of the work by the Prim Contractor or time extension costs must be considered in the
pricing of the work.
Create the Change Order Request. Enter cost information from subcontractors and the Prime
Contractor in a lump sum on each line. Enter a summary description at each separate line of the
proposal. Add the Prime Contractor’s fee, insurance, and bond costs as provided in the Contract
documents. The description of work should include a summary of what is included in the proposal.
Anything not included must be specifically noted. Each subcontractor and Prime quote must be
attached to the proposal as back up information. Also, note any time extension required for the change
to the scope of work.
Assign an “approval needed date” for the architect. The approval date is usually 7 to 14 days from
the submittal date. However, if the proposal is critical to the scheduled work, note the date approval of
the proposal is required to avoid delays to the schedule.
Send the COR to the architect with all back up information. Include the subcontractor quotes and
any Harris calculation sheets. COR’s can be sent by fax, hand delivered or mail. There must always
be a transmittal confirming the date of transmission.
Filter the log to determine unapproved and approved cost proposals. Once a week, filter and print
the log for the Architect and the Superintendent and Manager. The report should include, items that
are "for approval", "approved & waiting for change order", "revise and resubmit" and "costs that still
need to be submitted". This will allow the Architect and the Superintendent and Manager to be
informed of the status of the issues and take action when needed.
Transmit the log to the architect and owner for outstanding items. Prior to the weekly owner
meeting, the log noting the outstanding items should be transmitted to the owner and architect in
writing. The log must also note which items are the most critical. To allow the architect to work on the
most critical items first, keep all logs transmitted to the architect.
Rejected
Return any rejected cost proposals to subcontractors for review and comment. If the costs are
returned with comments either "rejected" or "revise and resubmit", return the comments to the
subcontractor for comment and re-submittal if necessary. The time frame for the return must be noted
on the return letter.
Return the comments from the subcontractors to the architect. Once the comments have been
received from the subcontractor, review the comments and costs to be sure they comply with the
requests of the architect and owner. Then transmit the response to the architect immediately to avoid
any further delay. This can be done by creating a revised proposal and numbering it with a .1 after the
COR number. A revised COR is not necessary if information only has been requested by the architect.
No matter which is the case, be sure that the date of transmissions is confirmed in writing.
If the proposal is still not resolved arrange meeting with the architect and subcontractor for
discussion. Again, the schedule is the key to the approval of the proposal is the schedule of the
project. Once the proposal has been rejected for the second time, a meeting should be scheduled to
review the proposal and discuss the issues for rejection with the owner. If this should fail, consult the
specifications for formal procedures that can be pursued by the subcontractor or the contractor.
Approved
If the proposal is approved, log it as such and notify the subcontractors involved. Notify the
subcontractor immediately in writing. A change order cannot be issued to the subcontractor until a
change order has been received from the owner. The specifications will usually note two ways a
proposal can be approved for implementation. First, the architect, Owner and the Prime Contractor,
must sign a Prime Contract Change order. Since a change order usually takes a month or two to
process, another document is used to expedite the process. For example, a Construction Change
Directive may be issued. The authorized representative of the owner, architect and contractor signs
this document. It allows work to proceed immediately with the guarantee that the costs for the change
will be included in the next Prime Contract Change Order.
It is should be policy of the Prime Contractor to have the change approved by an authorized
representative of the owner prior to proceeding with the work. Transmit the approval document form
the owner to the contractor.
Transmit the log to the owner showing approved proposals that should be included in the next change
order. This will assure that there is no mistake in the prime contract change order. This shall be done
monthly at a minimum.
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