Many contracts for construction projects establish performance standards requiring the work to be performed in accordance with sound engineering and construction practices, be performed in a good and workmanlike manner, and follow generally accepted industry practices. These are commonly referred to as standard of care requirements.
Interface Consulting is often asked to evaluate and opine on standard of care issues throughout the engineering, procurement, and construction process. In these instances, our analysis may typically assess if the performance met or exceeded the ordinary and reasonable care usually exercised by an experienced contractor on a similar type of project under similar circumstances and conditions. It is important to keep in mind that perfect performance is not the standard.
Interface’s approach, tailored to the individual needs of each project, could be to analyze the project records to evaluate if the performance was consistent with the standard of care in the following aspects:
- Engineering definition/sufficiency
- Suitability of the project documents
- Staffing (e.g., number of people and level of skill provided)
- Systems and procedures
- Project management practices
- Cost and schedule management
- Procurement management issues
- Construction management issues
- Contract administration issues
- Quality management
- Safety management
- Risk management
- Stakeholder management
Many of Interface’s experts have hands-on experience performing and managing engineering, procurement, and construction projects. We use this industry experience, together with various recognized industry guidelines and recommended practices, to evaluate if the party’s performance met the standard of care. Interface regularly works with owners, contractors, subcontractors, project managers, construction managers, and their attorneys in assessing standard of care issues.