The construction industry has a dichotomy of issues. On the one hand, contractors want flexibility to get the job done. On the other, the owners want water-tight contracts that will protect them from claims by contractors and their subs. This issue addresses both concerns. Ironclad contracts won’t always protect an owner from cost-related claims, says Larry True, but there are certain steps to maintain cost controls on a project. Marco Ferrante offers a Best Practices approach to add flexibility into a schedule through lags and leads.

Our final two articles take a look at technology that will help all interested parties stay on track, whether it involves John Jurewicz’s helpful tools for ordering structural steel or Gordon Aronson’s tutorial for interpreting multiple calendars.

By Larry True
Protective contract language won’t always protect an owner against claims on fixed price contracts. Due diligence from the owner must be given to cost controls throughout the course of the project, says cost controls expert Larry True.

By John Jurewicz of ASPTIP.COM
Minor architectural changes in steel design can cause major headaches for a fabricator. With the right technology, a fabricator won’t be faced with recalculating countless sections when the architect or engineer makes a structural change.

By Gordon H. Aronson
Multiple scheduling calendars may seem like a maze of lines to the non-scheduler. Yet to the trained eye, they can keep a project moving forward. Gordon Aronson explains how to use and read these tools in Primavera Project Management 5.

By Marco Ferrante
As schedulers require more flexibility when planning construction activity relationships, scheduling lags can play critically important roles in that process. Warner’s Marco Ferrante gives a Best Practices approach for how to use lags to best advantage.

Here’s a look at recent items in the news.