Building Information Modeling – Construction Law Musings- Richmond, VA

The Two Words No One Wants to Hear

Originally posted 2011-07-08 09:00:13.

For this week’s Guest Post Friday, we welcome Erik Peterson. Erik has over 20 years of experience across the construction development industry, but realized there was a step missing on many projects he worked on. In 2005 he founded OAC Management Incorporated, a professional owner’s representation company (@oacmanagement) which specializes in Quality Assurance Observation to fill the gap. This innovative program protects OAC’s clients from construction defects and ensures that their projects are truly sustainable. In 2010 the OAC team certified The Ritz-Carlton in Vail, CO as the first QAO Certified structure in the world. Recently OAC has begun to train and certify industry professionals and contractors who have expressed a desire to utilize QAO internally to ensure their projects are built to the highest quality standard.

In coming up with a topic to blog on for the “industry leading construction law blog” (thanks for all you do Chris), we decided to create and discuss a checklist of the most common and costly construction assembly problems we see on projects. But after compiling a large list of specifics which included; no flashing around windows, missing sill pans, unsealed penetrations, improper caulking, incorrect application of waterproofing materials, unacceptable material preparation, etc. We decided to change our strategy and focus on the single most common issue we see.

95% of the issues on our original list contribute to this one issue.

It is not something that is eliminated with a LEED Certification, an EnergyStar qualification, or a blower door test.

It is costing our industry millions if not billions of dollars a year.

It is the two words that no owner, contractor, or insurance company wants to hear.

Continue reading The Two Words No One Wants to Hear

ConsensusDOCS Hits the Cloud

Originally posted 2012-05-14 09:00:07.

ConsensusDOCS General Contracting Contractual Relationships (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have discussed the ConsensusDOCS here at Musings on a few occasions. These relatively new form documents, endorsed by the AGC among other trade organizations, are a great counterpoint to the AIA documents that we all are more than familiar with and as construction attorneys and contractors have likely reviewed on numerous occasions.

Continue reading ConsensusDOCS Hits the Cloud

Thanks to Brian Hill and AEC Forensics for the Opportunity

I have made numerous friends during my journey here at Musings and Brian Hill (@blhill and @aec4n6) is one of them. Today, Brian was nice enough to let me muse at his AEC Forensics blog on the topic of BIM, IPD and Risk.

Here’s a bit of the article:

Like the movement toward sustainable or “Green” building, BIM and IPD have grown over the last few years. In many ways, the growth of these two “movements” in construction and construction design has occurred in a somewhat symbiotic fashion. For instance, many of the LEED certification points are best achieved by the use of BIM for integration of the various systems at a sustainable project. All of this is laudable.

For the rest, please check out the full article (linked above) and while you’re there make sure to comment and check out the rest of Brian’s great blog.

I welcome your comments below. Please subscribe to keep up with this and other Construction Law Musings.

A Hard Hat Tour of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center— Where the Design-Build Team is Taking Green Building to the Next Level With Net-Zero Water and Energy Use and Net-Zero Impact on the Environment

For this week’s Guest Post Friday we welcome Tara Chadbourn. Tara is a Principal of PooleMahoney, PC, where she concentrates her practice in construction law, litigation and commercial litigation. Tara counsels contractors, subcontractors, owners and materials suppliers in various construction disputes. Tara has her LEED Green Associate credential and has worked over the past few years to incorporate sustainability issues into her construction law practice.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend a hard hat tour of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center (“Brock Center”) two weeks ago as a guest of the Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation Foundation (“VBPRF”). The tour offered the City of Virginia Beach and VBPRF an opportunity to view progress at the site. The Brock Center construction site is located at the Pleasure House Point Natural Area, the last major undeveloped plot along the Lynnhaven River. Pleasure House Point was once slated for an 1,100 unit waterfront condominium development. Now, with the help of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (“CBF”), the City of Virginia Beach, The Trust for Public Land, VBPRF and many others, the site will host the most sustainable building in Virginia, if not the whole country. Upon completion this Fall, the Brock Center will serve as CBF’s regional headquarters and house an educational facility and community meeting spaces.

The Brock Center is targeting LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge Certification. This stimulating tour left me with some thoughts and questions for which I thank Musings for the opportunity to express.

Continue reading A Hard Hat Tour of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center— Where the Design-Build Team is Taking Green Building to the Next Level With Net-Zero Water and Energy Use and Net-Zero Impact on the Environment

Raising Your BIM Fluency

For this week’s Guest Post Friday here at Construction Law Musings, we welcome newcomer Lauren McLaughlin. For over a decade, Lauren has devoted her law practice to representing professionals in the construction industry. When she is not drafting contracts, negotiating change orders, litigating trials, or doing site visits as project counsel, she speaks at a myriad of construction industry events and writes for several trade associations. She has been an invited speaker to the Construction Superconference, American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on the Construction Industry, DC Mechanical Contractors Association, American Subcontractors Association of Metro Washington, Structural Engineers Association of Texas, American Council of Engineers (ACEC), and the Virginia State Bar, Construction and Public Contracts Law Section.

After several years practicing with larger law firms, Ms. McLaughlin co-founded BrigliaMcLaughlin, PLLC, a construction law firm representing owners, general contractors and subcontractors. She is the co-author of “The Law” column in Civil Engineering magazine published monthly by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Recently, I had the opportunity to moderate and present a panel for the American Subcontractors Association of Metro Washington (ASA of MW). Our topic was Building Information Modeling (BIM), the ever-present trend in the A/E/C industry. While BIM is featured prominently now in trade magazines and legal conferences (journals have sprouted dedicated exclusively to the topic) – just what is BIM? Why is the discussion relevant? How is it different from the computer-assisted (CAD) drawings used previously? Finally, what concepts and terms of art do you need to be familiar with to raise your own BIM fluency?

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