Change Order Management

 Issues related to change orders are a common source of disputes between contractors and owners. Because change order management is one of the most important tasks over the life of a construction project, yet one of the processes that is often poorly executed.

Both parties have responsibilities in managing change orders and resolving them in a timely manner to minimize impacts to the project and maximize returns for both parties.

Due to the dynamic and complex nature of construction projects, it is difficult to foresee every variable or challenge from the onset.

Changes are due to a wide range of events:

Owners requiring a scope or execution change to better meet their needs,
Designers addressing design issues,
3rd party events,
Weather impacts, and plain misunderstandings.
Failure to properly address these issues through a change management process will likely cause greater disruption on the project and degrade the relationship between the owner and contractor.

Contractors typically are required to provide notification of any event that they believe is a change to their scope of work. They also are required to respond to owner requests for changes. In both cases, contractors need to properly assess the impacts to existing work and calculate the cost and schedule impacts of the change. Contractors then need to work with owners to negotiate a reasonable adjustment to the contract, working with the owner to minimize impacts, and then incorporate it into the scope of work.

RMPD helps keep projects on track through a structured change management process. We support owners and contractors with preparing change order requests, assessing scope, and other impacts on cost and schedule, and negotiating final change order terms.