Project Administration: Contract Documents, Procurement and Delivery Methods

NCEES FE Civil spec: Construction Engineering, A. Project administration (e.g., documents, management, procurement, project delivery methods). FE Reference Handbook: Civil Engineering chapter, Construction section (plus Ethics and Professional Practice for contracts).

What the FE Civil Spec Covers

Construction Engineering is worth roughly 4 to 6 questions on the FE Civil exam, and subtopic A, project administration, covers the paperwork side of a project: contract documents, project management, procurement and project delivery methods. These questions are mostly conceptual. You need to recognize terms, know who holds which contract, and handle a few quick payment calculations.

Key Concepts

Contract documents

• Agreement: the signed form that states the parties, price and time.
• General and supplementary conditions: rights and duties of owner, contractor and engineer (payments, changes, claims, insurance).
• Specifications: written quality requirements, usually organized by CSI MasterFormat divisions.
• Drawings: graphic quantities, locations and dimensions. When drawings and specs conflict, the contract states the order of precedence.
• Addenda change the documents before bid opening; change orders change the contract after award.

During construction, RFIs (requests for information) resolve questions about the documents, and submittals (shop drawings, product data, samples) let the designer confirm the contractor is supplying what was specified.

Project delivery methods

Contract pricing and procurement

• Lump sum: fixed price, contractor carries quantity and cost risk.
• Unit price: payment equals measured quantity times bid unit price; good when quantities are uncertain (earthwork, paving).
• Cost plus fee: owner reimburses actual cost plus a fixed or percentage fee; a GMP caps the owner's exposure.
• Public construction is usually competitively bid; design services are often procured by qualifications-based selection, with price negotiated afterward.
• Bonds: a bid bond guarantees the low bidder will sign; a performance bond guarantees completion; a payment bond guarantees subcontractors and suppliers get paid.
• Liquidated damages are a preset daily amount the contractor owes for late completion.

Core Formulas

Progress payment with retainage rate $r$:

Unit price contract:

Where It Is in the FE Reference Handbook

The handbook has little on contract administration. The Construction section of the Civil Engineering chapter covers scheduling and earned value, and the Ethics and Professional Practice chapter covers professional conduct. Most project administration questions are answered from your own understanding of the terms above, so learn them before exam day rather than counting on a search.

Worked Example: Progress Payment with Retainage

A contractor on a $1,200,000 lump sum contract submits a pay application. The engineer certifies $480,000 of work completed to date. The contract holds 10% retainage, and the contractor has already received $270,000. The project later finishes 12 days late, with liquidated damages of $1,500 per day. Find the current payment, the retainage held, and the liquidated damages.

Step 1: earned value less retainage.

Step 2: subtract previous payments.

Step 3: retainage held to date.

Step 4: liquidated damages, deducted from the final payment.

A unit price version works the same way. If excavation was bid at 2,000 CY at $18/CY and 2,350 CY is measured in place, the contractor is paid $2,350\times \$18=\$42,300$, not the $36,000 bid extension.

Common Mistakes

• Applying retainage only to this period's work but then subtracting all previous payments (be consistent: use cumulative values).
• Mixing up CMAR and CM agency. Only CM at risk holds the trade contracts and carries cost risk.
• Calling a change made before bid opening a change order. It is an addendum; change orders come only after award.
• Confusing the performance bond (finishes the work) with the payment bond (pays subs and suppliers).
• Paying a unit price contract on bid quantities instead of measured quantities.

Practice Problems

Try these from the free PolyCalc FE Civil problem bank. Each one has a full worked solution.

• Which project delivery method gives the owner a single contract covering both design and construction? See the worked solution or practice the Construction & Scheduling deck
• On a design-bid-build project, which parties hold contracts with the owner? See the worked solution or practice the Ethics & Professional Practice deck
• An engineer owns stock in a vendor being evaluated. What is the appropriate action? See the worked solution or practice the Ethics & Professional Practice deck

Related Calculators and Examples

• Earned value and CPM scheduling lesson
• Construction estimating lesson
• Time value of money example
• Construction and project management practice deck

Frequently Asked Questions

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