RFIs – The Paper War & How To Win
James G. Zack, Jr., CCM, CFCC, FAACE, FGPC, FRICS, PMP
James Zack is the Senior Advisor, Ankura Construction Forum™ – the construction industry’s global resource for thought leadership and best practices on avoidance and resolution of construction project disputes globally. Jim was a founder and former Executive Director of the Navigant Construction Forum™. Previously, Executive Director, Corporate Claims Management, Fluor Corporation; Vice President, PinnacleOne and Executive Director, PinnacleOne Institute; and Senior Construction Claims Consultant, CH2M HILL, Inc. With 47 years’ experience, he is a recognized expert in mitigation, analysis and resolution or defense of construction claims. A Fellow of AACE International. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and the Guild of Project Controls, Mr. Zack is a Certified Forensic Claims Consultant, a Certified Construction Manager, and a Project Management Professional as well as an internationally known author and speaker on construction claims.
Emily Federico, PSP
Emily Federico is a Director in the Fairfield, CT and New York offices of Navigant Consulting, Inc. Ms. Federico’s experience includes the preparation and analysis of various schedule delays, acceleration, loss of productivity and cost overruns claims. Tasks performed included the Critical Path Method (CPM) schedule development and detailed analyses, damage analyses, and issues analysis based on contemporaneous project documents. Ms. Federico has also provided litigation support for depositions of Navigant experts as well as cross-examination of opposition, mediation presentations including her own, and preparing Navigant’s expert for trial testimony in Federal Court. Ms. Federico’s experience while at Navigant Consulting includes the following construction project types: airports, retail shopping malls, bridges and highways, schools and universities, condominiums, spent fuel power plants, and wastewater treatment plants.
This webinar discusses the genesis of RFIs, their development in the industry and frequent common use. The webinar discusses the impact of RFIs on construction projects, drawing upon data provided by a global construction software provider and other studies to assess how RFIs and the RFI process impact both small and large scale construction projects. The webinar addresses the abuse of the RFI process examining how RFIs may be misused to increase profitability, a practice that has become somewhat institutionalized in the past few decades. The webinar discusses a case study involving a laboratory building at a wastewater treatment facility to illustrate how the process can be abused and examines the legal arguments for cumulative impact as a result of a large quantity of RFIs. The webinar explains how owners inadvertently contribute to the abuse of RFIs by failing to adopt practices that may contractually safeguard against the potential negative impacts of the RFI process. The webinar sets forth a framework for reducing the impact of RFIs that consists of three principal recommendations: the incorporation of critical definitions and an RFI control specification; electronic RFI tracking and monitoring systems; and sets forth best management practices concerning RFIs that owners and contractors can adopt and implement for managing the RFI process.
- Learn how the RFI process came about and its intended use in the construction industry
- Better understand the impact of RFIs on construction projects based on data from approximately 1,400 projects including the average time and cost to review and respond to an RFI
- Gain an understanding of how the RFI process has been and can be abused
- Be exposed to legal decisions concerning how the number of RFIs on projects has been used to prove both delay and cumulative impact claims
- Understand what definitions should be included in construction projects to help lessen the impact of RFIs
- Examine a proposed RFI specification which may be included in contracts to mitigate the impact of RFIs
- Understand how electronic tracking and monitoring of RFIs will help further mitigate the adverse impact of RFIs on projects
- Finally, learn about the best management practices concerning the management of RFIs
Course Level - Intermediate to Advanced
Who Should Attend
- General Contractors – Project Managers & Executives
- Owners and their representatives
- Design professionals performing services during construction
- Construction managers
- Attorneys representing owners and contractors
Why Should You Attend
- Discover the time and cost impacts of RFIs on projects
- Learn how the RFI process can be abused and used as the basis of claims
- Learn how to mitigate the adverse impact of RFIs through contractual mechanisms
- Understand the value of an electronic RFI tracking and monitoring system
- Be exposed to the best management practices concerning RFIs and the RFI process
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$200.00
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