NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

AAR 5104: ASSIGNMENT THREE

LECTURER: Architect I. Ahmed

INTRODUCTION TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

COMPILED BY:

DLELO VELEMPINI: N01413547Y

An Assignment Submitted to

The Department of Architecture

In Partial Fulfilment

For the Degree of

Bachelor of Architectural Studies (Honours)

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 15 OCTOBER 2019

Question 1: You are running a contract for a client in Zimbabwe, what would you do if the contraction is
not attending to your variations in time?

Variation orders are very common in construction projects. These happen usually as a change from the
client’s initial plan or from an err made by a quantity surveyor in the bill of quantities by missing some
items and objects in quantifying or architect’s omission on the drawings.

When variations happen and are initiated into the project, contraction is expected to respond to these
changes and apply them with in the initiated time. Depending on the construction contract agreement
on liquidated and ascertained damages, usually delays mean the contractor pays a penalty fee to the
client

As the Project manager I will first assess the situation on the ground and find out the causes of delays
from the contraction team and then relate them with the client. If the problem is due to incompetence
of the contractor, fines will have to be paid by the contractor. If the reasons are far beyond the
contractor’s control, time extensions will have the be negotiated with the client.

Question 2: Prepare a site meeting minutes for a project you are supervising.

MEETING MINUTES HELD ON THE 15TH OF NOVEMBER 2019

VENUE: BUSINESS CENTRE

TIME: 10:10HRS

Members present:

Dlelo Velempini (DV) - Signature BEC

Max Mavis (MM) – JRG contracting
Thulani Moyo (TM) – Harare City Council (HCC)

The meeting agenda primarily focuses on the following;

1. Progress Report

a. Stripping of buildings.

b. BCC collection of recyclable materials, recording and auditing.

c. Demolition of buildings.

2. Other matters.
 3. Next site meeting.

4. Close.

5. Site visit.

No Action By Due Date

1 Progress Report

a. Stripping of buildings

HCC
White building stripping will complete by end of the week. 5/12/19

HCC collection of recyclable materials, recording and

b.
auditing

Council has started collecting materials from the stripped

HCC 2/12/19
buildings.

Council have not removed the Krebs and paving they wanted.
This is creating a problem as JRG need to get to the area to HCC 28/11/19
start earthworks in 1 week.

Perhaps if they have not collected, JRG can be instructed to

JRG 3/12/19
load and deliver to City Council.

c. Demolition of buildings

Mr. Thulani Moyo to confirm if JRG can demolish building

T.M 22/11/19
quickly with machine.

Review on site of the building intended as a site office –

Perhaps consideration to demolish this building as well as too
M.M 20/11/19
big for a site office and is taking up space where excess
material is to be stored.
Question 3: What is your understanding about a building contract?

A construction contract provides a legal binding agreement, for both the owner and the builder, that the
executed job will receive the specific amount of compensation or how the compensation will be
distributed. There are several types of construction contracts used in the industry, but there are certain
types of construction contracts preferred by construction professionals.

Construction contract types are usually defined by the way, the disbursement is going to be made and
details other specific terms, like duration, quality, specifications, and several other items. These major
contract types can have many variations and can be customized to meet the specific needs of the
product or the project.

Lump Sum or Fixed Price Contract Type

This type of contract involves a total fixed priced for all construction-related activities. Lump sum
contracts can include incentives or benefits for early termination, or can also have penalties, called
liquidated damages, for a late termination. Lump Sum contracts are preferred when a clear scope and a
defined schedule has been reviewed and agreed upon.

This contract shall be used when the risk needs to be transferred to the builder and the owner wants to
avoid change orders for unspecified work. However, a contractor must also include some percentage
cost associated with carrying that risk. These costs will be hidden in the fixed price. On a lump sum
contract, it is harder to get credit back for work not completed.

Cost Plus Contracts

This type of contract involves payment of the actual costs, purchases or other expenses generated
directly from the construction activity. Cost Plus contracts must contain specific information about
a certain pre-negotiated amount (some percentage of the material and labor cost) covering contractor’s
overhead and profit. Costs must be detailed and should be classified as direct or indirect costs. There are
multiple variations of Cost-Plus contracts and the most common are:

• Cost Plus Fixed Percentage

• Cost Plus Fixed Fee

• Cost Plus with Guaranteed Maximum Price Contract

• Cost Plus with Guaranteed Maximum Price and Bonus Contract

Cost plus contracts are used when the scope has not been clearly defined and it is the owner
responsibility to establish some limits on how much the contractor will be billing. When some of the
options are used, those incentives will serve to protect the owner's interest and avoid being charged for
unnecessary changes. Cost-plus contracts are difficult or harder to track and more supervision will be
needed, normally do not put a lot of risk in the contractor.

Time and Material Contracts When Scope is Not Clear

Time and material contracts are usually preferred if the project scope is not clear or has not been
defined. The owner and the contractor must establish an agreed hourly or daily rate, including
additional expenses that could arise in the construction process.
The costs must be classified as direct, indirect, markup, and overhead and should be included in the
contract. Sometimes the owner might want to establish a cap or specific project duration to the
contractor that must be met, in order to have the owner’s risk minimized. These contracts are useful for
small scopes or when you can make a realistic guess on how long it will take to complete the scope.

Unit Pricing Contracts

Unit pricing contracts is another type of contract commonly used by builders. Unit prices can also be set
during the bidding process as the owner requests specific quantities and pricing for a pre-determined
number of unitized items.

By providing unit prices, the owner can easily verify that he's being charged with un-inflated prices for
goods or services being acquired. Unit price can easily be adjusted up and/or down during scope
changes, making it easier for the owner and the builder to reach into agreements during change orders.