Construction Contract Administration

Is it typical practice when the GC provides us with a submittal they "stamp" said submittal certifying that review, coordination of information; verification of products, dimensions & adj construction work is in accordance with the contract documents? All of our construction projects are using Procore & we don't seem to be getting this "certification" stamp or verbiage from the GC. Anyone else requiring this certification or having issues getting the GC to comply?  The contracting vehicle is  Design-Bid-Build and CMAR and Owner GMP/negotiated  types of contracts. (For Design/Build projects this is not an issue.) Thank you.

Yes, it is typical practice for the GC to stamp a submittal with their approval stamp.  This is typically a requirement of your General Conditions of the Contract, and your Division 01-General Requirements will typically have a spec section for Submittal Procedures (01 33 00).  Some typical spec language will say something like, "Contractor shall review, mark-up as appropriate and stamp Shop Drawings, Product Data, and Samples prior to submission."  This requirement does not change due to the platform used like Procore, eBuilder, Forma (formerly ACC), etc.  

I have also experienced contractors in the early stages of CA not provide the stamp, but we return those right away and inform the contractor that the item was returned unreviewed due to the lack of GC's Approval stamp as required by <insert spec section here>.  They quickly figure it out and start providing it.  

Hope this helps. 😉

Janene:

IMO, for this matter, typical practice is what the Contract Documents require. If the Contractor has not stamped its submittals as reviewed, or upon your initial review, it has not met the burden for its obligation to review and coordinate its subcontractors, the submittal should be promptly rejected.  I review submittals for this purpose upon receipt, which I refer to as "triage", as I don't wish to wait 2 weeks, or whatever the allowable review period is, to reject a submittal for such cause. It should not really matter what type of contract it is unless, as you state, it is Design-Build and you are working for the D-B.

We include this requirement in the Division 01 specifications for submittal requirements (which includes requirement of a "...statement certifying that submittal has been reviewed, checked, and approved for compliance with the Contract Documents.") and as others have noted, there is also requirements included in the AIA A201 General Conditions. Some GCs and CMARs fight it and some try to use a review statement that puts all the onus on their subs, but ultimately, we push back and they comply as it is clearly a requirement in the Contract Documents and the GC or CMAR has the responsibility as the contract holder with the owner. One option is to include a submittal coversheet template in the specs that includes the requirements already or the GC/CM will just put the statement on their cover sheet, sign and date it.