Architecture
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As-built drawings
Drawings, prepared from the contractor's marked-up site records, that show the work as actually constructed, including changes and field deviations from the design.
Building information modelling (BIM)
The use of a shared digital representation of a built asset — its geometry, properties and related documents — to support design, construction and operation decisions with reliable information.
Change order
A written amendment to the construction contract, signed by the owner and contractor, recording an agreed change in the work together with any adjustment to the contract price and time.
Deficiency list
A list, prepared at or near substantial performance, of work that is incomplete or does not conform to the contract documents and must be corrected before completion.
Design-bid-build (DBB)
The traditional delivery method in which the owner first has the design completed by consultants, then invites contractors to bid on it, then awards a separate construction contract — usually for a stipulated price.
Design-build (DB)
A delivery method in which one entity, the design-builder, contracts with the owner to provide both the design and the construction under a single contract.
Federated model
A combined model assembled from separate discipline or package models, each of which remains owned and maintained by its author.
Final payment
The last payment under a construction contract, certified once the work is complete, deficiencies are corrected, close-out documents are delivered and lien periods have expired.
Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)
An open, vendor-neutral data schema for describing buildings and infrastructure — their elements, properties and relationships — published by buildingSMART and standardised as ISO 16739-1.
Level of detail
How much graphical or geometric detail a model element shows. As a project-wide numbered scale it has largely been replaced by level of development and level of information need.
Pre-installation conference
A meeting held before a trade starts a complex or critical installation, bringing together the contractor, the installer, the consultant and often the manufacturer to confirm requirements, conditions and inspections.
Principal-in-charge (PIC)
The senior partner or principal of a consulting firm — typically architecture or engineering — who carries overall accountability for the firm's performance on a project and is the client's top-level contact.
Progress payment
A periodic payment, usually monthly, to the contractor for the value of work completed and materials supplied during the period, less holdback and previous payments.
Request for information (RFI)
A formal written question from the contractor to the design consultant asking for clarification of the contract documents — typically about design intent, an apparent omission or a conflict.
Shop drawing
A drawing, diagram or set of details prepared by a contractor, trade or supplier to show exactly how a specific part of the work will be fabricated and installed.
Submittal
Information the contractor provides to the consultant for review during construction — shop drawings, product data, samples and similar — to show how the work will meet the contract documents.
Transmittal
A cover record that accompanies documents, drawings, samples or other items sent between project parties, listing what was sent, to whom, when and for what purpose.
Warranty period
The period after handover — commonly one year in standard Canadian contracts — during which the contractor must correct defects in the work at its own cost, separate from longer manufacturer or extended warranties.
Going further
Change directive
A written instruction from the consultant, signed by the owner, directing the contractor to proceed with a change to the work before the price and time adjustments have been agreed.
Completion (total performance)
The statutory milestone, after substantial performance, at which a construction contract is deemed complete because the remaining work or correction of known defects falls below a small threshold set by lien legislation.
Constructability review
A structured review of design documents by people with construction experience to find problems with buildability, sequencing, access, cost or safety before the design is issued for construction.
Construction adjudication
A fast, interim dispute-resolution process for construction payment disputes, in which an adjudicator issues a decision within weeks that is binding unless and until it is overturned by a court or arbitrator.
Construction lien
A statutory claim against an improved property (or against holdback funds for public property) that unpaid contractors, subcontractors and suppliers can register to secure payment for services or materials supplied.
Contemplated change notice (CCN)
A written request from the consultant or owner asking the contractor to price a proposed change before it is approved; it does not authorize the contractor to do the work.
Holdback
A percentage of each payment that the payer must retain under lien legislation — 10% in Ontario — until the period for registering construction liens has expired, as security for subcontractors and suppliers.
Integrated project delivery (IPD)
A collaborative delivery approach in which the owner, designers and builder work as one team, usually under a single multi-party agreement, sharing risk and reward according to project outcomes.
Level of development (LOD)
A numbered scale (LOD 100–400, plus 500 in some frameworks) describing how far a model element's geometry and information have been developed — and therefore how much other team members can rely on it.
Level of information need
A framework for specifying the extent and granularity of information required for a purpose — covering geometry, alphanumeric data and documentation — so that no more and no less is delivered than is needed.
Non-conformance report (NCR)
A formal record that identifies work or material not meeting the requirements of the contract documents, and tracks the proposed correction, its approval and its resolution.
Prompt payment
Legislation that sets mandatory deadlines for paying construction invoices down the contract chain and gives unpaid parties fast remedies, such as adjudication.
Ready-for-Takeover
A contractual milestone introduced in CCDC 2 (2020) that marks when the owner can take over the work, reached once specified conditions — including certified substantial performance and occupancy permission — are met and verified by the consultant.
Statutory declaration
A sworn written statement by the contractor, provided with payment applications or at close-out, declaring that its subcontractors and suppliers have been paid and that there are no outstanding claims, except as listed.
Substantial performance
The point at which the work is ready for use, or in use, for its intended purpose and the remaining work is below a threshold set by lien legislation; it starts the lien period and the release of holdback.
Supplemental instruction
An instruction from the consultant — usually drawings, specifications or a written note — that clarifies or adds detail to the work without changing the contract price or contract time.
Task information delivery plan (TIDP)
A task team's schedule of the information containers it will produce, with responsibilities and delivery dates, for one appointment.
Tender
A formal, competitive bid submitted in response to an owner's call for bids, offering to perform defined work on stated terms; also the process of calling and evaluating such bids.