Project controls
37 terms. Combine with other filters.
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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.
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.
Critical path method (CPM)
A scheduling technique that models a project as a network of dependent activities and identifies the longest path through it — the critical path — which sets the shortest possible project duration.
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.
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.
Prequalification
A procurement step in which an owner assesses firms' experience, capacity, safety record and financial standing before inviting a shortlist to bid or propose.
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.
Risk register
A living log of identified project risks, recording for each its cause and effect, likelihood and impact, owner, response and current status.
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.
Virtual design and construction (VDC)
A project management method that uses integrated, multidisciplinary models of the product (the facility), the organization and the process to plan and control a project against explicit, measurable objectives.
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.
Work breakdown structure (WBS)
A hierarchical breakdown of the entire scope of a project into progressively smaller deliverables and work packages that can be estimated, scheduled, assigned and tracked.
Going further
Buffer burn rate
In critical chain scheduling, how fast a time buffer is being consumed compared with how much of the chain of work has been completed — the main signal of whether a project will finish on time.
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.
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.
Construction management (CM)
A project delivery method in which the owner engages a construction manager early to advise on cost, schedule and constructability during design, and to manage the procurement and execution of the work through trade contracts.
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.
Cost estimate classification
A system that grades cost estimates into classes (Class 5 to Class 1 in AACE International practice) according to how mature the project definition is, which in turn indicates the estimate's expected accuracy range and appropriate use.
Cost plus contract
A construction contract in which the owner reimburses the contractor's actual costs of the work plus a fee, which may be fixed or a percentage, sometimes capped by a guaranteed maximum price.
Critical chain project management (CCPM)
A scheduling and control method, based on the theory of constraints, that removes safety time from individual task estimates and pools it into shared buffers, then manages the project by monitoring how fast those buffers are consumed.
Earned value management (EVM)
A method that integrates scope, schedule and cost by comparing the budgeted value of work planned, the budgeted value of work actually performed, and the actual cost, to measure performance and forecast outcomes.
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.
Look-ahead schedule
A short-interval schedule, typically covering the next three to six weeks, that breaks upcoming work into detailed tasks so constraints can be identified and removed before the work starts.
Master information delivery plan (MIDP)
The delivery team's combined schedule of all information to be delivered for an appointment, compiled by the lead appointed party from the task information delivery plans.
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.
Schedule baseline
The approved version of the project schedule, frozen as the reference against which actual progress and changes are measured.
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.