Letters

I read with interest your October 2004 editorial "What owners want from CMs." Getting feedback on owner perceptions and wants is valuable for all professionals.

I was however disappointed to read that the first and most critical response from the Construction Management Association's survey was a statement about architects needing to be "held more responsible for completing a quality design that can be built without numerous change orders or RFIs." Further, the majority of surveyed owners felt that the quality of design documents had declined.

A/Es share the goal of completing quality designs and documentation that result in minimal changes and disruption during construction. However, owners and construction managers should realize that their own actions and decisions usually have a direct impact on the quality of design and documentation.

To begin with, A/E fees have continued to be squeezed downward by owners and their hired program mangers at the same time that the scope of design services and liability seem to be increasing. Add to the shrinking design fee margins a trend toward more aggressive schedule timelines being promoted by construction managers, and it should be little wonder that the quality of design documentation is often less than desirable.

In design, as with most value decisions, owners tend to get what they pay for. By skimping on design fees up front, owners get a false sense of value. It is clear from the results of this survey that the owners see a need to improve design document quality. Getting such quality improvement industry-wide will require that more owners become willing to reasonably fund the design process.

Ronald C. Weston, AIA, Principal, Hillier Architecture, Princeton, N.J.

The deterioration in the quality of documents produced by A/E teams has been an unfortunate reality for some time. In order to avoid poor documents, it is incumbent upon owners to issue contracts to A/Es that require documents to reflect a complete design and one that fulfills the program requirements.

That only 34% of the survey respondents indicated that they engage a CM at the pre-design stage is unfortunate. It has been my experience that having the CM involved during the design stage is very valuable. CM firms frequently have a more current grasp of the construction market and can contribute valuable input on constructability matters.

The triad of owner, architect, and CM can be a very effective team when roles and responsibilities are clearly established.

Michael Reid, Construction Manager, Physical Plant Department, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M.