The Art of Issuing Site Instructions & Proposed Changes

In this episode of 'What the RFI', Matt Brennan discusses the critical differences between Site Instructions (SI) and Proposed Changes (PC) in construction management. He elaborates on the processes involved in issuing these changes, the importance of timing, and best practices for effective change management. The conversation emphasizes the need for clear communication and coordination among all parties involved to avoid unnecessary costs and delays.

Takeaways

• A site instruction (SI) is a document directing site changes.
• Proposed changes (PC) or Contemplated Change Notice (CCN) have associated costs and require careful management.
• Timing is crucial when issuing changes to avoid extra costs.
• Coordination with consultants is essential for effective change management.
• Avoid revisions to proposed changes to prevent contractor frustration.
• Document control is important for maintaining accurate records.
• Communication with contractors can help minimize costs.
• Using digital tools can streamline the change management process.
• Prepare changes collaboratively with your team for better outcomes.
• Final as-built drawings should reflect all changes made during the project.

Sound Bites
"What is not an extra? What is an extra?"
"An SI can quickly turn into a proposed change."
"Timing is everything when it comes to this."

Chapters
00:00 - Understanding Site Instructions and Proposed Changes
05:26 - The Process of Issuing Changes
10:51 - Best Practices for Change Management
15:42 - Final Thoughts on Change Management

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Transcript

0:00

What do mean that's an extra? ASIs, proposed changes, we have a lot to discuss today. Welcome to What the RFI. I'm Matt Brennan and this is the podcast all about CA through the lens of an architect's and project coordinator's perspective. So guess what? There's a change on site and we need to issue an SI, a proposed change. What's the next steps? So in this episode, we are going to cover the difference between an SI and a proposed change CCNs. What is not an extra? What is an extra? The process of putting together an SI or a proposed change, tracking the data, my favorite topic, and some life examples with my experience passed on to you and what not simply to do. Okay, let's get into it. So the difference between the two. So very simple, a site instruction or a supplemental instruction, also known as an SI, okay? And basically this is a document directing to site that we need to make a few changes. Now going back to the abbreviations, call it typically we call an SI, it could be an ASI in terms of language and the way it's being posted on your cover pages, but then take into account your consultants. So mechanical would be an MSI, electrical would be an ESI, civil would be CSI, not the TV show. So like I said, it's a document that makes that you're directing site to make some changes. So some simple examples of an SI would be, you know, maybe moving a wall. Okay, that hasn't been built. We'll get into that second. Maybe it's a direct clarification that came from an RFI. So maybe a millwork change, can you give me some information? Maybe you can provide me a couple dimensions or anything like that. Like even though those might be tied to an RFI, we may have to do some additional drawing clarifications that we'd want to issue it as a site instruction, an SI. Maybe the owner has made a few changes on their mind and the... you know, some things haven't been built and we can, there is a little flexibility of what we can and cannot change. So that's a good segue to go into our next point is a proposed change, proposed review, proposed order, contemplative change notice. This is one of the documents I have seen throughout North America change its mind and the way that we have call it on so many different levels. Being from Vancouver, BC, we typically would call it a contemplative change notice, a CCN. when working with the states, it varies and it varies per state as well. Proposed review, proposed change, proposed order, you name it, it's all over the map in that sense, And especially depends on who you're working for. So when it comes to the abbreviations of a proposed change or CCN, like I said, we've kind of named it PCPRPOCCN, it goes on and on, okay? And to make matters even worse, same thing, we bring our consultants and it might be an MPC or an MCCN, right? An ECCN for electrical. You get the picture where it's going. Now, what is different with this proposed change, this CCN, is it has a cost associated to it. So let's talk about some examples again. So move the wall. That wall's already been built. We're going to move it after it's built. That's an extra. That's a change on site. Adding wall that was not part of tender, that's an extra. So another good example between the SI and the CCN, the changes and everything, say for example, move this electrical outlet. Well, if the electrical outlet hasn't been installed, it's probably fine. If it has been installed and you want to move it to a new location, well then it's the extra. And that's kind of the deciding factor. Is this going to be more effort on site to make this change? again, it's a case by case. matter, we're going to talk about timing later. So when is it not an extra? Well, I had a contractor come to me on one of the jobs I was working on and said, look, Matt, I cannot get this rooftop unit in time. Can we go with this alternate? We grabbed the consultant team, the owner, we reviewed it and everything looked pretty, pretty much straightforward. It was going to be fine. Now, the unfortunate part is that electrical side was done and this rooftop unit didn't match the electrical specifications for what was built. And in that case, we issued a simple site instruction, even though if we made the change, then yes, it would be an extra on site and therefore we would issue that proposed change at CCN. But in this case, it was the contractor coming to us with an alternate in order to make the deadlines and we allowed it, but he took on the burden to pay for the additional electrical work to be revised to suit this new type of rooftop. So any alternates that are proposed after the fact, that's where you can push back and say, will accept this, we're not going to pay for the extra for it. And that's where you direct a simple site instruction of that change. One thing too, if you're working on any kind of developer project or maybe contract management projects, you won't have proposed changes. You just simply issue ASIs and you're done. The money side is all handed over with the owner developer or the contract manager who's working directly with the owner. So again, per contract is going to be a little different. If you're doing a StipSum project where it's a fixed fee, then yes, you'll will have a mixture of between the two documents. But again, mixed use during any developer or CM projects, you're just going to be issuing ASI's architectural site instructions and that's kind of it. So let's get into the process. How do we do this? How do we package? So we got to change and say if, for example, the owners come to us and wants us move this item or if this came from a clarification from RFI, and we got to issue out the documents. So the first thing I would do is know what we're changing. Typically, it probably has a drawing change. So I would log into your drawing software, CAD, Revit, whatever the case is, make the changes on the drawings, revision cloud the drawings, and then basically PDF those sets. And when I did this, I'd say probably a number of years ago, we would start taking those changes because everything would be printed on sites. We would make it formulated on 8.5 by 11, call it an architectural sketch, that document would get attached to this SI that we're gonna get into. But with today's age and everyone on iPads, it's so easy just to re-PDF the whole entire sheet. And I find a lot of contractors are moving that direction, which is really nice. And then it's honestly, there's no fiddling around with your drawings. You don't have to... clip it, do a call out, put it on an eight and a half by 11 architectural sketch, ASK, and then you shoot out, we would just reissue the whole entire set of drawings or just the drawing that we, the drawing sheets that we need to issue. So I think that was a good game changer. It didn't take as much work and we'll get into the benefits of that at the end of this episode of why it does make sense. So it's a conversation with your contractor. So once you've basically PDF that drawing, then depending where you are, in the province or state, you may have to digitally seal that per your local authority of architects like AIBC or AIA, right? So if that has to get digitally sealed, you want to seal it right there from the architect on record. And on top of that, this change might involve consultants too. So if you are doing a big expansion, big change, you may have to get electrical drawings, you may have to get mechanical drawings and after you make your changes, issue it to them, you've got to get it back and then you got to re-PDF it and et cetera, right? So there's that whole coordination that has to go depending on the size of the change. Maybe it's just one, maybe it's just the mechanical issue and your change or whatever, okay? Basically, once you get all these documents placed, you got your drawings all set up, maybe you've got some cut sheets you want to add to it, some manufacturer specs, whatever this change is happening, you've got all the documents. then ideally we're gonna kind of create like a transmittal cover page. Now to do this, you'd probably use like a Microsoft Word program or maybe something like I've talked before, some automation programs like Part 3, even Procore kind of does that stuff as well. So you're gonna create a cover page. Now on this cover page, you're going to know what you are doing. Give me a little story about what we're changing. We're moving the wall, we're adding a new wall on grid line. 3A or something like that, referred to attached document in response to RFI 32 for millwork clarification. Give a little description. The more the better. Again, include your consultants. This can be short and sweet, or it could be a long list. know, move this item to this location, et cetera. So we've got a description. Track and note who's making the change. Is this through? you know, change through shop drawing coordination? Is this an owner requested change? Is this an unforeseen change? Anything like that. Note that because we're going to get into that later. And maybe you need an owner signature on it. Maybe you need your own signature on it. You know, again, typically I find throughout the States, they want to actually stamp and seal. the change too. then there's, you again, that's dependent on your office policy and your kind of your local authorities of how you have to issue these documents through those regulations. But in terms of the, like an owner signature and your signature, that's important. And we also will include, distribution groups, right? Who needs to see this? So this change was brought to you by Architectural Mechanical Electricals. We're have their names on it, we're have the owner's name on it, and we're gonna have the contractor. So it's kind of like I said, it's a nice cover page that's just covering all your bases to it. Once this is all done, you're package this full PDF document together, you're gonna flatten it, and then you're gonna email it or send it off through some kind of automation software that's gonna push it directly to the whole team, and then you're good to go. Contractor receives the SI. and he can start working on it right away. And when you issue a change, a proposed change, a CCN, track the amount of days that it's with the contractor to price. The contractor will not be doing any work on that change until he gets an official signed off CO. So we're gonna issue that proposed change at CCN, it's gonna go for pricing, and then at that point, we'll review the costing and go from there and then we'll give the approval and they'll start building it. But if we're waiting for 60, 90, 100 days for this, our window of opportunity for this feature that we've requested, it may not be possible because that area they've already dry walled and we wanted to make some electrical changes. Well, we can't get access. Now it's going to be more money. So that's where it's a good point to note to the contractor to price this out. And I bring this up at our monthly site meetings as well. Again, it's important. If we're not responding to an RFI, they're going to let us know. And it's the same thing when it comes to changes. Brings me up to the next topic of what not to do. Well, when you're creating either an SI or proposed change, make sure you have all the data together, like your complete package. Coordination and communication is key with us. So again, if the change involves mechanical, electrical, make sure you've got everyone's documents put together. Otherwise, it's... It's just gonna be a mess and then you're have to break out these changes in two different areas. It's not ideal. Sometimes the bigger changes do take time because again, you're relying on multiple hands of issuing the changes and coming back to it, but it's important. just focus on that. Make sure you get your whole package together. Make sure it's all coordinated so it doesn't start triggering extras on other areas. Just keep in mind of that. An SI can quickly turn into a proposed change if you're not careful. Now, what I mean by that is say right now on site, they're starting to frame their walls and mechanical needs to add like a move a doctor or something like that, right? Well, right now it's probably not a big deal because the doctor is not there. They have even framed out the rough openings for the doctor work. It's pretty straightforward. But if a consultant is not gonna issue that document to you anytime soon and they start framing, they finish framing. And then eventually they're going to board and go from there. And then you say, please move the duct work where it's going to go. Well, now they've got to rip out drywall. Now they got to go back frame. got, you know, all these things. So timing is everything. The soon as, as you know, that you need to issue that change, get it out there because it might not be a big deal. It might only be a simple site instruction versus a proposed change. So timing is everything when it comes to this. And If you're unsure with any of the changes going on with site, have the honest conversation with the contractor, pick up the phone, give them a call, talk to the owner, bring it on and say, this is the scenario, the owner wants to make a change or based off this RFI you gave me, what can we do to keep the cost down, maybe even to a minimum to none, right? Maybe there's a creative solution with it, but having that conversation, reviewing it, and that's one of the reasons why we go to site every month too, is like we can look at some of these areas, you know, most... Contractors I've worked with in the past. They've been very proactive. They've already again. They've said look at the drawings. This isn't gonna work. You can see why Or maybe we've made an error. We've got a pipe going down. We didn't coordinated that How can we do this without you know, making an extra on site, you know? So at that point you might fall up right away with an SI But again, if you leave it and you don't do anything, it's going to turn into a change and it's going to be an extra so definitely again have that open conversation and try to avoid revisions on site instructions and proposed changes. It's one thing to make a change to a site instruction, revision one, revision two, because maybe, yeah, things changed on site, you drew the detail and then you realize, they already framed this area, how to make it work based on the given scenarios. That's one thing that's gonna happen. But when it comes to a proposed change, a CCN, that's where... You want to be careful because every time you issue that the contractor has to go price it. And if you keep making changes, the same sub is not going to be happy that he's got to price it once, twice, three times, however, depending on the revisions to it. So be cautious of that. And that can ultimately delay again, some of these areas, the window of opportunity to get those changes into the place. Maybe it wouldn't be as expensive by the day that you've issued it, but you could revise it two, three, four times. Now you're going be in trouble because now it's going to be like, you know, maybe five times the cost because the timing of, of when this change is happening and the work that's been going on, they're not going to stop in their heels if you give them a change and they still have to carry on with the other stuff while the pricing is happening. So again, just be cautious of that. Avoid the revisions if you can, again, just try and package that deal into one shot. So in summary, are you ready to make your first change? As we talked in the last episode, know, mentorship's key, right? Prepare these changes together, get them ready, and you know, meet with your colleagues, meet with your mentorship, your leadership, your senior architects, and just pick the ring, review it. Fresh highs are always good, especially in the morning too. Not a bad thing. Now earlier I was talking about kind of issuing an ASK just on a simple sheet, or should we issue it on the full size. At the end of the project, you're gonna have a thing called as-builds, your record drawings. So if you've been adding all these individual ASKs and pulling from it, you'll wanna put them on a sheet and rearrange it and so on. But if you can just mark up the master full-size drawing, whether it's a 24 by 36, 30 by 42, and you can just revise that little area on the big plan, reissue the whole sheet. At the end of project, when you're ready to do your as builds, you basically hit print, reprint the same set that you had. Maybe there was one or two sheets added to it and then you're done. So keep in mind when you're issuing these changes of how your document controlling it, because at the end of this, you're going to have to bring it all together and print off a master set for the owner to have a basically as built record set with no revision clouds. And Rev does this great and there's techniques to do that. So that really wraps up this episode of What They Are If I. And of course last, architects keep designing, contractors keep making those plans reality. We'll see you on the next one.