Sidney M. Levy

Public-Private Partnerships: Case Studies on Infrastructure Development

A public-private partnership is a relationship between the private and public sectors that involves a long term contract. This contract allows the public entity to fully own an infrastructure project, and also have complete oversight over the private sectors operational role. The private sector entity operates the facility/project and collects the operations revenue. This book discusses and elucidates public private partnerships, and contains a number of illustrative case studies. It consists of the following twelve chapters: 1. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Movement; 2. Tools for Implementing PPPs; 3. The Players - Developers and Financiers; 4. The Federal Role in PPPs; 5. Virginia Department of Transportation; 6. The Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road; 7. Texas Strategic Plan Includes Public-Private Partnerships; 8. Floridas Public-Private Partnership Endeavors; 9. What Some Other States Are Doing; 10. The Corridors of the Future; 11. Our Neighbors to the South and to the North; 12. Looking Down the Road.

Green and sustainable buildings

The green and sustainable movement is relatively young. Green building construction is based on designs that are more environmentally friendly, and it employs materials and equipment that result in energy efficiency and the reduction of waste. Whole-building design encompasses the buildings envelope (exterior walls) and roof, its interior components, the mechanical and electrical equipment, the orientation of the building on its site, the materials of construction, energy consumption, indoor air quality, acoustics, and preservation of the sites natural state—all from a holistic approach as opposed to being considered as separate components.

The Corridors of the Future

This Development Agreement promotes a partnership between the United States Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20590 (“USDOT”) and the STATE OF MISSOURI, acting by and through the MISSOURI HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, (“MHTC”), 105 West Capitol Avenue, Jefferson City, MO 65102, the STATE OF ILLINOIS, acting by and through the ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, (“IDOT”), 2300 South Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62764, the STATE OF INDIANA, acting by and through the INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, (“INDOT”), 100 North Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204, and the STATE OF OHIO, acting by and through the OHIO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, (“ODOT”), 1980 West Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43223, (“Signatory States”) (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Parties”) for the development of the I-70 Dedicated Truck Lanes (“Corridor”) under the Corridors of the Future Program (“CFP”), which is authorized or provided under the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 101.

The construction contract

This chapter presents various aspects of the construction contract which include schedule-of-value exhibit, guaranteed maximum price, change orders, and liquidated damages. After execution of the contract and prior to commencement of work, the architect will request the contractor to submit what is called a schedule of values for the project. This schedule will list the assigned value the contractor places on each component of construction. The estimate in a guaranteed maximum price contract is generally prepared by the general contractor on incomplete drawings and is based on projecting or anticipating what those final plans and specifications will contain and what their associated costs will be. Change orders can occur for many reasons: a change in scope as directed by the owner, a request from the general contractor for added costs due to a recognized, and an accepted omission in the contract documents or some unforeseen condition arising generally in the site can be inserted into the contract that will make those requests somewhat easier to resolve. A liquidated damages clause reinforces the need of adherence to a schedule, but the contract schedule will include any increases in the original schedule if and when change orders have been approved, increasing both contract sum and contract completion dates.

Organizing for the construction process

This chapter presents various aspects involved in organizing of construction process. When an architects role includes construction services, certain terms and forms are used as the job progresses, and an owner should be familiar with them. Periodic project meetings on the construction site bring the architect/engineer, general contractor, subcontractors, and vendors together to discuss current and anticipated progress, manpower requirements, and any other project activities and concerns. A contractor who is submitting value engineering proposals must thoroughly review the proposed change to ensure that quality, performance, and costs associated with that suggested change are equal to the specified product. Requests for information are questions that are raised by either the general contractor, one of the subcontractors, or a vendor and are passed on to the architects team for a response. At the first project meeting, a protocol for the submission of the contractors requisition should be established so the contractor has clear direction regarding the preparation of the initial application for payment. In preparation for project closeout, the owner, with assistance from the architect, can become more familiar with the process by carefully reviewing the contract specifications and listing all required tests, inspections, and warranties.

Construction contracts pros and cons

This chapter discusses pros and cons of construction contracts. A letter of intent is a contract of restricted scope that can authorize the start of construction to perform a limited amount of work. A complete set of documents, plans, and specifications prepared and reviewed by the design consultant — the architect and consulting engineers — before being issued for bidding purposes is a critical component of the lump-sum contract approach. The comfort level of a cost plus a fee contract depends on the quality and integrity of the contractor. While contractor selection is a key ingredient in a successful cost-plus project, equally as important is defining the nature of the work as closely as possible. A construction-management contract is often referred to as an “agency” contract, since the construction manager acts as the owners agent, performing work on the owners behalf on construction-related matters. A construction-management contract is often referred to as an “agency” contract, since the construction manager acts as the owners agent, performing work on the owners behalf on construction-related matters.

Disputes and claims

Publisher Summary A dispute or two or more may arise on a construction project. The goal of owner, architect, and contractor alike is to avoid any claims even though, given the complexity of the design and construction process, it may lead to a dispute over contract interpretation, compliance with acceptable work standards, and a multitude of other misunderstandings that frequently occur. Although the anticipation of a dispute or claim is the thought farthest from an owners mind when their project is being advertised to bid, careful bid preparation, follow-through documents, and preservation and retention of appropriate records are important for an endeavor as complex as a construction project. An owner and his or her design consultants must prepare succinct, detailed documents all along the path from soliciting bids through bid acceptance and on to preconstruction, construction, and post construction, not anticipating any serious problems along the way but prepared to deal with them if and when they occur.

Basic construction components

A buildings electrical system commences at the connection to the existing local utility company service, known as the primary service. Upon entering the construction site, this underground primary service connects to a transformer that is mounted on a concrete pad or installed in a transformed vault onsite. The electrical cables on the building side of the transformer are known as the secondary service; these are the cables that enter into the building. The secondary service connects to a main distribution panel (MDP), or switchgear, which then divides into other service panels, some for lighting and some for power panels. The lighting panels, designated LP, distribute electrical circuitry to the buildings lighting system, and the power panels, designated PP, distribute electrical circuitry to the buildings HVAC system and various motors and power-driven devices in the building.

The Contract Documents

When was the last time you or your company signed a one page contract for construction that contained slightly more than 120 words and included just the name of the client and contractor, their addresses, the project name and location, the design documents, the start and completion dates, contract sum, and payment schedule—and nothing else?

The Construction Process

There are several things that strike the eye of an American builder visiting Tokyo for the first time. The area surrounding a typical fenced in urban construction site is immaculate. Walk by very early in the morning and one can see a construction worker dressed in coveralls, wearing all of his safety equipment, including hard-hat with chin strap secured, picking up small pieces of paper and debris on the adjacent sidewalks, or near the roll-up entrance door to the construction site. Walk by the construction site late in the afternoon when activity is beginning to wind down and the large doors in the metal fence enclosure around the site are wide open. Truck drivers can be seen backing their vehicles into perfect alignment with each other off to the side of the main entrance aisle. Rows of construction materials and supplies are neatly stacked on pallets. More than likely, two or three laborers will be observed manning fire hoses and brooms as the concrete slab on grade acting as the staging area is being swept and washed down. A glimpse inside the time keeper’s shack reveals a row of fire extinguishers lined up as perfectly as West Point cadets.