IOWA’S DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION SERVICES ADOPTS USE OF CONSENSUSDOCS CONTRACTS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
State Agency Joins Growing List of Public and Private Sector Owners Adopting the Standard Contract Documents to Make the Contracting Process More Efficient, Less Expensive
WASHINGTON, DC – June 26, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Iowa’s Department of Administration Services (DAS) has begun using standard contract documents developed by ConsensusDocs as the basis for its building contracts. The state agency, which typically oversees 200 projects and $200 million worth of construction projects annually, is the latest in a series of construction owners to embrace the contract documents.
“The new contracts and the new project delivery method have been well received by the industry and very successful,” said T. Ryan Lamb, Legal Counsel for the Department of Administrative Services. “While there is no doubt that a successful project depends more upon on good people than a good contract, DAS has found that a straight forward and risk-balanced contract (like the ConsensusDocs) gets the project off to a great start and puts project executive in a better position to make decisions.”
The department will use ConsensusDocs as part of its standard contracts with private architectural and engineering services, construction management companies, and construction companies. “Moving to ConsensusDocs contracts was part of a significant effort by Iowa DAS to improve efficiency and project results,” said, Brian Perlberg, the executive director of ConsensusDocs. He adds, “As a significant public owner, the department’s use of ConsensusDocs provides a powerful example for other owners to get better prices by eliminating unnecessary risk contingencies.”
Perlberg noted that the Master Builders of Iowa, the statewide building chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America played a key role in getting the state agency to adopt the documents. “Owners are realizing that fair contracts is in their interest and adopting ConsensusDocs helps create a better business relationship to successfully build,” states Scott Norvell, the chapter’s CEO.
The state agency joins a growing list of private and public owners that are now using ConsensusDocs, including the Capital Park Family Center for a new health care in Ohio, the University of Alabama, Capstone Bank and the North Carolina History Education Center. Joy Parker, RN, CEO, Capital Park Family Health Center comments, “Heart of Ohio Family Health Centers employed the industry-endorsed ConsensusDocs contracts to efficiently assemble and lead a design and construction team that delivered a cutting-edge, dispute-free project for us and for the community. We are proud of how the whole construction team used these documents to deliver this extraordinary project.”
ConsensusDocs is a coalition of 36 associations representing diverse interests in the design and construction industry that collaboratively writes and endorses 90+ contract documents covering all methods of project delivery. The ConsensusDocs coalition is committed to assuring that the contracts continue to serve the best interests of the project and the industry. For more information about ConsensusDocs, please visit www.consensusdocs.org.
Contact:
Carrie Ciliberto
703.837.5367
cciliberto (at) consensusdocs (dot) org
