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the Current Landscape, Working with GCs and Why There's No Perfect Project or Easy Answers Learned in Managing the Risk exploring at a later date.) O'Quinn likes to call these gaps gray areas. That's when no one owns key items necessary to complete a project and KECs get tagged with anything remotely linked to their equipment. "That's why, on our side, we try and write a contract that has no gray areas," says O'Quinn. "We try to be very black and white." Although, he'll be the fi rst to admit there's very little black and white in the world of project management—which is why Thompson & Little and others have a series of processes in place to help them manage the risk. "After 50 years in the business, we've become very effi cient at this point, but you never stop learning," says O'Quinn. Recently, News & Views spoke with several KECs and consultant Foster Frable to get their take on the complexi- ties of project management. Here are fi ve lessons learned from a few of the most tested in the fi eld. No. 1: Read the Fine Print "If you've seen one contract, you've seen one contract," says Mike Fitzgibbon, who heads nationally-recognized food- service equipment contractor Baring Industries. In other words, every con- tract is different. That's the perpetual thorn in the side of project managers and their teams, and it's what Fitzgibbon sees as one of the greatest challenges for KECs. Here's another: the maze of potential minefi elds buried in contract documents to shield general contractors from liability. "In a discussion about a fl oor recess for a walk-in, a GC once said to me, 'I own nothing,' says Fitzgibbon. "Most every contract states, if there is a con- fl ict within the documents—which includes the owner's contract, the subcontract issued to us, and all of the plans and specs—we are responsible for the more stringent, greater quantity, higher quality, more expensive of the confl ict. "This requires you read everything," notes the industry vet, pointing to a number of scenarios Baring has encoun- tered in the fi eld. "Maybe the foodservice docs call for a one-year warranty, where the warranty in the owner contract is two years," he says. "We have also seen a perpetual warranty listed in the owner contract. Sometimes it is stated that if a piece of equipment has a failure dur- ing the warranty period, the warranty period restarts after the repair is made. "Maybe payment for stored materi- als/equipment is not addressed in the subcontract, so you assume it will be allowed. But then you fi nd in the owner contract, payment for stored materials is not allowed or will only be allowed if you get approval in advance of signing the subcontract? "Sometimes the owner contract and/ or the subcontract states you are not permitted to fi le a lien against the prop- erty and you are responsible to indem- nify and defend them if one is fi led. If we sign a subcontract with something stated like this, we are surrendering our lien rights and we may be liable for the legal fees incurred in get- thorn in the side of project managers and their teams, and it's what Fitzgibbon sees as one of the greatest challenges for KECs. Here's another: the maze of potential minefi elds buried in contract documents to shield general contractors from liability. "In a discussion about a fl oor recess for a walk-in, a GC once said to me, 'I own nothing,' says Fitzgibbon. "Most every contract states, if there is a con- fl ict within the documents—which includes the owner's contract, their teams, and it's what Fitzgibbon sees as one of the greatest challenges for KECs. Here's another: the maze of potential minefi elds buried in contract documents to shield general "In a discussion about a fl oor recess for a walk-in, a GC once said to me, 'I own nothing,' says Fitzgibbon. "Most every contract states, if there is a con- fl ict within the documents—which includes the owner's contract, ting us to remove the lien. In some states, it is illegal to surrender your lien rights, so the clause is not enforceable. But in others, it is legal to surrender your lien rights." So how does a KEC fi ght a shape shifter? Pitch a tent in Section 11400 and scour the fi ne print. Typically, that's where the specs for foodservice equip- continued on page 12 IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DOCUMENTATION "We require our project manager to go to meetings, and also properly document. That means following up with photos and job meeting summaries to clarify what they saw, what was wrong, what was right, and what was needed to successfully complete a job. That's the only way to cover yourself when things go wrong." --Brad Lancaster, Johnson-Lancaster May/June 2017 11