Paper Keywords: engineering claims, bill of quantities, claims, claims procedures

Abstract: Engineering claim is a kind of claim method that the construction unit often adopts to safeguard its legitimate interests in the process of engineering construction after adopting the bill of quantities quotation method. This paper expounds the importance of the construction unit to obtain benefits from the project claim from aspects of the bidding stage, the project signing stage, the common claim events, the claim procedure, and the claim points.

Introduction to 0

With the rapid development of China, the industry shows a good development trend. Then, due to the national conditions, there are many unstable factors, imperfect mechanisms and fierce competition in domestic buildings. In order to strive for the project, the construction units keep pushing down the quotation, and the tendering units also cling to the construction unit's "if you don't do it, there is always something to do", leaving many bad sequelae for the project contractor, and various claims disputes are constantly emerging, which affects the project. The bidding principle of foreign contractors is "low bid, high claim". When the contractor bids, he will consider various factors that may be caused by the project in his quotation, so the bid price is very low. In the implementation of the project after signing the contract, he will use all kinds of losses that are not his responsibility or the owner's risk to claim compensation from the responsible party or the owner in order to obtain profits. So how do domestic contractors fight for more claims? I think the following aspects are worth discussing:

1 Read through the bidding documents and make a reasonable bid quotation.

After obtaining the bidding information, you should be familiar with every clause in the bidding documents. If you don't pay attention, it will cause great misunderstanding when compiling the quotation. At present, most quotation methods are based on bill of quantities, which is simple and easy to adjust in the future. But the quotation should pay attention to several aspects, otherwise it will bring losses to the contractor.

1. 1 The partial bill of quantities is a closed list that cannot be adjusted. The partial bill of quantities provided by the bidder in the tender documents must be priced item by item, and it is not allowed to modify the contents listed in the list. The price of every commodity is the final price. If there is any change in the project, it will be adjusted according to this price. If it is known in the tender that any design project does not meet the local requirements and may need to be revised, the unit price will be reduced, so the claim for design change will be greater in the future.

1.2 The list of measures and items is an adjustable list, and the bidder can make appropriate modifications or supplements to the items listed in the bidding documents according to the characteristics of the enterprise. When bidding, measures, projects and expenses that may be taken by the proposed project should be comprehensively considered. Once the list is submitted, it is considered that it includes all the costs of all measures that should occur. If there is no such item in the quotation list, and the item must occur during the construction, the owner has the right to think that it has been incorporated into the comprehensive unit price of the partial bill of quantities. When future measures occur, the bidder shall not make claims and adjustments under any pretext.

1.3 The bidder shall not arbitrarily change the items and quantities filled in by the tenderer in other project lists, and must make an offer. If you don't quote, the tenderer has the right to think that the bidder will serve for himself free of charge for the contents that have not been quoted. When the bidder's list is not full, the bidder can increase the list, determine the engineering quantity and pricing. The list of other projects should be listed according to the specific conditions of the project, with reference to the following contents: preparation fee, procurement fee, general contracting service fee and sporadic work project fee. "In the process of bidding, it is necessary to collect, sort out and analyze relevant information, such as understanding the situation of the bidding unit, the availability of funds, and the way of funding; Local material prices, local quality requirements, special requirements and some unreasonable requirements of Party A; Some formalities fees of the local government, while compiling the quotation, lay the groundwork for the future, and hand over the risks to the owner to facilitate the claim in the construction stage.

2 common claims in the construction process

The construction process is an ever-changing and complicated process, which is different from the contract and plan at any time, so we need to pay attention to the claim at all times and reflect the benefits in the claim management. A little negligence is always possible, which requires us to carefully organize contract management during the construction process and seriously handle every claim. Common claims in construction mainly include the following: project delay; Suspension of construction; Delay in construction period; Engineering inspection and intermediate acceptance; Design changes; The owner is responsible for the "three links and one leveling" stipulated in the contract, but in actual operation, the construction unit often completes it in whole or in part; Do not meet the design, complex foundation treatment, underground obstacles removal; Owner's subcontracted works (such as pile foundation, ventilation, fire fighting, elevator, etc.). ) shall be paid together with the construction cost; Secondary materials, handling fees and storage fees provided by the owner; Construction measures required for safe production (slope protection, special safety passage, city appearance maintenance, etc.). ) should be clearly defined in the construction organization, and calculate the cost; The owner has approved the construction progress plan, demanding to speed up the construction and pay overtime; Man-made efficiency reduction and high-rise and special structure efficiency reduction; Installation, inspection, off-site transportation and foundation of extra-large machinery; Secondary handling of materials caused by narrow space; Increase the cost of construction in winter, rainy season and at night; The adjustment of the actual mix ratio and quota mix ratio of concrete and mortar, as well as the cost of adding additives; Unconsidered groundwater precipitation costs, as well as the calculation costs of pumping units; Disinfection of pipelines, 3. Seriously fulfill the claim procedure.

If the Employer fails to perform its obligations as agreed or makes mistakes, which should be the responsibility of the Employer, thus causing various losses to the Contractor, the Contractor may make a written claim to the Employer according to the following procedures:

3. 1 Send a notice of claim intention to the Owner's engineer within 28 days after the claim event;

3.2 Submit the claim report and related materials (event name, occurrence time, brief introduction, contract basis and claim) to the Owner's engineer within 28 days after sending the notice of claim intention;

3.3 After receiving the claim report and relevant materials issued by the contractor, the engineer shall give a reply within 28 days, or ask the contractor to further supplement the claim reasons and evidence;

3.4 If the engineer fails to reply or put forward further requirements to the contractor within 28 days after receiving the claim report and relevant materials issued by the contractor, it shall be deemed that the owner has approved the claim;

3.5 When the claim continues, the contractor shall issue a claim intention to the engineer in stages, and send the relevant information and the final claim report to the engineer within 28 days after the claim event. The claim recovery procedure is the same as that in Articles 3 and 4.

4 master the main points of claim

4. 1 Claims should be supported by sufficient evidence, and claims cannot be made without evidence. In this process, claim evidence should be collected, including bidding documents, contracts, design changes, meteorological data, memos, meeting minutes, engineering photos, audio-visual materials, progress plans, inspection records of concealed works, construction logs, construction plans or construction organization designs approved by the owner or supervisor, and on-site visas.

4.2 If you need a temporary visa for the construction site, you should complete the visa within the first time of the claim. You can't wait until the incident is handled, so as to avoid missing the visa, and don't add up all the claims before issuing the visa. If the one-time quantity is large, the owner will not be satisfied, and you should learn how many a little makes a mickle. Visa is the first-hand sufficient and necessary evidence of claim.

4.3 Prepare the claim report and calculate the amount. In the summary of the claim report, the process of the incident should be briefly discussed; Introduce and analyze in detail the occurrence, development, handling and settlement process of the claim event and the basis of the claim in the demonstration; In the claim calculation, it is necessary to reasonably calculate the impact on the construction progress and the loss of the project, and all the expenses must be based and cannot be unreasonably exaggerated.

4.4 When the owner claims, it is necessary to handle the relationship well. It is necessary to strengthen communication with the owner, try to solve it through friendly negotiation, and strive for the sympathy and understanding of the owner, or solve it through mediation. If no agreement can be reached again, it will be submitted to arbitration.

With the continuous improvement of the project bidding system and the further improvement of the articles of association of the owner, supervisor and construction unit, the claim work has gradually entered the normal track. As long as we fully understand the construction drawings and technical specifications, reasonably arrange the construction organization, and correctly perform the contract agreements and various documents signed with the owners, supervisors and construction units, there will be more claims accepted or approved, and benefit from the claims.

References:

[1] Yilin Yin. Project cost and control. China Planning Press, 2003.

[2] He Hongfeng. Case analysis of construction contract disputes. Intellectual Property Press, 2005.

[3] He Bosen editor. International project contract management. China Architecture Press, 2005.

[4] Dangerous Route Army, edited by Liu Zhiqiang. Project management. Wuhan University of Technology Press, 2004.

[5] International Federation of Consulting Engineers, compiled by China Engineering Consulting Association. FIDIC construction contract conditions. Industry Press, 2002