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Construction associations representing clients, contractors, and sureties have united to produce a family of standard agreements and forms through a coalition known as ConsensusDOCS. The effort, led by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) and supported by the Construction Owners Association of America (COAA) and other client groups, has modified existing AGC and COAA documents to form the basis of a program that stresses an industry-wide consensus process for the creation of contract documents. With an official release date scheduled for September 28, the new standard form contracts in this initial effort have been developed “to codify the industry’s best practices in construction agreements.”
The drafting process focused on representing the best interests of projects, rather than single parties. The drafting group claims that the documents provide fair risk allocation for all parties and focus on yielding better project results and fewer disputes. The drafting process was joined by two other client groups—the National Association of State Facilities Administrators and the Construction Users Roundtable—as well as other major construction contracting and subcontracting organizations. Currently, no professional societies or trade associations for design firms endorse ConsensusDOCS. It is likely that EJCDC or its individual sponsoring organizations—the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Council of Engineering Companies, and the American Society of Civil Engineers—will consider endorsement after the initial publication of the ConsensusDOCS family.
ConsensusDOCS will include more than 70 contracts and forms addressing all project delivery methods. Electronic versions will be available through the AGC DocuBuilder software system, which allows for project-specific modifications. The coalition claims that the documents will address cutting-edge issues such as electronic communications and building information modeling. More information can be obtained at www.ConsensusDocs.org or from the Associated General Contractors at www.agc.org.
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