That’s a pretty old looking contract … hanging in the historic courthouse in downtown Arthur, Nebraska. Good thing our standard form construction contracts are not that old!
Last week, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) held its national convention in San Francisco, California. Although “construction manager” (CM) contract documents had been released in 2007 and 2008, AIA released its replacement CM documents and an updated version of its AIA Contract Documents at last week’s meeting. Some of the more noteworthy revisions of the CM documents include:
- the famous “dispute resolution” checkbox that now appears in the A-101
- the famous “initial decision maker” (IDM) for disputes
- various provisions regarding digital data
According to AIA, the new release of software includes enhanced document management tools, as well as an easier-to-use platform:
- Data Dialogue box that makes it easy to fill out documents quickly;
- Customizing function that lets you save your favorite drafts as your own document templates for repeat use;
- Microsoft Excel helps you calculate with speed and accuracy
Has anyone used the new software? You better try it out! You should also begin looking at the 2007 revised documents because I also hear that the 1997 standard documents will no longer be supported as of May 31, 2009.
Photo: JimmyWayne