Master Municipal Construction Documents Association

(7m 22s) Brian Weeks

Meet MMCDA course instructor, Brian Weeks, who describes the learning objectives and agenda for the following course videos. Brian also tells viewers what this course doesn't cover.

(34m 48s) Brian Weeks

You will learn:

• What is the MMCD and what does it apply to?
• How and why did the MMCD get started?
• The benefits of standardization
• Why is the MMCD so successful?
• 3 perspectives are better than 1
• Front End Documents Philosophies
• Corollories to the Six Principles
• Consequences of the Philosophies
• Risk Management
• The Owner "Owns the Risk"

(28m 57s) Brian Weeks

Find out about:

• MMCD Association, our courses and documents
• Why MMCD is a Unit Price Contract and not suitable for Fixed Price Contracts
• Contract Documents
• The hierarchy of documents (General Condition 2.2.4)
• Why Owner's modifications to documents should be done with extreme care - or not at all.

(54m 26s) Brian Weeks

Brian Weeks discusses the roles and responsibilities of the major players in an MMCD project:

• The Owner
• The Contractor
• The Contract Administrator (CA)
• Inspectors
• The Superintendent
• Subcontractors

(48m 18s) Brian Weeks

Brian discusses significant items in the General Conditions to give viewers a flavour of how the MMCD deals with aspects of municipal construction projects, such as:

• Change vs. Extra Work
• Hazardous Materials
• Dispute Steps
• Force Account Work
• Testing, Quality Control & Quality Assurance
• Payment Process
• Construction Schedules

(5m 21s) Brian Weeks

In this brief wrap-up video, Brian reviews the main points of the course, and offers additional resources for viewers.

(8m) Meet Senior Course Instructor, Brian Weeks, and learn about MMCD's "Contract Considerations", a series of videos that digs into issues commonly encountered by MMCD users.

(8m) In the first Contract Consideration video in our series, Brian Weeks answers the question: "What are the Contract Documents?" and touches on the components of a complete tender package, supplementaries, and the document hierarchy.

(8m) The role of the Contract Administrator is so critical that the Contract should not proceed without one in place. Brian Weeks outlines the CA's roles and responsibilities, including the "Three Hats" they wear during a project and the conflicts inherent with wearing those hats.

Watch the videos: "The Limitations of the CA's Authority" and "The Role of the Inspector" for an even deeper understanding of this topic.

(9m) Per General Condition 3.2.1: “The Contract Administrator shall have authority to act on behalf of the Owner only to the extent expressly provided in the Contract Documents.”

In this companion video to "The Role of the Contract Administrator" and "The Role of the Inspector", Brian Weeks discusses the limitations of the Contract Administrator's authority. 

(9m) An Inspector is the eyes of the CA on the job site. In this companion presentation to "The Role of the CA" and the "Limitations of the CA's Authority", Brian Weeks explains more about the role of the Inspector in the contract process.

(10m) This video will review the process to generate a Change Order under the MMCD with a reminder about the implications of Changes vs. Extra Work.  For more information, also review "Responding to a RFQ" and "Issuing a Change Order".

(10m) Brian Weeks reviews the requirements for a Quotation and the implications of a qualifier that a Contractor may add in this companion video to "The Contemplated Change Order" and "Issuing a Change Order".

(11m) Questions about issuing a change order? In this final video in a three-part series, Brian reviews when a Change Order is needed and how to finalize the information needed on the form. He discusses negotiations and pricing methods, and uses the example developed in the previous two videos to write up a Change Order.

Refer also to: "The Contemplated Change Order" and "Responding to a RFQ"

(8m) Wondering what the difference between a change and extra is? Brian Weeks explains the differences, and who does the work.

(8m) Sometimes a tender will come in that contains mathematical errors. To avoid having to automatically throw out that tender, the MMCD provides some rules allowing the Owner a limited amount of discretion to make changes. Brian Weeks explains the options available in this Contract Consideration.

(11m) Brian Weeks reviews the need for, and differences among, four types of schedules included in the MMCD. He also looks at how a schedule gets adjusted and what sanctions can be imposed regarding schedule failures.

(9m) The MMCD was written to contain a fairly complete set of contract terms, but the writers knew they couldn't plan for every eventuality or use of the documents. They anticipated that there would be unforeseen situations when the author preparing the contract or person administering it would need to make choices about whether or not to include MMCD clauses and language in contracts, or how best to interpret a clause during the course of a project.

To help users make these choices, Brian Weeks reviews the philosophies, principles, and strategies that form the spirit and intent of the MMCD.

(9m) Under the Master Municipal Construction Documents philosophy, the standard documents minimize the amount of risk transferred from the Owner to the Contractor in a project. Brian Weeks discusses the tools the MMCD uses to allocate risk and the protocols for situations such as discrepancies in quantities or prices, or encountering Concealed or Unknown Conditions or Hazardous Materials.

(9m) Parts 1 and 2 of Instructions to Tenderers apply to the tendering process. Part 1 changes with each project; however, the terms in Part 2 generally do not change - unless they are inappropriate for the project.

Brian Weeks discusses how tender authors can use IT4 To modify, delete or add conditions for tendering to meet the specific conditions of their projects.

(10m) Brian Weeks discusses how MMCD language - specifially GC13 - applies to dealing with delays and presents some of the legal principles that also apply.

(12m) Brian Weeks discusses defects and deficiencies as they apply throughout an MMCD contract, how and when holdbacks can be taken and when they must be returned, and how the owner has ongoing protection.

(12m) Brian defines Standby Charge, outlines the concepts of what makes up standby charges, and how they should be calculated or verified to meet the contract language of the MMCD. He also offers a simple approach to determining appropriate equipment rates.

(8m) MMCD identified differences between the printed and electronic versions of the User Guide commentary on GC 9.4 regarding Offsetting Quantity Variations.

Brian Weeks clarifies the misinformation contained in Section 3 of the User Guide, reviewing the errors made during revisions to Volume II between the Gold and Platinum editions, and how to correct them.

(15m) In this video, Brian Weeks discusses the topic of Dispute Resolution under MMCD rules. He explains,

• The need for a process
• The reasons for the involved process we use
• The steps in the process
• The time deadlines involved
• Who participates at each stage

(15m) In this presentation, Brian Weeks highlights some of the critical features of the document called the 'Agreement' in the Master Municipal Construction Document regime.

The Agreement is the most important document in all the documents that form a complete construction contract. As such, it is vital that all parties (owners, contractors and the contract administrator) know what it enables and disallows. 

(9m) General Condition 12 in the MMCD deals with the discovery of unexpected hazardous materials during the course of a construction project.

The Master Municipal Construction Documents were specifically designed to create contracts for sub-grade municipal infrastructure such as sewers, waterline and other utilities. The very nature of this type of work implies unknown conditions. Since it is not practical to do geotechnical investigations continuously along the proposed route of a new project, we must expect surprises. One type of surprise is the discovery of unexpected hazardous materials.

A core philosophy supporting the MMCD is that risk should be apportioned based on who can best manage it. Also, we do not want bidders to have to include large contingency amounts for unknown risks on every tender. So how do we put these objectives into effect concerning hazardous materials? Find out in this 9-minute presentation by Brian Weeks.

(15m) In this video Brian Weeks discusses why an Owner might want to change a Subcontractor and the 3 ways this can be possible using the Master Municipal Construction Documents.

(10m) In this video, Brian Weeks hopes to convince you that the MMCD Association got it right when they intentionally did not require tenderers to submit schedules of force account rates as part of the required tender package. 

Brian provides a better solution to the problem that prompts owners to ask for such schedules.

Find out more in this 10-minute presentation. 

(14m) In this short video, Brian hopes to clarify for you the difference between Partial Substantial Performance, which is illegal, and Staged Substantial Performance, which is permitted in BC. 

NB: Due to the ever changing nature of the law, anyone who has a significant concern regarding liens, holdback, and holdback releases, should get up-to-date legal advice from a lawyer.

(12m) Brian Weeks outlines the responsibilities of the Prime Contractor and discusses the implications of designating the general contractor as the prime contractor for WorkSafeBC purposes.

(14m) In this companion video to the Contract Consideration called "MMCD Dispute Resolution", Brian Weeks focuses exclusively on the referee step, including the referee's responsibilities and role in the dispute resolution process

(14m) Brian Weeks discusses when, why and where Force Account forms are required, and the severe penalty if they are not submitted.

(13m) Brian Weeks explains the meaning, purpose and use of a Document Hierarchy and warns of a couple of potential problems which arise when Owners don’t understand why this is important.  He also explains that sometimes Contractors get to choose which option to follow if documents contain conflicting information.

(15m) Brian discusses the somewhat unique methodology the Master Municipal Construction Documents sets up for regular monthly progress payments to the Contractor. 

(14m) Brian defines Substantial Performance (GC 1.67) and Total Performance (GC 1.73) , and discusses who can initiate the processes, what should happen first and what happens after these important milestones. He refers to the BC Builders Lien Act and how the Act's requirements link to MMCD contract language referred to in GC 18.6, GC 18.7 and GC 18.9

(14m) Brian Weeks explains and interprets GC 13.10, which was written to clarify that time extensions which are due to a change in the scope of work are not delays and thus not subject to the provisions of GC 13. 

In order to receive the full benefit of watching this video, it helps to be clear about the difference between a Change and Extra Work. Please refer to the video "Change vs. Extra" for more insight.

(11m) Brian discusses and provides examples of how putting specs on drawings can cause problems during a project, particularly when the drawings rank lower in the Document Hierarchy (GC 2.2.4.). He shares three ways to fix the problem, and the MMCD recommended best solution.

(17m) Brian Weeks defines (GC 1.48) and provides examples of Optional Work, and explains the related General Conditions: GC 7.4.1, GC 9.4.2, and GC 9.5.3.

(19m) The Contract Administrator has a mandate to impartially represent the interests of the owner, designer, and contractors throughout the course of a project.

Brian Weeks discusses the inherent conflicts of interest built into the CA's role, and what Owners can do to minimize those conflicts when choosing the CA for their project.

(20m) Brian Weeks discusses contract costs from a Contractor’s perspective and the Owner’s liability for reimbursement from the Contract Administrator’s perspective.

In particular, he aims to clarify the difference between Indirect and Impact costs – terms which are often misused or incorrectly used interchangeably.

Brian also reviews the three types of overhead costs, how they relate to each other, and when an Owner can become liable to pay for them.

(25m) The Documents Committee noticed that Owners were often substantially modifying or removing entirely GC 9.4 (Quantity Variations), motivated by reducing contract costs.

Brian Weeks provides examples of how keeping GC 9.4 benefits both Owners and Contractors, and explains how removing this clause actually increases the risk of unknown costs.

(13m) This video addresses a long standing inconsistency in the MMCD specifications for payment of some items.

In the CA course, Brian Weeks stresses that the Contract Administrator does not have the authority to alter terms of payment agreed to by both parties to the Contract and accepted by the bonding company.  In once class, a student correctly pointed out that on almost every contract they had to waive some payment conditions to prevent the Contractor from walking off the job. 

This is a result of some of our payment conditions not being practical in the real world and people having to find “work around” solutions.  In general, ignoring Contract language is not good practice, so let’s look at an example and how it is, vs. should be handled.

(15m) There is a certain amount of confusion shown in forum and class questions about the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control.  Brian Weeks brings some clarity to this topic as well as discussing testing and retesting options.

Part of the confusion comes from the difference between how other contracts handle these two types of testing compared to the MMCD.  Other contracts often have the Owner engage and pay one or more testing firms to do Q/A.  These firms  work concurrently with the Contractor, but report directly to the Owner.  As Brian will discuss, the MMCD handles testing differently, with the Contract Administrator (or C.A. for short) receiving Q/A  test reports from the Contractor and reporting back to the Owner.

Under the MMCD, the Owner specifies tests to be done for its own reassurance that the work is meeting the contractually required standards.  These tests are part of the Contract requirements and the Contractor is obliged to perform them, or arrange for them to be performed during the course of the work. 

(22m) Brian Weeks reviews options for owners and contractors during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on what is allowed under the MMCD standard language, and depending on the stage of the project: active tender, pre-award, or after construction has started.

(15m) In this Contract Consideration, Brian Weeks discusses why the MMCD is very restrictive concerning alternatives proposed by bidders. He then explains what options an Owner has when they receive an attractive alternative from either the low bidder or another bidder.

(18m) This Contract Consideration is targeted to Contractors and promotes the MMCD training for Estimators, Superintendents and Foremen. Through numerous questions, Brian Weeks challenges viewers to evaluate their understanding of the MMCD General Conditions. He gives some examples of how good the payback on training can be.

(17m) In this Contract Consideration, Brian Weeks talks about Unbalanced Bids.

(18m 39s) Presented by Charles Ramos, P.Eng., P.E.

On the west coast, many municipalities and Regional Districts construct and own boat launches as part of their municipal infrastructure, with associated ongoing maintenance costs and user input. It is critical when designing a boat launch that it be carefully examined in the planning stages before committing to construction, as there are a number of criteria that can result in either seamless, problem-free use… or the opposite.

The presentation will discuss site selection, background data to be gathered, design guidelines and standards, and the state of the industry in terms of materials and treatments for marine use. Operational discussion will highlight possible problems that can be avoided through a comprehensive planning and design process.

(15m 20s) Presented by Werner de Schaetzen, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Water distribution network modeling is the most effective way of predicting system behavior to help solve a variety of hydraulic capacity, operational and water quality problems. Recent improvements in data collection and modeling software have led to further benefits of water modeling. Access to real-time water demand and diurnal pattern estimations allow water utilities to go beyond metering and billing to true intelligent water modeling and management. This presentation outlines 10 lessons learned of building and calibrating detailed hydraulic and water quality models and describes the accomplishments and benefits of hydraulic and water quality models.

(20m 09s) Presented by Lee Rowley, P.Eng., M.I.Struct.E.,MICE.,LEEDAP, & John Sherstobitoff, P.Eng.

The intent of the presentation is to explain the guidance given in the Structural Commentary L of the 2015 National Building Code. The intent of the Commentary is to enable decision makers to develop policies that encourage seismic upgrading of existing buildings by providing varying levels of upgrading, depending on the nature of the renovation or addition.

(23m 21s) Presented by David Chan, FCE, P.Eng., M.Eng.

David Chan reviews key differences found in the MMCD 2019 Edition, the fifth release of the MMCD since 1995, and the first full update in over 10 years since the Platinum Edition. Available in print, e-book, and server format, the new documents are the result of hundreds of hours of volunteer work by experts in municipal infrastructure, contractors, municipal and provincial government, and consultants. Released in 2020, the new documents incorporate technical updates, new reference specifications and detail drawings, as well as consolidating incremental changes.

(14m) In this companion video to the Contract Consideration called "MMCD Dispute Resolution", Brian Weeks focuses exclusively on the referee step, including the referee's responsibilities and role in the dispute resolution process

(15m) In this video, Brian Weeks discusses the topic of Dispute Resolution under MMCD rules. He explains,

• The need for a process
• The reasons for the involved process we use
• The steps in the process
• The time deadlines involved
• Who participates at each stage