Bound exhibit volumes arranged on a courtroom table

Expert witness

Construction Contract Administration

Contract administration concerns how the contract and subcontracts were managed day to day from a contractor project manager’s perspective: notices, change management, schedule submittals, documentation and construction industry practice.

An assignment may examine when notices were sent, how changed work was communicated, how schedule and payment submissions were processed, and how project participants documented and responded to those steps. The facts and records shape the questions considered.

Correspondence, meeting minutes, logs and submittal registers may help explain the administrative history. Analysts can consider supporting and contrary information, gaps in the record and the practical effects of the procedures used.

A contract-administration opinion may address compliance with the contract requirements as they were implemented in project management, including notices, change processing, submittal review and payment administration.

Correspondence, meeting minutes, work directives, submission logs and payment records can support a chronology of how the contract and subcontracts were administered. The relevance of particular sources depends on the issue and the available record.

Oxley considers the assigned technical questions and material evidence, including information contrary to a proposed conclusion.

The analysis may evaluate how administrative steps were carried out, whether documented actions were in compliance with the contract requirements, and their practical effects on construction operations.

Construction contract administration documents stacked on a desk

Possible assignment considerations

In practice

  1. 01

    Documentary chronology

    What chronology is supported by correspondence, work directives, submissions and other project records?

  2. 02

    Day-to-day contract procedures

    How were notices, changes, submittals and payment requests handled under the project’s contract-administration procedures?

  3. 03

    Compliance with contract requirements

    What records address compliance with the contract requirements, and what do they show about project-management actions and their practical effects?

  4. 04

    Practical administrative effects

    What role did the administrative process play in managing the work, and what practical effects are supported by the records?

Considerations and limitations

Questions and limitations to consider

Chronology without sequence

Listing documents without establishing the order in which things became known, which is usually the point.

Unexplained procedural findings

What records support the administrative findings, and what material contrary information or uncertainty affects them?

Contract-administration departure without a documented effect

Attributing a time or cost consequence to an administrative departure without explaining the connection.

Construction Contract Administration

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Also in this practice

Consulting Expert Witness Opinions & Testimony