Design Stage

Affect on Quantities Post-Bid

Affect on Contractor

Affect on Relationships

Enhancement of Construction Plans

Survey Subsurface Investigation In-House construction of plans

Control was not tied down Used bad control information Acquired insufficient or erroneous

information Topo all tie in points Survey the existing crowns

Use of companies with poor past history Same issues that contractors see

Flight Data Use Accuracy

Insufficient or incomplete boring information

Verification of information received

Plan sheets Construction Layout

o Missing datao Profiles do not tie togethero Side streets tied in wrong

Typicals – Plan Sheets – Cross Sectionso Different informationo Superelevationso Missing typical sectionso Guardrail flareso ROWo Drainage ditches

Drainageo Incorrectly locatedo Superelevationso Low pointo Missing structures

Plan sheets Structures

o Alignments and elevationso Sloping caps and abutmentso Boxoutso Wall profiles

Utilitieso Not shown on the planso Not depicted correctlyo How do we design around this information?

Plan sheets Erosion

o Areas are overwrought/untouchedo Silt Fence at cut slopes and shoulderso Stagingo Site visits

Stagingo Drainageo Taperso Widths

ROWo Drainageo Cost to cure information

To the owner

To the contractor

To the designer

Resurvey Office calculations Project delay Quantity overrun Cost Quality Public Opinion

Right now, your project would have to be considered a disaster. I could have

walked from the fire station to Abernathy faster that was able to drive. Yet

once past Abernathy, I was able to drive between 40 and 50 mph.

There is a major flaw in your design that I can't believe. Just before Johnson's

Ferry hits Abernathy coming from Sandy Springs, the road used to expand

into two outbound lanes. That allowed you to queue up twice the number of

cars waiting for the next green light. When that light turned green, those cars

were able to take off in a straight line, rather than having to make a left turn.

In other words, your new intersection is about 40% as efficient for all those

commuters coming down Johnson's Ferry.

If this abysmal design is not fixed, you will see accidents and

potentially violent behavior at Sandy Springs Circle and and

Johnson's Ferry road. Commuters will be furious if today's

experience is truly representative of what you have created. I mean

tar and feather, fire someone furious.

I hope there is better to come. If not, someone in your office should

experience career consequences for such an obviously horrible

design.

Regards,

Contractor is not a designer Understanding Design Intentions Adversarial Relationships How do we resolve problems?

Time to review and absorb plans Building survey files Resolve discovered omissions/errors or correct

the contractor Begin construction Stake the project and absorb the stakes Resolve omissions/errors discovered in the

field (for the life of the project)o The superiority of the three dimensional field

Survey is the key Attention to detail Incorporate knowledge from past

mistakes Neat and visible Willingness to listen and help No designer is perfect – no contractor is

perfect Compliment of views Give and take (Total cooperation from

owner/designer/contractor)

Questions or Comments