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Commentary: Why “Go Slow to Go Fast in Construction” Is Procurement’s Job Now
Over coffee the other morning, I was reading a Lexology article on construction disputes. It echoed something I wrote on my own blog almost two years ago. We keep learning the same lesson: every time we skip a step, we buy trouble later. You hear the phrase “go slow to go fast in construction” more…
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Industry Watch: Documentation Before Rework Is a Discipline, Not a Legal Tactic
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve walked a site, seen a condition that clearly needed corrective work, and heard a project leader say, “Let’s just fix it and be done.” There’s a natural urge to get a bad condition behind you. I get it — you’re protecting budget, schedule, and reputation. But the…
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Commentary: Understanding the Owner’s Rep vs. Project Manager in Commercial Construction
Recently, I was brought in to evaluate a client’s capital program. On paper, everything looked fine—healthy budgets, a seasoned leadership team, and a strong pipeline of commercial projects. But the moment I stepped inside the organization, the real problem was obvious:There was no project management layer at all. Internal staff—smart, committed professionals—were being labeled as…
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Industry Watch: How CCDC 5B-2025 Signals a More Modern and Collaborative Construction Contract
I’ve spent years treating pre-construction as its own phase of work. On many projects, that simple distinction improved clarity, reduced friction, and strengthened owner–contractor relationships. So when I reviewed the 2025 update to CCDC 5B, I recognized familiar territory. Many of the contract revisions reflect practices I’ve used for a long time. They aren’t perfect,…
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Commentary: When Owners Lose Their Delay Protections — A Cautionary Tale in Design Discipline
I’ve seen this pattern far too many times.An owner pushes hard on schedule, accelerates design, and assumes the team will “figure it out in the field.”Then the project hits a wall of changes, delays, and finger-pointing. All of this could have been prevented with a more disciplined design phase. A recent New York Appellate Division…