Ask an ABC Member Professional:
Stan Uhlig, Federal Construction Consultants

Question:
I am bidding on a Federal contract and it has many Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses in it. Do I really need to understand these?

Answer:
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) are the implementation of United States public law. They detail items such as how you must bid on the project; representations and certifications about your company such as size and type; contract requirements such as schedules, payment, default, warranty requirements, changes, and type of contract. Many of the FAR clauses inserted into a contract may never be used, but are put there to make sure that every possible scenario is covered.

Contractors generally believe that the FAR clauses are there to ensure that the government can coerce the contractor into doing anything that they want. This is a huge misconception. The FAR clauses actually do more to protect the rights of the contractor than they do to hurt the contractor. As an example, the “default” clause tells the government when they can default the contractor and the process of how this is done but it also gives the contractor many rights by limiting the conditions by which the government can default the contractor. Most of the other clauses do the same thing.

Contractors that either want to do federal construction or are doing it must understand at least the more prominent FAR clauses. Contractor staff personnel should all be well versed in what the FAR clauses mean, when to use them to your benefit and necessary notifications to the government. Understanding these clauses can save your project.

Stan Uhlig is the owner of Federal Construction Consultants. Stan’s practice provides consulting services to general contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers and vendors. Stan also provides online consulting, webinars, seminars and company specific training. He has over 37 years experience in federal construction working as a chief engineer, project manager, sr. project manager, and general manager of operations for one of the largest construction companies in the world. He has built many challenging projects around the globe including the world’s largest underground hospital, air traffic control towers, airfields, drydocks, historic renovations and virtually every other type facility that the government builds. He is recently the author of “Principles of Federal Construction Contracting” and “Superintendent’s Guide to FAR Clauses.” You can contact Stan at (360) 633-6004 or at stan@stanuhlig.com.

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ABC Members Nominated as “Best Places to Work!”

Once again, several ABC members have made the list of finalists for Puget Sound Business Journal’s Washington’s Best Workplaces. CE&C Inc., CHG Building Systems, Inc., Moss Adams LLP, and Propel Insurance have all made the cut. The big celebration was held at Safeco Field on August 12th.  For more information, please contact Monica Alquist at (206) 876-5404.

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