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DOCUMENT RESUME
02833 - (A1993051]
Procedures Used for Holding Architects and Engineers Responsible
for the Quality of Their Design Work. LCD-76-333; B-152306. Jujy
14, 1977. 21 pp. * 4 appendices (13 pp.).
Report to the Congress; by Elmer B. Staats, Comptroller General.
Issue Area: Facilities and Material Management: Design and
Construction of federal Facilities (707); Facilities and
raterial Management (700) -
Contact: Logistics and Communications Div.
Budget Function: General Government: 3eneral Property and
Records Management (804).
Organization Concerned: Department of Defense; General Services
Administration; Office of Management and Budget.
Congressional Relevance: House Committee on Public Works and
Transportation; Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works; Congress.
Authority: P.L. 92-5t2.
Government contracts with architects and engineers
require the provision of all design and engineering information
necessary for preparing plans and specifications. When contract
modifications (change orders) are issued because of architect
and engineer negligence, the resulting costs are recoverable.
Findings/Conclusions: Some Federal agencies are not adequately
documenting causes for errors and omissions in plans and
specifications prepared by architects and engineers (A/Es) even
though required to do so. Consequently, the agencies paid
millions of dollars without determining responsibility. This
precludes the Gover ament from recovering potenti'l costs from
A/Es in instances where the A/E performed neglig;:tly. The
Government should not pay increased canstruction costs where the
A/E is responsible. Enforcing already existing procedures and
other steps ciild reduce change order costs and help the
Government better enforce A/E liability. Added costs of
litication against contractors for negligence will be offset, .i
least partly, by savings ftom not paying change order costs.
Better evaluations of A/E performance are needed.
Recommendations: The agencies should document design
deficiencies, establish responsibility for resultant change
orders, recover costs stemming from apparent A/E negligence,
objectively evaluate A/E performance, and exchange this
information among the agencies. The Office of Federal
Procurement Policy should establish an interagency group
consisting of General Services Administration, Department of
Defense, and other agencies using A/Es to determine the
feasibility of developing uniform performance evaluation
criteria to be used among agencies, and exchange ideas on other
methods, inclu.Ing those used by private industry, to reddce
change order rcosts. 'DJM)](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.gao/gaobaacme0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)