No specs, failed inspection

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CarlCaliente

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Katy, Tx. USA
I am currently running a conveyor project, includes one new carousel and reworking four existing systems. We were not provided a spec book until about mid-way through the project so we did not have one to bid off of. The only thing we had to go off in the beginning was a layout, number of motors, vfds, photo eyes, etc. Here's the problem I've run into, well series of problems.

We finished up the new carousel and the customer has been using it for three months without inspecting it. Turns out, the use of a few items are against spec (threadless rigid couplings and connectors, the use of beam clamps to hold equipment to the conveyor system, lengths of sealtite at a max of 3ft). Now we failed the Airport's inspection.

What, if any, leg do I have to stand on? Will I have to eat the cost of re-doing everything? If this falls into liquidated damages will I have to eat that cost as well?

I did find in the Specs where they were supposed to provide a layout of conduit runs and inspect them before I pulled wire or did any terminations. Which, they did not do.

Thanks for your help.
 
CarlCaliente said:
I am currently running a conveyor project, includes one new carousel and reworking four existing systems. We were not provided a spec book until about mid-way through the project so we did not have one to bid off of. The only thing we had to go off in the beginning was a layout, number of motors, vfds, photo eyes, etc. Here's the problem I've run into, well series of problems.
Click to expand...

it's going to come down to the contract you signed for the work.
green book, or some other municipal covenant?

was there reference made to specifications being complied with?
usually it's buried in boilerplate somewhere.

how could you bid without specifications? i'm assuming nobody
who bid on it had specifications. is your contract with a general,
or directly with the client?

who is shooting you down? third party inspector, gov't. agency,
customer?

if i were you, i'd google for an attorney specializing in construction
law. we aren't one of those, altho a number of us have had the
rules carved on our chests. you may have recourses that you are
unaware of.

doing this on an online forum is like posting what you see in the
rear view mirror, and having strangers, none of whom have a
drivers license, tell you how to parallel park.
 
CarlCaliente said:
Turns out, the use of a few items are against spec (threadless rigid couplings and connectors, the use of beam clamps to hold equipment to the conveyor system, lengths of sealtite at a max of 3ft). Now we failed the Airport's inspection.

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
just a few items? meaning what exactly? 1day pay + a few materials? or is the fix of these few items $10k and 5days??

does the spec book you got mid-way show something different than what you had done? is this the 1st time you doing work in airport?
 
If the fix is cheap and you can eat it, eat it. Chalk it up to the cost of an education.

If you don't have the means to fix it, approach your customer and explain how you got thrown to the wolves by actions beyond your control. You were told to start but not given specs.

And if all that fails, seek legal counsel.
 
the deal is this.

most of these installations have standard requirements that are written into purchase orders. I would look at the P.O. and see what it says. Often there is a standard terms and conditions document that is referenced in the P.O. The T and C often references their standard specs that are required to be followed.

If the P.O. tells you that you have to do something you didn't do, you are liable to pay to fix it.

The P.O. is the contract between you and whoever wrote the P.O. That is what matters the most, other than being required to meet the minimum legal requirements for such work (NEC, etc.).

Having said that, if the cost involved is a huge chunk, it would be wise to talk with your attorney about it before going any farther. You might have some recourse, although if the P.O. you accepted and acknowledged says you agree to do something, that is generally a tough nut to crack.
 
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If it's worth enough that you don't want to eat it for the sake of keeping the customer happy, then you need to handle this with your legal counsel. I am such legal counsel for the contractors I represent - but I'm not your legal counsel so I can't give you specific advice. In general, you are only obligated to comply with the plans and specs as they were provided to you when the contract was executed. You cannot be required to comply with terms added after the contract was made, because they are literally not part of the deal. However, if these specs were referenced specifically in the agreement but you didn't try to obtain a copy of them until later, it will likely be on you. All the details of the contract and its execution matter to this analysis and only your attorney can give you good advice on what you are really required to do about this.
 
Fulthrotl said:
it's going to come down to the contract you signed for the work.
green book, or some other municipal covenant?

was there reference made to specifications being complied with?
usually it's buried in boilerplate somewhere.

how could you bid without specifications? i'm assuming nobody
who bid on it had specifications. is your contract with a general,
or directly with the client?

who is shooting you down? third party inspector, gov't. agency,
customer?

if i were you, i'd google for an attorney specializing in construction
law. we aren't one of those, altho a number of us have had the
rules carved on our chests. you may have recourses that you are
unaware of.

doing this on an online forum is like posting what you see in the
rear view mirror, and having strangers, none of whom have a
drivers license, tell you how to parallel park.
Click to expand...

We've done a lot of work for the airport and this is how it usually goes, we are given a general Idea of what they want and a tight deadline, we bid it and work out all the kinks later. We have a great rapport with them and have done tons of work out here, including our maintenance contract. We put the project in how we normally do according to general airport specifications. The spec book given to us now is specific to this project. This project is actually a two-part. Contract with a conveyor company and a contract with the general contractor. The failed inspection is coming from the Airport themselves, not our local city and I.T. inspectors.

FionaZuppa said:
just a few items? meaning what exactly? 1day pay + a few materials? or is the fix of these few items $10k and 5days??

does the spec book you got mid-way show something different than what you had done? is this the 1st time you doing work in airport?
Click to expand...

The spec book given is different than what we normally do out here. I've done work in the Millions for the airport in the past. The cost will be quite high to fix. Roughly 25+k in material and at least 2 weeks with 6 employees.
 
We would never bid a fixed price on something that we did not have specs for. If nothing else we would write a fairly detailed description of what we propose to supply and not accept a P.O. for something else.

Are you claiming that you did this work according to the normal specs the airport requires but somehow this job has different specs? was any of this mentioned in the P.O.?

It is going to be very hard to claim you did not not know about the specs if they are mentioned in the P.O. you signed and agreed to abide by.
 
what i can say for sure, there's a gap in your business process. fix it and dont let this issue happen again.

maybe the best outcome is both sides agree to a fix at a discounted price that they pay.

now go seek legal advice.
 
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