Authority of the Engineer
Article 5.1, “Authority of the Engineer,” of the Standard Specifications outlines the Engineer’s authority to observe, test, inspect, approve, and accept the work. The Engineer decides all questions about the quality and acceptability of materials, work performed, work progress, contract interpretations, and acceptable contract fulfillment. The Engineer acts as a referee in all questions arising under the terms of the contract. The Engineer’s decisions are final and binding.
The Engineer is responsible for:
- the enforcement of the project's plans, specifications and special provisions
- making decisions about quality and acceptability of the work
- documenting any approved changes and deviations to the project
- ensuring proper job record documentation is drafted and obtained.
Contract remedies that the Engineer may use to bring the contract into compliance and ensure safety, timeliness, and quality throughout the project include, but are not limited to the following:
- suspending the work without suspending working day charges
- withholding estimates
- requiring the contractor to remove and replace defective work, or accepting defective work without pay
- removing an individual from the project
- assessing liquidated damages to recover the Department's administrative costs, including additional project-specific liquidated damages when specified in the contract
- conducting interim performance evaluation(s) requiring a Project Recovery Plan, in accordance with Title 43, Texas Administrative Code (TAC) "Evaluation and Monitoring of Contract Performance".
- declaring the contractor to be in default of the contract, and
- in case of a default or contractor's failure to meet a Project Recovery Plan, referring the issue directly to the Performance Review Committee for consideration of further action against the Contractor in accordance with Title 43, Texas Administration Code (TAC) "Performance Review Committee and Actions"
Change in scope of work may be grounds for additional compensation to the contractor; refer to Chapter 7, “Changes to the Contract,” for more information. The Engineer must use proper engineering judgement when utilizing contract remedies and consider and document events outside the contractor's control, including consideration of sufficient time.
The contractor may dispute the instructions through proper channels when in disagreement with the engineer's decisions as described in the escalation ladder discussed at the Preconstruction Conference. Usually, the methods or procedures used in performing the work are the responsibility of the contractor. If the specifications or plans specify the methods or procedures to follow in performing doing the work, the Engineer has the authority to reject work done by other methods. The contract requirements prevail even though the contractor may claim that the other methods will result in equally good or better results. If needed, the contractor may submit a request for revisions in the contract in a timely manner.
The Engineer will issue written direction or approval to the contractor in a timely manner, as needed and when required by the contract. Document verbal direction or approval provided to the contractor in the project records. Subsequent to verbal direction or approval, issue written notification to the contractor documenting the Engineer’s actions.