The General Review of Building Works (IV)

General Review in Spain (IV)

Construction Manager. Builder in Charge.

In Spain, the Construction Manager ('Jefe de obra' in Spanish) is the person representing the builder. The Spanish Law on Construction Planning requires the Construction Manager is a technician who, by his qualifications or experience, have an adequate capacity for the type of the work to perform. In small construction companies, it's frequent that the Construction Manager has no qualifications at all, so his working experience will have to be enough to provide all the knowledge required to perform his functions. In medium and big companies, the Construction Manager use to have some technical degree, normally Technical Architect, but he can also be an Architect or Engineer. The basic functions of the Construction Manager are:

• supervising the performance of the works, in direct contact with the Builder in Charge
• controlling the costs
• planning time frames
• acting as the builder representative at meetings with subcontractors
• representing the construction company at meetings with the Professional Managers and the Developer
• reporting on the progress of works
• designating a responsible agent for safety and health issues on behalf of the company
• organizing the purchase of materials and the hiring of trades
• submitting Certificates of Work, for the consideration of the Professional Managers
• reporting any anomaly or incident to the Professional Managers, if they arise and can cause problems for the right performance of the works
• taking measures to prevent the incursion of outsiders on site
• taking measures to prevent incidents that may detriment the safety of the work.

The Builder in Charge

The functions of the Builder in Charge ('Encargado' in Spanish) are:

• receiving materials and signing invoices, without technical control
• controlling the performance and order of the different jobs
• controlling all the trades, avoiding interference between them
• controlling stockpiles
• controlling machines and tools.

Architect Daniel Trujillano

http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/home.html

Architectural Services for Construction Projects in Spain

The General Review of Building Works (III)

General Review in Spain (III)

Coordinator for Safety and Health. Types of Builders.

If the works of a building project involve more than one company or freelancer, the developer must designate a Coordinator for Safety and Health during the performance of the works. According to the Spanish LOE (Law on Construction Planning), the enabling qualifications to serve as a Coordinator for Safety and Health in building projects are:

• Architect
• Technical Architect
• Engineer
• Technical Engineer.

The Coordinator for Safety and Health shall perform the following functions:

• coordinating the implementation of the general principles of prevention and safety in making technical decisions, in order to plan the work to develop
• coordinating the activities of the work, in order to ensure that contractors, subcontractors and freelancers apply the principles of preventive action in a consistent and responsible manner
• approving the Safety and Health Plan prepared by the builder and, when applicable, the modifications introduced therein
• organizing business activities
• coordinating actions to control the correct application of the working methods
• taking measures to limit the access to the building works.

When the building works are not very complex, the developer tends to shift the appointment of the Coordinator to any of the professionals in the Professional Management, either the Director of the Works or the Director of the Performance of the Works.

The Builder

Construction firms can respond to the following classification:

• small companies: they have little business infrastructure and use to outsource some services
• medium companies: they have some technician workforce, which use to act as representative on site
• big companies: they have complex charts composed of delegates, team leaders, production managers, etc.

Small companies use to pursue reform projects for homes, shops and public buildings, and new-building projects for single houses and small housing developments. Medium companies access to more types of works, through tender or auction. Big companies reach high budget building projects.

Architect Daniel Trujillano

http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/home.html

Architectural Services for Building Projects in Spain

The General Review of Building Works (II)

General Review in Spain (II)

Professional Management. Director of the Works and Director of the Performance.

In Spain, the Professional Management of the Works is formed by the Director of the Works and the Director of the Performance of the Works. The mission of the Professional Management is leading the development of the works in accordance with the Construction Documents, the Building Permit, other mandatory authorizations and the conditions of the Contract.

Obligations of the Director of the Works

The Director of the Works must meet the following requirements:

• to be in possession of the enabling degree, and meet the necessary conditions for the exercise of his profession
• to verify the stakeout of the designed foundation and establish its suitability to the Geotechnical characteristics of the ground
• to verify the stakeout and suitability of the designed structure
• to cooperate in the resolution of any contingencies that occur during the works
• to record his instructions in the Book of Orders, in order to facilitate the correct interpretation of the Construction Documents
• to draft modifications in the Construction Documents, whenever they come required by the progress of the works and adapt to regulatory provisions referred to and observed in the Construction Documents
• to subscribe the Act of Stakeout
• to subscribe the Certificate of Completion of the Works
• to subscribe partial certifications
• to subscribe the Final Settlement
• to subscribe and deliver the Performed Work Documents.

The Director of the Performance

The primary mission of the Director of the Performance of the Works is to direct the material performance and control the quality and quantity of the performed works. The duties of the Director of the Performance of the Works are:

• to be in possession of the enabling degree, and meet the necessary conditions for the exercise of his profession
• to verify the reception of materials
• to arrange the making of tests
• to direct the material performance, by checking stakeouts, materials and the proper performance and disposal of the construction elements and installations, all in accordance with the Construction Documents and with the instructions of the Director of the Works
• to record his instructions in the Book of Orders
• to subscribe the Act of Stakeout
• to subscribe the Certificate of Completion of the Works
• to draft and subscribe partial certifications and the final settlement of the completed units
• to cooperate with the other agents in the preparation of the Performed Work Documents, by presenting the results of the conducted monitoring.

Architect Daniel Trujillano

http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/home.html

Architectural Services in Spain

The General Review of Building Works (I)

General Review in Spain (I)

Responsibility. Replacement.

In Spain, the Director of the Works ('Director de obra' in Spanish) is the ultimate authority during the performance of the works, whatever the type of his recruitment. His function is the General Review of the works during the construction process, and this is an independent professional activity, so it is possible that one single building project has one architect assigned to the Architectural Design and the Construction Documents, and another architect assigned just for the General Review. It can also happen that the same construction work has several Directors, all of them assigned together.

Responsibility of the Director of the Works

If an architect accepts making the General Review of the works in a building project and he is not the author of the Construction Documents, he will be forced to assume the responsibilities arising from any possible deficiency that may be present in them. However, he will be entitled to recourse against the author of the documents. Moreover, when the construction is completed, he shall be responsible, together with the Director of the Performance of the Works ('Director de la Ejecución de la Obra' in Spanish), about the veracity of the statement on the Certificate of Completion of the Works ('Certificado final de obra' in Spanish). When several architects are hired as Directors of the Works, all of them will share the responsibility.

Replacement of the Director of the Works

If the Developer ('Promotor' in Spanish) decides to terminate his contract with the Director of the Works, or the Director decides to resign, the architect who comes to accept the new contract will have to notify the event to the Architects' Association and to the ceased architect, and his assignment will not become effective until the removal, replacement or resignation of the substituted architect is drafted and signed. The replacement shall be recorded in the Book of Orders and Assists ('Libro de órdenes y asistencias' in Spanish). The responsibility of the outgoing architect will be limited just to the works performed under his direction. The incoming architect, new Director of the Works, will have to take on the Construction Documents and the portion of the works already performed. The procedure requires drafting an Act of Acceptance and Transfer of Authority, which will state the current status of the works. The Act of Acceptance shall be submitted to the Architects' Association, and the replacement shall be notified to the City Council.

Architect Daniel Trujillano

http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/home.html

Architectural Services for Building Works in Spain