Glossary P to Z

Glossary Terms

P - Z

PA Separations Act – Enacted in 1913, this law requires a public Owner to bid and award at least four separate and multiple prime contracts for one construction projects. Pennsylvania is one of only three states in the country to abide by such a requirement.

Payment Bond – A surety bond that secures a constructor’s obligations to pay subcontractors, suppliers and other lower tier entities beneath a general contractor.

Prime Contractor – A contractor on a project that has a direct agreement with the Owner.

Project Manual – Contracting requirements and specifications usually bound into one or more volumes.

Punch List – A list made near the completion of work, indicating items to be furnished or work to be performed by the Contractor and/or subcontractor in order to complete the work as stipulated in the construction contract documents.

QBS – Qualification Based Selection - Selection based on qualifications of a firm, team, experience and project capability.

Retainage – Money earned by the Constructor but held by the Owner pending completion of the project.

RFI – Request For Information - A written request for more specific information about a certain aspect of a project.

RFP – Request For Proposal - A written request from an Owner, Architect or Constructor for cost proposal for design, management or construction services. The RFP defines the scope of proposed work.

RFQ – Request For Qualifications - A written request from an Owner, Architect or Constructor documenting a scope of work and requesting professional qualifications for that scope of work.

Schematic Design – The stage at which the design is developed on a conceptual basis.

Shop Drawings – Detailed drawings by suppliers and manufacturers of various material and equipment. They must confirm to the original drawings, but not construction contract documents.

Specifications – A description of the performance, materials and workmanship required for a construction project. The written material containing the standard provisions and special provisions as may be necessary, pertaining to the types and qualities of material to be furnished under the contract.

Standards – A rule or principle that is used as a basis for judgment as established by authority, custom or general consent as a model or example.

Submittals – Shop drawings, product data, samples, certifications, calculations and project closeout documents prepared and submitted to the design professional by the contractor/subcontractor. Submittals more fully describe the work the contractor will install that the design professional needs to review for general compliance with the design intent. The information is typically more detailed than what is shown in the construction contract documents and provides specific data on the material to be used. Submittals are not construction contract documents but they are contract requirements.

Substitution – This allows for the constructor to recommend different products from those specified.

Unit Prices – These are used to identify costs of materials or activities when actual quantities can only be estimated prior to construction.

Value Engineering – A process whose objective is to affect economy in the cost of constructing a project or to improve the constructability without detrimental impact on project quality.

WBE – Woman Business Enterprise - An entity that is at least 51% owned and operated by a woman.