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Scope and changes

What makes a change order request get approved

By Review.LivePublished 3 min readHow we write

Month-end, and the ductwork change you priced in the spring is back on your desk, marked "insufficient backup". It went in as a lump sum of $23,400 with the words "additional ductwork as discussed". The work was done weeks ago, and payment now waits another month.

A man in a navy jacket holding a pen and a woman holding a document sit side by side at a white table.
Photo: Carrie Allen www.carrieallen.com on Unsplash

A reviewer can approve only what the paper proves. Before discussing money, they must be satisfied that the work is outside the contract, that it actually affected your work, and that the price is fair. Wisconsin's Department of Transportation, for one, tells its engineers to settle entitlement first, then impact, then cost, and requires every price change to be supported by a cost analysis. A request that opens with a lump sum skips the first two steps.

What to put in the request

  1. State the cause: what changed, who directed it or what caused it, the date, and the reference — instruction, drawing revision or site condition.
  2. Show the contract basis: quote the drawing, section or clause that defined the original work, and say how the new work differs.
  3. Show the impact: the activities, locations and crews affected, with photos and daily report dates.
  4. Itemize the price: labour hours by trade, materials with quotes or invoices, equipment, subcontracts, credits for removed work, then the contract's markup.
  5. State the time impact in days, with the schedule activities affected, or say when you will submit it if your contract allows that.
  6. Attach your notice: the written notice you gave when the change began.
  7. Keep to one change per request, numbered to match your change log.

Common mistakes

  • Bundling unrelated changes, so one disputed item holds up the rest.
  • Pricing new work without crediting the work it replaces.
  • Using another job's markups instead of this contract's.
  • Leaving time out without checking whether you can add it later.

Checklist

Before you send it

  • Cause, date and reference
  • Original scope quoted, and the difference
  • Impact shown with photos and report dates
  • Price itemized, with credits and the contract's markup
  • Time in days, or a date to submit it
  • One change, with its notice and log number

Check your understanding

Why should the request prove the contract basis before it shows the price?

Show the answer
Because a reviewer cannot price work they believe is already in the contract. Once the basis is agreed, the discussion moves to whether the numbers are fair, which is shorter and easier to settle. A price shown first invites an argument about the total instead of a decision about the change.

Sources

  1. Construction and Materials Manual, Section 242: Change OrdersWisconsin Department of Transportation · Wisconsin, United States (a public owner's guidance to its own staff; shown as an example) · accessed
  2. FAR 52.243-4, ChangesU.S. General Services Administration (Acquisition.gov) · United States (federal fixed-price construction contracts) · accessed

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