Skip to content
Review.Live

Scope and changes

Writing a T&M ticket the client will sign

By Review.LivePublished 3 min readHow we write

At 15:25 the general contractor's superintendent asks your crew to open the ceiling at room 214 so the sprinkler fitter can reach a valve nobody showed on the drawings. Three workers and a lift spend the rest of the day on it. Two weeks later the ticket, "ceiling work, 9 hrs", comes back unsigned: nobody remembers asking.

Two workers in white hard hats and high-visibility vests talk over a clipboard beside stacked precast concrete slabs.
Photo: RONNAKORN TRIRAGANON on Unsplash

A time and material (T&M) ticket gets signed when the signer can check it against what they saw, and that is only possible on the day, while the work is still visible. A vague description, a missing name or a week's delay gives them a reason to hesitate. Some public owners make same-day sign-off the rule. The Oregon and Wisconsin transportation departments have the inspector and the contractor's representative sign or initial each day's force-account (time and material) record at the end of the day, and Oregon's stops the extra work when a disagreement cannot be settled that day.

  1. Start the ticket before the work starts: date, location, and the name and role of the person who asked.
  2. Describe the work so a stranger could picture it: what, where, and why it is outside your scope. Not "ceiling work".
  3. List labour by name and trade, with start and finish times and overtime shown separately.
  4. List equipment and materials with quantities and units.
  5. Take photos before, during and after, and attach them.
  6. Get it signed before the signer leaves site, and give them a copy.
  7. If they will not sign, record why and when you asked, and tell your project manager that day.

Common mistakes

  • Writing "as directed" without saying who directed it.
  • Adding rates on site, so the signer argues about money instead of facts; pricing belongs to the office records.
  • Putting several days or requests on one ticket.
  • Collecting signatures weekly, when nobody can check the hours.

Checklist

On every T&M ticket

  • Date, location and who asked
  • What, where, and why it is extra
  • Workers by name, trade and times
  • Equipment hours; material quantities and units
  • Photos before, during and after
  • Signed the same day, with a copy to the signer
  • Refusals recorded and reported

Check your understanding

The superintendent will sign only once the price is agreed. What do you ask her to do instead?

Show the answer
Sign for the facts — who, what, how long and what material — and leave the price to the project managers under the contract's change procedure. The record can be settled only while the work can still be checked. If she still declines, note her reason and the time, and tell your project manager today.

Sources

  1. Construction Manual, Chapter 12G: Extra Work Performed on a Force Account BasisOregon Department of Transportation · Oregon, United States (a public owner's procedure for its own staff; shown as an example) · accessed
  2. Construction and Materials Manual, Section 246: Force Account WorkWisconsin Department of Transportation · Wisconsin, United States (a public owner's guidance to its own staff; shown as an example) · accessed

Related articles