General Contractor License Project Management 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which contract delivery method requires the contractor to design the project AND construct it, providing a single point of responsibility to the owner?
- Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR)
- Design-Build (DB) (Correct answer)
- Design-Bid-Build (DBB)
- Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)
Correct answer: Design-Build (DB)
Design-Build consolidates design and construction responsibility under one entity, eliminating the traditional separation between designer and builder.
Question 2: What is 'retainage' in a construction contract, and when is it typically released?
- A penalty assessed for failing to meet the project schedule milestone dates
- A percentage of each progress payment withheld until substantial completion or final acceptance (Correct answer)
- A fee paid to the owner for early use of the facility before final completion
- Extra funds held by the contractor for subcontractor warranty work
Correct answer: A percentage of each progress payment withheld until substantial completion or final acceptance
Retainage is a holdback (typically 5–10%) from each payment application, released to the contractor after substantial or final completion to ensure defects are corrected.
Question 3: A project's Earned Value Analysis shows a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.75. What does this indicate?
- The project is 25% over budget
- The project is only accomplishing 75 cents of scheduled work for every dollar of work planned (Correct answer)
- The project will finish 25% ahead of schedule
- The project has spent 75% of its total budget
Correct answer: The project is only accomplishing 75 cents of scheduled work for every dollar of work planned
An SPI below 1.0 means the project is behind schedule — only $0.75 of planned work is being accomplished for every $1.00 of work scheduled.
Question 4: What is the primary legal purpose of a contractor maintaining a comprehensive daily construction log?
- To satisfy OSHA recordkeeping requirements for all projects
- To provide contemporaneous documentation of events that supports delay and extra work claims (Correct answer)
- To track subcontractor attendance for payroll certification purposes
- To generate weekly progress reports for the project owner
Correct answer: To provide contemporaneous documentation of events that supports delay and extra work claims
Daily logs are critical contemporaneous records that substantiate claims for delays, changed conditions, or extra work when disputes arise months or years later.
Question 5: Under Davis-Bacon Act requirements on federally funded projects, what wage rates must contractors and subcontractors pay their workers?
- State minimum wage rates published by the department of labor
- Prevailing wage rates determined by the U.S. Department of Labor for the project locality (Correct answer)
- Union scale wages negotiated in the applicable collective bargaining agreement
- Wages set by the general contractor based on competitive market surveys
Correct answer: Prevailing wage rates determined by the U.S. Department of Labor for the project locality
The Davis-Bacon Act requires that workers on federal construction contracts be paid locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits as determined by the DOL.
Question 6: A submittal schedule lists shop drawings, product data, and samples that must be approved before installation. Why is timely submittal management critical to the project schedule?
- Submittals must be filed with the building department before framing inspections
- Delayed submittals can create procurement delays that push back material delivery and installation activities (Correct answer)
- Subcontractors cannot mobilize until all submittals are approved by the owner
- Submittals replace the need for on-site inspections by the architect
Correct answer: Delayed submittals can create procurement delays that push back material delivery and installation activities
Long-lead material orders depend on approved submittals; delays in the review cycle can cascade into procurement delays that directly impact the construction schedule.
Question 7: What distinguishes 'substantial completion' from 'final completion' on a construction project?
- Substantial completion occurs when all subcontractors have demobilized from the site
- Substantial completion is when the facility is usable for its intended purpose; final completion is when all punch list items and closeout documents are complete (Correct answer)
- Final completion is declared by the building department at the final inspection
- Substantial completion triggers the one-year warranty period for all work
Correct answer: Substantial completion is when the facility is usable for its intended purpose; final completion is when all punch list items and closeout documents are complete
Substantial completion (per AIA and most contracts) means the owner can occupy and use the facility; final completion requires resolution of all remaining items and closeout submittals.
General Contractor License Project Management 4
Which contract delivery method requires the contractor to design the project AND construct it, providing a single point of responsibility to the owner?