The American Approach to Contracting

A summary of the various methods for contracting the construction of buildings in America is a task which I approach with considerable caution. To undertake such a review is to walk where angels fear to tread. The procedures for selecting the organisation to supervise, manage and perform building construction and the types of contracts available have proliferated in recent years because of the increasing complexity of building designs, escalating costs, legal constraints, magnitude of public projects, accelerated social needs, and increasing demands on building owners and their staffs. No such summary can help but omit many significant variants in contracting methods.