Construction Project Lifecycle Checklist

Pull the latest plan set, specs, and every addendum issued during bid. Confirm you are pricing the current revision — bidding off a superseded drawing is a common source of scope gaps that surface as change orders six months in. Reconcile addenda against the bid form before sealing the proposal.

Log scope ambiguities, drawing conflicts, and product substitution questions as pre-bid RFIs. Designer responses get re-issued as addenda for all bidders — capture them in writing before bid day rather than carrying assumptions into the GMP.

Pull EMR, TRIR, financial statements, and bonding capacity for each invited sub. Verify license status with the state board, OSHA 300 history, and an active COI naming the project owner and GC as additional insured. Attach the prequal package and current COIs.

Roll up trade quotes in Sage Estimating or Trimble Accubid. Carry a stated contingency (typically 3-5% on a CMAR GMP), name allowances explicitly, and list exclusions in the qualifications letter. A buried contingency that the owner discovers later poisons trust on every subsequent change order.

Confirm the A102 / A201 pair (or ConsensusDocs equivalent) names the correct contracting entity, lists the GMP, and references the SOV format. Attach the schedule of values, schedule, insurance certificates, and bond forms (performance and payment) as exhibits.

NTP date anchors substantial completion, liquidated damages, and lien preliminary-notice windows. Distribute to subs and the design team in writing.

Federal funding triggers Davis-Bacon (WH-347 certified payroll, federal wage determinations); about 30 states have a 'little Davis-Bacon' equivalent on state-funded work. Some cities layer their own ordinances on top. Get this wrong and back-pay claims plus DOL investigations follow.

Configure the payroll system (Foundation, Sage, or Viewpoint) for weekly WH-347 output keyed to the project's federal wage determination. Confirm trade classifications, fringe benefits, and apprentice ratios match the wage decision posted on SAM.gov.

Federate the architectural, structural, and MEP models. Resolve clashes before fab tickets release — duct-vs-beam hits at column lines are the textbook field rework that BIM coordination is supposed to prevent. Sign off the clash report with each trade's detailer.

File building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and fire-sprinkler permits with the AHJ. Confirm IBC code year, state amendments, and any sprinkler / life-safety review by the fire marshal. Permit issuance is on the critical path — start early.

Build the submittal register from the spec sections, set required-by dates working backward from procurement lead times, and assign each item to a responsible sub. Long-lead items (switchgear, AHUs, custom curtainwall) get expedited review or they will hold the schedule.

Stand up perimeter fencing, signage, the field office, and stabilized construction entrance. File the NPDES Construction General Permit NOI and post the SWPPP on site if disturbance exceeds one acre. Inspections begin immediately and run weekly plus after every qualifying rain event.

Each crew documents a PTP (pre-task plan) before starting the day's scope; foreman delivers a toolbox talk on the day's hazards. Log attendance in HammerTech or SafetyCulture. Skipped PTPs are the most-cited finding in OSHA programmed inspections.

Review the RFI log in weekly OAC. Anything past day 5 with no designer response gets escalated to the architect's PIC; past day 10, GC may proceed by field-direct after written notice. Silent installations on unanswered RFIs are how rework claims get manufactured.

Roll the SOV percent-complete into the G703, attach G702 with retainage held, and collect conditional partial lien waivers from every tier (sub, sub-sub, supplier) for the period. Owner pays without the waivers in hand only if you want a double-payment exposure later.

Hold the pay app until every claimant in the joint-check chain has signed a conditional partial waiver for the period. Use Levelset / Procore Pay to chase the missing waivers; do not advance the owner's payment without them.

Log recordable injuries within 7 days on the OSHA 300, with the 301 incident report attached. Post the 300A summary February 1 through April 30. Project EMR rolls up to the corporate mod factor that drives every future bid prequal.

Hospitalizations and amputations: report to OSHA within 24 hours; fatalities within 8. Run a root-cause investigation with the safety manager, document corrective actions, and share findings in the next stand-down. The 301 incident report goes in the project file regardless of severity.

Joint walk with architect and owner; generate the punch list in Procore Quality with each item tagged to the responsible sub and a target date. Issue the AIA G704 Certificate of Substantial Completion with the punch attached as an exhibit — beneficial occupancy and warranty start dates flow from this document.

Witness startup, T&B (test and balance), and functional performance testing per the Cx plan. Resolve open Cx issues before TCO; deferred commissioning is how performance complaints surface for the next year of warranty.

Reconcile field red-lines against RFIs, ASIs, and CCDs to produce record drawings. Compile O&M manuals, attic stock, training videos, and equipment warranties per spec section 01 78 00. As-builts produced from memory at the end never match the field — the discipline has to be weekly during construction.

Sequence final inspections — building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fire marshal, elevator, health (if applicable). Each AHJ signs off in the prescribed order before the CO issues. A TCO is acceptable only if specifically negotiated; full CO is required for owner financing draws on most projects.

Collect unconditional final lien waivers from every claimant in the chain — sub, sub-sub, supplier — before releasing retention. AIA G706 (contractor's affidavit), G706A (release of liens), and G707 (consent of surety) accompany the final pay app. A missed lower-tier waiver is how a lien lands on the owner two months after closeout.