In the realm of construction, there are loans that occur over the long haul and those that have a shorter time span.
The long-term loans usually occur when a company is in its beginning, formative stages. Often the money from the loan will help buy structures or transportation or the basic gear required for the startup. Because of the riskiness for the lender, the construction firm should have some background, and should be relatively established.
In construction management, the client and the construction manager often enter into contracts. Contracts in this field are generally understood to be the settlement, between the construction manager and the client, which states the terms of the construction job and the subsequent payment upon the job’s completion. Often, the contract will include supplemental documents that help further define and outline the agreement.
Some typical construction contracts include Target Cost contracts, Item Rate contracts, and Percentage Rate contracts, along with combination contracts, such as Cost and Percentage Rate contracts or Cost and Fixed Fee contracts. Included here are a few basics of the legal aspects involved in contracts.
Value engineering originated in the 1940s with Lawrence Miles, an engineer for General Electric Company. Miles wanted to bulk up GEC’s production during that time of particular demand—it was war time, and the company needed to produce more turbo superchargers for the B24 bombers. He hoped to increase weekly manufacturing from 50 to 1000. Miles had to buy the materials, and often found himself unable to afford what he needed in terms of materials. Thus, he found different materials which would serve the same function at the right price. The alternative materials, Miles found, worked as good, if not better, than those previously used. Value engineering was born.