The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I recently posted an item on my blog, unfortunately contributing to the unnecessary discussion of Baha Mar’s completion woes. The purpose was to point out that comments in the public realm (and some in the media) have been contributing to the mis-education of the public. The common view seems to be that the contractor has left the site with the project unfinished, and with defective infrastructure and finishes.

The public is taking this personally as a direct violation of the trust they have placed in the Baha Mar project, with the suggestion that the contractor used is fundamentally incompetent.

I am as ignorant of the details of the Baha Mar project as the rest of the public, but I do have an interest in the education of the public as to what I, as an Architect, I do, and the way in which the services I and other design professionals contribute to the completion of construction projects. The comments in the press demonstrate that there is a great lack of appreciation for the processes  and the divisions of responsibility. In the interest of public education, therefore, I will use this project to outline some of the ways projects are completed properly. Baha Mar is certainly near completion, and there have been questions about the inadequacy of the construction, and as noted, the blaming of the contractor for the default.

I am neither defending nor blaming the contractor, but seeking to widen the net of responsibility within which the work has been done.

For most construction projects, there is a construction contract. Within that contract there are responsibilities for the contractor and his team, who naturally look after the contractor’s concerns, and the design team, which looks after the owner’s concerns. These two teams work together to arrive at a completed project that meets the owner’s requirements, as spelt out in the contract, and allows the contractor to be compensated for work done properly.

Firstly, there is the question of the infrastructure, the bones, blood vessels and nervous systems of the project (the structure and the mechanical and electrical systems). Long before construction begins, the design team, especially the engineers (under the direction of the Architect) design the infrastructure to both meet the building code and the requirements of the project. These are approved by the building control department for code compliance before a building permit is issued. Once construction begins, the Ministry of Works and the engineers inspect the installations, one for compliance with the approved design, the other for acceptance as meeting of the design intent. It is therefore unusual for a project to reach completion with either serious code issues or issues of functionality.

Secondly, there is the fabric of the building, the quality of which is agreed in the contract. The design team inspects the work on behalf of the owner, and are responsible for approving or rejecting work done. In fact, the payments to the contractor are a result of certification by the design team that all work completed and to be paid for has been accepted by the design Team.

At a certain point in time, the design team declares the project substantially complete. That means it is ready to be used for its purpose. It does not mean that there is nothing wrong with anything. There is always a list of items that need attention during what is called the retention period, a period during which the owner holds back money from the contractor for the completion of these concerns that do not stop the project for being used for its intended purpose. The period may be as much as six months or more, and for a $3 billion project, the amount withheld may be as much as $75m.

As you can see, much of what is being said about Baha Mar is nonsense, based more on the public’s enjoyment of the humiliation of the rich than on any understanding of the process of creating major projects. If we as a destination are to compete in the marketplace of major projects, we must begin to make use of the services that “watch our back” rather than seek to find scapegoats and celebrate misadventure.

I hope this has been useful.

PATRICK RAHMING

Nassau,

June 19, 2015.