Concrete Scope of Works: What to Lock In Before Pricing a Commercial Slab

Most disputes on a commercial pour are about something nobody priced. The builder assumed the concreter was supplying the steel. The concreter assumed someone else was trimming the base. Nobody allowed for testing, and the pump had nowhere to set up. A written scope of works settles those questions while they are still cheap to settle. This guide sets out what the scope for a commercial or industrial slab should cover, drawing on the industry’s technical guides and NSW safety and payment rules.

Why the scope matters more than the rate

A square metre rate tells you what a subcontractor charges for a slab. It doesn’t tell you what slab you are getting. Two prices for “the warehouse floor” can differ because one includes the base, the joints and the curing and the other covers placing and finishing only.

The industry’s own guidance starts in the same place. Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia’s Guide to Industrial Floors and Pavements says the designer should be made aware of the pavement’s operating requirements and state them in the documentation. It also says that specifying an appropriate concrete strength is not sufficient by itself. What the floor has to carry, how flat it has to be and how it is jointed all need to be written down.

For a builder or facility owner, the practical point is that the scope should exist before the prices do. Send every subcontractor the same drawings and the same scope, and the numbers that come back can be compared.

The concrete scope, line by line

Each row below is a decision. If the scope doesn’t make it, it gets made on site, usually by whoever is under the most time pressure.

On joints, CCAA’s guidance on control of cracking adds that suitable locations for construction joints should be shown on the design drawings. If the drawings don’t show them, raise it before the pour is booked.

The gaps between trades

The items above belong to the concrete package. The ones below sit between packages, which is why they get missed.

• Underground services. Before You Dig Australia says anyone who intends to work around underground assets should lodge a free enquiry before starting, and that current plans should always be on site. The scope should say who lodges it.
• Pump set-up. SafeWork NSW’s guidance on concrete placing equipment covers exclusion zones while the pump is operating, safe distances from overhead power lines, and ground that can support the equipment and its outriggers. Someone has to provide that ground and keep it clear.
• Truck access and washout. Where agitators come in, wait and wash out. On a tight site this decides the pour sequence.
• Other trades’ set-outs. Conduits, drainage and hold-down bolts have to be in and checked before the pour.
• Protection afterwards. Who keeps other trades and plant off the slab while it gains strength.

Fewer packages means fewer gaps. Where one subcontractor does the excavation and site preparation as well as the concrete, the base and the slab are the same party’s responsibility. That is how we take on warehouse floors, hardstand and aprons.

Site and safety terms to settle

The scope should also say how the subcontractor fits into the way the site is run.

1. Who the principal contractor is. SafeWork NSW says a principal contractor must be appointed for construction projects valued at $250,000 or more, and must prepare a written WHS management plan before work begins.
2. What the plan asks of subcontractors. The plan has to include the arrangements for consultation, cooperation and coordination and the site-specific safety rules. Send the relevant parts with the scope.
3. Documents and inductions. State what you need on file before the start: SWMS for high risk construction work, white cards, insurance certificates, and who attends the induction.
4. Coordination in the contract. SafeWork NSW’s code of practice on consultation suggests considering a contract requirement for the parties to consult, cooperate and coordinate.

Southo Concrete holds NSW contractor licence 398552C, $20 million public and product liability cover and workers insurance. SWMS, white cards and certificates of currency are provided on request for commercial concrete packages, and the crew completes site inductions as required.

Payment terms and exclusions

NSW sets a floor under payment terms for construction work. The NSW Government’s security of payment pages say contractors have a right to progress payments even if the contract says they cannot claim them. A head contractor must pay a subcontractor on non-residential work within 20 business days after a claim is made.

The response time matters as much as the due date. Under the rules for payment claims, the party receiving a claim has a maximum of 10 business days to give a payment schedule. If no schedule is served in that time, the whole claim must be paid. Put the claim dates and the person who receives claims in the scope, so nobody has to work them out later.

Finish the scope with a list of exclusions. A good subcontractor’s quote will have one too, and the two lists should match. If they don’t, you have found a gap before it cost anything.

In the scope before it goes out for pricing

• Drawings with joints and reinforcement shown
• Base: who builds it and who checks it
• Steel and concrete: who supplies each
• Finish and tolerance named
• Curing method and who does it
• Testing: required or not, and who pays
• Pump position, truck access and washout
• Claim dates and written exclusions