True story.
In the first year of law school, you learn to “issue spot.” Students are handed a set of facts and told to figure out how to apply the facts to a given set of laws.
Years later, on a construction site, I got the real-world version.
A young site superintendent put me on speakerphone in his office—full audience—and began berating me for my company’s “failure” to complete our contractual obligations.
The “issue”?
Doors for electrical openings.
The “problem”?
My company’s contract covered supplying and installing them. But these particular doors needed wires pulled through and connected to the hardware to work. That part, apparently, was also my responsibility.
So, while he ranted, I was humored. I calmly asked one question:
“Show me where in the contract it says that.”
He kept yelling. I kept asking. Finally, I pointed him to the section in our contract with the workflow for electrical openings.
There was no mention of wiring. Not a word.
That’s what we call a contract gap. It is a ubiquitous situation when an overlooked workflow item is omitted from the contract documents, and therefore, is not assigned to any contractor to perform.
As he flipped through the pages of my company’s contract, I had him read out loud the provision that described the workflow for connecting the wires to the electrical hardware. As he read the provision, he realized there was no language about connecting the wires.
The silence was deafening when he realized we had no contract requirement.
The takeaway?
If you’re a contractor, don’t be reckless and “just get it done” when the documents are silent. That “helpful” fix can come back as a liability. A liability can create costly risks that your insurer, design team, and owner won’t thank you for.
RFIs exist for a reason. Use them.
And the epilogue?
Months later, the same young superintendent called me. He said he decided to go to law school because of our conversation.