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Job Meetings, Memos of Conversations, and Field Directives
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If you are unfortunate enough to end up in court or arbitration over a construction dispute, there is nothing more important than having in your arsenal a document which confirms a meeting or conversation on an important point. Every day, thousands of persons are subjected to the vagaries of: "He said . . . she said", with a judge making a decision which does not always comport with the facts. Entire cases involving hundreds of thousands of dollars can well revolve around a two minute conversation regarding change orders, work scope, timing, deletions to the specifications, interpretations given by a project manager or architect, pricing, or informal settlement agreements reached. Literally "Exhibit 1" in any such controversy would be something in writing which confirms that conversation or meeting. And just as importantly, judges give exceptional importance to anything that is put down in writing.
The good news is that it takes only moments to confirm such a conversation or meeting. One of the purposes of this module is to give you the written tools so you can confirm such conversations easily and clearly—even at the job site.
Forms
Agenda and Minutes of Meeting (formal long version). Two forms, consisting of 1) notice of an upcoming meeting with an agenda of discussion points and 2) after the meeting, minutes of what was discussed. It covers a wide range of issues, including revisions to the contract, change orders, scheduling, code compliance, clarification of the plans and specifications, payment issues, safety, and many other possibilities. Used in a formal meeting situation which is usually attended by a fair number of people, including design professionals, owner representatives, the prime's project manager, and even some of the sub-contractors. Because of the importance of the meeting and usually the wide range of issues to be discussed, it is a good idea to have a notice and agenda sent out to everyone before such a meeting so they can be prepared and informed of the nature of the proceedings.
Field Directive. Instructs someone what to do on a construction project. It might include when to start work or re-commence work, describe conflicts in scheduling, general scheduling time lines, notification of weather conditions, delay issues, telling someone when back-ordered materials have come in, how to coordinate with other trades, what the owner or architect wants to be accomplished, how to process payment requests, upcoming meetings, and the thousands of small items that come up on each construction project that need clarification or notification. It's basically a "we want you to know what is happening" type of notification.
Minutes of Job Meeting (informal short version). A scaled-down version of the above "Agenda and Minutes of Meeting". This involves a simple meeting, usually of a shorter duration and with fewer people. Because it is more informal, the minutes of the meeting can be composed onto one page. In many cases, that meeting is held at the job site and could literally be set up with a couple of hours notice and after a few phone calls.
Memo of Informal Meeting. Used for unplanned, spur-of-the-moment meetings which may only be a few minutes in duration. An example would be running into the design professional, owner representative, prime contractor superintendent, or other person on the job site and having a relatively short meeting.
Memo of Verbal Conversation. The simplest Memo of them all. It confirms a conversation either by phone or during a casual meeting. But don't under emphasize its importance. Even a passing conversation on a key issue can be extremely important in a later court trial or litigation. As you may have gathered by the memos in this section, their purpose is to prevent disputes, but if that is not successful, it at least increases your chances of prevailing in a court of law. Filled out at the end of the day when you have a moment to do your paperwork.
General Memo (basic correspondence). Unlike the other memos in this section that have specific purposes, this is a general memo that can be used for any number of reasons. Basically, it acts like a note, speed memo, or simple letter, without the formal requirements of a letterhead. This allows it to be used quickly. You can have your field personnel fill it out in their own handwriting or in the office. it can be printed out and sent either by mail, as an attachment to email, hand delivered, or by fax.
Reply Memo. An all-purpose form to be used any time you are responding to something sent to you. For example, if you are sent a memo, transmittal, field directive, letter, or the like, it usually requests your response and comments. Instead of taking the time to prepare a formal letter, this form will allow you to quickly and easily respond.
Inter-Office Memo. A general purpose memo for messages sent by an between members of your own staff.
General Transmittal Cover Sheet. A multi-purpose cover letter that is used when sending or faxing a copy of a document. This might include the cover for a letter, contract, change order proposal, or someone else's memo.
Transmittal of Plans/Specs. Used exclusively for transmitting plans, drawings, and/or specifications. Because they are bulky, it is used when mailing such material.
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