DASNY Change Order Approval Process

The DASNY process for approving change orders includes the following steps:

1. The Owner's Representative issues a written directive to the contractor:
   • A Request for Proposal within 10 days for the subject work (which will be followed with a Notice to Proceed); or
   • A Notice to Proceed immediately with the work.
2. The Notice to Proceed will specify the manner in which DASNY will pay for the work in question. The options available under Article 8 of DASNY's General Conditions include:
   • An accepted estimate
   • Time and material
   • Unit costs
   Article 8 also addresses subcontractor mark ups, labor rates and a number of other requirements regarding change order pricing.
   The contractor should not commence with the change order work unless the contractor receives a written Notice to Proceed. The Notice to Proceed is not valid unless it includes a CR (Change Request) number from DASNY's computer based project management support systems.
   If the contractor has not previously submitted a Labor Rate Worksheet for each trade (contractor and subcontractor) that will be involved in the change order work, for DASNY approval they should be submitted at this time, prior to submission of a proposal.
3. The contractor submits a change order proposal, using the DASNY Change Order Proposal forms, and required back-up to the Owner's Representative for review.
4. The Owner's Representative negotiates with the contractor to reach a preliminary fair and reasonable cost estimate and prepares a change order with supporting backup including the negotiated proposal. If the contractor and the Project Manager cannot negotiate a mutually agreeable price, DASNY will issue a "forced change order" in an amount that DASNY believes to be fair and reasonable for the work performed. If the contractor feels DASNY's price is not fair the contractor may submit the balance of payment to the Project Manager as a disputed item under Article 11 of the contract General Conditions. The project Manager in turn will refer the disputed issue to the DASNY Regional Project Manager (RPM) or Director/Chief for that region or program for review. If the issue cannot be fully resolved at this level, the RPM or Director/Chief will refer the dispute to the DASNY Cost Control Unit for an independent review. If the issue cannot be fully resolved by the CCU then it shall be referred to the next highest level of Project Management for resolution.
5. The Owner's Representative submits the change order to DASNY Project Management as necessary and the DASNY Cost Control Unit for review. This review may result in revisions to DASNY's preliminary cost estimate. In this event the Owner's Representative will contact the contractor to discuss the proposed revisions.
6. Upon successful resolution of the requested revisions DASNY Management approves the change order.

The contractor's proposal is not accepted until all steps are completed and DASNY Management (DASNY Project Management and DASNY Cost Control) has approved the change order.