CONTACTS 
0201 - Corps of Engineers, SFD            415 977 8400 fax 8483
020101 - Mr. Thomas Benero; Chief =415 977 8511; Contracting Division
0202 - Corps of Engineers, Sausalito      415 331 0404 fax or 800...
020201 - Mr. Leonard SooHoo, P.E.; Chief; Construction Service Branch

SUBJECTS
IC-3,4 Hard Material, Changed Condition
Hard Material Dredge to -43'
Material Classification Polyons and
Amendment 0001, SF 30, 941122 - 9 pages
OC-4B-5   Hard Material, Changed Condition
OC-4B-1,2 Hard Material, Changed Condition
IC-2      Hard Material, Changed Condition
0009   IC-3,4    Hard Material
0009r  IC-3,4    Hard Material
0010   OC 4B-5   Hard Material
0011   OC 4B-1,2 Hard Material
al Dredge to
1514 - =============================
1515 -
1515 -    ..
1516 - Summary/Objective
1517 -
151701 - Followed up work at ref SDS 8 line 20, ref SDS 7 line 72, re
151702 - line 49, ref SDS 3 line 82.
151703 -
151704 - Examined plan sheet 14 on Dutra's contract drawings, showing the
151705 - original contract called for dredging hard and soft material in the
151706 - same polygons.
151707 -
151708 -
151709 -  ..
1518 -
1519 -
1520 - Progress
1521 -
152101 - Examine Plan Sheet 14 of 20, Ammed 0001
152102 -
152103 - Found plan sheet 14 that has the designations of hard and soft, ref OF
152104 - 1 line 8.
152105 -
152106 -     The main thing it shows is that the contractor has hard and soft
152107 -     material throughout the job.  What differentiates the hard
152108 -     material encountered under the RFPs from the hard material bid
152109 -     under the original contract?
152110 -
152111 - Per analysis at ref SDS 7 line 100, I found that sheet 14 issued by
152112 - amendment 0001 shows numerous polygons with both hard and soft
152113 - material.
152114 -
152115 - Accordingly, bidders had to estimate the level of effort and
152116 - consequent cost to perform both catagories of work.  To consititute a
152117 - "differing site condition" that justifies a different unit cost of
152118 - performance on "hard" material, requires a showing that the character
152119 - of the material actually encountered is materially different from that
152120 - which a prudent bidder would otherwise have been on notice to expect
152121 - to encounter based upon what was disclosed.
152122 -
152123 - The Contractor has a duty of proof which its submissions do not seem
152124 - to meet, nor even address.  Indeed, the contractor's insistance in its
152125 - responses dated 960731 showing a uniform production rate, indicate it
152126 - foresees no difference in effort or cost to dredge soft and hard
152127 - materials.  This indicates that encountering hard material in an area
152128 - designated as "soft" on plan sheet 14, is not a material change within
152129 - the meaning of "Differing Site Conditions."  The only material change
152130 - in the RFPs, therefore, is the change in the disposal site.
152131 -
152132 - The Contractor's notices merely indicate that a larger quantity of
152133 - hard material was encountered.  The Contract terms compensate the
152134 - Contractor for this eventuality by paying for the increased quantity
152135 - at the unit bid prices.  The RFPs permit the Government to award an
152136 - equitable adjustment to account for the difference in cost to dispose
152137 - of material in the ocean rather than the Galbraith and Sonoma Baylands
152138 - disposal sites.
152139 -
152140 -
152141 -
1522 -
1523 -
1524 - 0923 visited with Tom Benero
1525 -
152501 - He came by Tom Keesling's office in response to my call about riding
152502 - with him to the project meeting tomorrow.
152503 -
152504 - We reviewed the above considerations.  Tom said Dutra has not offered
152505 - any explanation in meetings beyond the four submissions it made on
152506 - 960730, with respect to why the cost of dredging hard material in
152507 - areas designated as "soft" should exceed the unit cost of dredging
152508 - hard material in areas designated as "hard" on the contract drawings.
152509 -
152510 -
152511 -  ..
152512 - Should Contractor be Compensated Based on Contract Unit Prices
152513 -
152514 - Followed up work at ref SDS 6 line 175.
152515 -
152516 - I asked if the approximate 1M additional yards the Contractor is
152517 - dredging relative to the original bid quantities, is comprised of the
152518 - additional 1' over dredging required for the increase in the amount of
152519 - hard material?  My understanding from Tom today is that the additional
152520 - yardage is about 800K, but the change in the amount of hard material
152521 - further increases the amount of material for which the contractor is
152522 - being paid.  Thus, under the theory of unit pricing, the Contractor
152523 - has reaped a windfall merely by performing the work at the unit prices
152524 - bid, since the quantity has greatly increased.  Unless, of course the
152525 - Contractor bid the items at or below cost, either by mistake or per
152526 - considerations at ref SDS 1 7855
152527 -
152528 -
152529 -
1526 -

SUBJECTS
Orientation, Welch Contract; Communication Metrics
Collaboration/Coordination/Expedite
Inspector's Daily Reports
Resident Engineer SDS Orientation, Leonard SoHoo

200601 -  ..
2007 -
2008 -
2009 - 1021 visited with Leonard SooHoo
2010 -
201001 - Tom Benero introduced Leonard, who is the Resident Engineer, and
201002 - Assistant Contracting Officer, reporting to Max, and to Tom.
201003 -
201004 - Tom asked me to explain my particiption at weekly progress meetings
201005 - for the Oakland Harbor project, beginning tomorrow, per Max's request
201006 - on 960924. ref SDS 4 4454
201007 -
201008 - I gave a brief explanation of supporting Max's Assistant Chief, Tom
201009 - Keesling, in evaluating contract claims.  My job at project meetings
201010 - is to capture the record of understandings relative to prior
201011 - statements, contract requirements, and correspondence.  In the meeting
201012 - on 960920, Max called these "hiccups." ref SDS 2 8854
201013 -
201014 -      [On 961003 meeting with Marc McGovern, ref SDS 12 0001, and
201015 -
201016 -      [On 961004 met with Max to advise of having accomplished SDS
201017 -      orientation meetings. ref SDS 13 0001
201018 -
201019 -      [On 961008 met again with Leonard SoHoo at his office in
201020 -      Sausalito, ref SDS 15 0001
201021 -
201022 - I showed Leonard a quick overview of SDS, which was open on my
201023 - notebook computer, which I was using to set up SDS on Tom Keesling's
201024 - computer. ref SDS 9 KK8M
201025 - ..
201026 - Leonard feels the SDS program could be helpful for COE
201027 - inspectors to capture the record and link the work performed to
201028 - applicable contract provisions, and to other commitments.  He said COE
201029 - procedures call for this, but it is hard to do,
201030 -
201031 - USACE's experience that good management practices are not actually
201032 - implemented, aligns with the report on 951004 that ISO calls for
201033 - tracability to original sources, but nobody does it, because everybody
201034 - is too busy with problems caused by failure to maintain the record.
201035 - SDS solves the problem, by reducing the time required to capture and
201036 - organize the record. Another part of the answer is providing skills of
201037 - a Com Manager to create a useful record that does not cause people to
201038 - worry about accountability.
201039 -
201040 -     [On 971001 Tom Benero recommended in a meeting with COE Oakland
201041 -     Project team, that SDS be used to capture "lessons learned" for
201042 -     the duration of the project. ref SDS 10 7222
201043 -
201044 - Leonard asked me to visit the Project Engineer, Tom White, at the
201045 - Oakland Harbor Project office and demonstrate SDS capabilities.  He
201046 - will let Tom know that SDS looks like it can support Tom's management
201047 - of the project.
201048 -
201049 -     [On 961001 met with Tom White explained Com Metrics assignment.
201050 -     ref SDS 11 0001
201051 -
201052 -     [On 961003 met with Tom White, demonstration of SDS was deferred
201053 -     to another time; reviewed need for improving management.
201054 -     ref SDS 14 HU5J
201055 -
201056 -
201057 -
201058 -
201059 -
201060 -
201061 -
201062 -
201063 -