061 - Owner's Consultants: Know Where Your Liability Ends

Owner's consultants vs architect's consultants: know the difference before the ARE tests you on it. In this episode, we break down who hires who on a construction project, where the liability falls, and why getting this wrong can cost you your career.

Every project has two teams of consultants. The architect's team designs what's going to be there. The owner's consultants deal with what's already there, the land, the soil, the surveys, the environmental hazards. That distinction sounds simple, but the liability implications run deep.

We break down the existing versus proposed framework, the hard rules about never hiring a geotechnical engineer or surveyor as the architect, and the difference between basic coordination and supplemental coordination services. We also cover why "coordinate" and "manage" mean very different things in contract language, and how AIA B101 handles reasonable reliance on owner-provided information.

📝 Key Topics Covered:

• Owner's consultants vs architect's consultants

• The existing vs proposed framework for identifying consultant responsibility

• Why architects should never hire the geotech, surveyor, or hazmat consultant

• Basic coordination vs supplemental coordination

• The coordinate vs manage vocabulary distinction

• AIA B101 reasonable reliance on owner-provided information

• Professional liability insurance exclusions for ground conditions

• How this shows up on PcM, PjM, and CE exams

⏱️ Chapters:

(0:00) Introduction

(2:47) Two Types of Consultants

(17:24) Owner's Responsibility for Existing Conditions

(20:33) How This Shows Up on the Exam

(22:41) Wrap-Up

📖 Read the full blog post and show notes: Owner's Consultants: Know Where Your Liability Ends

📝 Download the free study notes: Free Owner's Consultants Study Notes

🎯 ARE Boot Camp (10-Week Coaching Program)

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📚 Individual ARE Exam Courses:

• AIA Contracts 101

• PcM 101 (Practice Management)

• PjM 101 (Project Management)

• CE 101 (Construction and Evaluation)

• PA 101 (Programming and Analysis)

• PPD 101 (Project Planning and Design)

• PDD 101 (Construction Documents and Specs)

• Building Codes 101

• Mechanical Systems 101

• CDT 101 (Construction Documents Technologist)

• CCCA 101 (Construction Contract Administration)