Construction Management at Risk and Agency CM
5 minutes
5 Questions
In the PMI-CP framework, the choice of delivery method shapes how risk is allocated, how contracts are structured, and how stakeholders relate to each other across the contract lifecycle. Construction Management at Risk (CMAR) and Agency Construction Management (Agency CM) both bring a construction manager in early, but they differ in risk exposure and contractual role. CMAR: The owner holds separate contracts with a designer and a construction manager. The CM joins during design and provides preconstruction services such as constructability reviews, value engineering, cost estimating, scheduling, and phasing. Once the design is sufficiently developed, the CM negotiates a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) and effectively becomes the general contractor. From that point, the CM holds the trade contracts directly and absorbs cost overruns above the GMP, except for owner-directed scope changes. These contracts typically use cost-plus-fee with a GMP, contingency provisions, and shared-savings clauses. Benefits include early contractor input, fast-tracking, cost certainty before design is complete, and fewer adversarial claims. Challenges include difficult GMP negotiations, a potential conflict of interest as the CM shifts from advisor to at-risk contractor, and the need for transparent open-book accounting. Agency CM: The CM acts purely as the owner's advisor and representative, usually for a professional fee, and does not guarantee cost or schedule. The owner contracts directly with the trade or prime contractors and keeps the construction risk. Acting in a fiduciary capacity, the CM manages procurement, coordination, scheduling, cost control, quality oversight, and change management on the owner's behalf. Benefits include unbiased advice and greater owner control. Drawbacks include higher owner risk, a heavier administrative burden, and the need to coordinate multiple contracts. For PMI-CP practitioners, the key distinction is risk transfer. CMAR shifts cost risk to the CM through the GMP, while Agency CM leaves that risk with the owner. The right choice depends on the owner's capability, risk appetite, schedule pressure, and applicable procurement regulations.
Construction Management at Risk (CMAR) and Agency CM: A Complete Guide for the PMI-CP Exam
Introduction
Construction Management at Risk (CMAR) and Agency Construction Management (Agency CM, also called CM-Advisor or CM-for-Fee) are two of the most frequently tested project delivery methods in the Contract Lifecycle and Delivery Methods domain of the PMI Construction Professional (PMI-CP) certification.
Both methods bring a construction manager onto the owner's team early, usually during design. They differ sharply in three areas:
• who holds the trade contracts
• who carries the cost and schedule risk
• what fiduciary duty the construction manager owes the owner
Understanding these differences lets you recommend the right method for a scenario, predict where disputes will arise, and pick the best answer on situational exam questions.
Why It Is Important
• Risk allocation drives project success. The delivery method decides who absorbs cost overruns, schedule slippage, design errors and subcontractor default. Choosing the wrong method can expose an owner to risks they cannot manage.
• Early contractor involvement reduces rework. Both CMAR and Agency CM add constructability reviews, value engineering, cost estimating and scheduling input during design. This lowers change orders and claims later.
• Owner sophistication matters. Agency CM suits owners who want control and can carry risk. CMAR suits owners who want a single contractual point of responsibility for construction plus a price cap.
• Public procurement rules. Many public agencies must justify alternative delivery methods. Knowing when CMAR is preferable to Design-Bid-Build (DBB) or Design-Build (DB) is a core competency.
• Exam weighting. PMI-CP questions often give a scenario and ask which method fits, who bears a specific risk, or what the CM should do next. These questions test reasoning, not memorization.
What Is Construction Management at Risk (CMAR)?
CMAR is a delivery method in which the owner holds two separate contracts:
• one with the designer (architect/engineer)
• one with the construction manager
The construction manager performs two roles in sequence:
1. Preconstruction phase: The CM acts as a consultant during design. It provides estimates, constructability reviews, value engineering, phasing plans, schedules and market input. It is paid a preconstruction fee.
2. Construction phase: At an agreed point, usually when design is 60 to 90 percent complete, the CM commits to a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP). It then becomes, in effect, the general contractor. It holds the trade contracts, takes responsibility for the means and methods of construction, and bears the risk of cost overruns above the GMP (excluding owner-directed scope changes).
Key characteristics of CMAR:
• Selection basis: Usually qualifications-based, or best value (qualifications plus fee and general conditions). It is not low bid on full construction cost.
• Pricing: Cost of the Work plus a CM fee, capped by the GMP. Typical components are direct costs, general conditions, the CM fee, contingencies and allowances.
• Contingencies:
• The CM contingency sits inside the GMP and covers estimating gaps, buyout risk and design-development items.
• The owner contingency sits outside the GMP and covers scope changes and unforeseen conditions.
• Savings: Unused funds below the GMP are often returned to the owner or split under a shared savings clause.
• Transparency: Open-book accounting. The owner has audit rights.
• Relationship shift: During preconstruction the CM's interests closely align with the owner's. After the GMP is signed, the relationship becomes more commercial, because the CM now carries financial risk.
• Design responsibility: The owner still warrants the design to the CM (the Spearin doctrine principle). Design errors remain an owner risk, which differs from Design-Build.
• Standard forms: AIA A133/A201, ConsensusDocs 500, and in some regions the CMAA or EJCDC equivalents.
What Is Agency CM?
In Agency CM, the construction manager acts purely as the owner's agent and professional advisor.
• The CM does not hold trade contracts and does not guarantee cost or schedule.
• The owner contracts directly with the designer and with the contractors, often multiple prime contractors.
• The CM manages, coordinates and advises on the owner's behalf.
Key characteristics of Agency CM:
• Fiduciary duty: The CM owes the owner a duty of loyalty and must act in the owner's best interest throughout the project.
• Compensation: A professional services fee (lump sum, percentage or hourly). It is not tied to construction cost savings or overruns.
• Risk: The owner keeps the cost, schedule and coordination risk. The CM is liable only for professional negligence, meaning failure to meet the standard of care.
• Scope of services: Planning, design review, estimating, procurement strategy, bid packaging, contract administration, schedule and cost control, quality oversight, safety program oversight, claims avoidance, and closeout.
• Contracting structure: The owner signs every construction contract. Multiple-prime arrangements are common, which raises the owner's coordination burden. The CM helps manage that burden but does not assume it.
• Standard forms: AIA B132/C132 and CMAA A-1, along with the related CMAA owner-contractor and owner-CM forms.
How It Works: Step-by-Step Comparison
CMAR Lifecycle
1. Owner hires the designer.
2. Owner selects the CMAR early, using a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP) that ask for qualifications, preconstruction fee, CM fee percentage and general conditions.
3. Preconstruction: the CM provides estimates at schematic design, design development and construction documents stages. It also performs constructability and value engineering reviews and handles early procurement of long-lead items.
4. GMP negotiation: the CM submits the GMP with its assumptions, clarifications, allowances and contingency. The owner accepts it, negotiates it, or in some contracts rejects it and bids the work out.
5. Buyout: the CM competitively bids trade packages, often with owner involvement, and awards the subcontracts.
6. Construction: the CM performs and manages the work at its own risk up to the GMP.
7. Closeout: final accounting, reconciliation of contingencies, and distribution of any savings.
Agency CM Lifecycle
1. Owner hires the Agency CM, often before or alongside the designer.
2. The CM advises on the delivery strategy, budget, master schedule and packaging.
3. The CM reviews the design for constructability, cost and schedule.
4. The CM prepares bid packages. The owner advertises the work and awards contracts directly to prime contractors.
5. During construction, the CM coordinates the primes, monitors quality and safety, processes pay applications, reviews change orders and recommends actions. The owner makes the final decisions and signs.
6. Closeout: the CM manages punch lists, commissioning support, as-builts and final payment recommendations.
Side-by-Side Summary
• Trade contracts held by: CMAR = CM | Agency CM = Owner
• Cost risk: CMAR = CM up to the GMP | Agency CM = Owner
• Relationship: CMAR = advisor during preconstruction, then contractor | Agency CM = advisor and agent throughout
• Fiduciary duty: CMAR = limited or debated, strongest during preconstruction | Agency CM = full, throughout
• Price certainty: CMAR = high once the GMP is set | Agency CM = low until all bids are received
• Owner involvement: CMAR = moderate | Agency CM = high
• Fast-tracking: Both support it. CMAR does so through early GMP or phased GMPs. Agency CM does so through multiple bid packages.
• Bonding: CMAR = the CM provides performance and payment bonds | Agency CM = each prime contractor bonds its own work
Advantages and Disadvantages
CMAR advantages:
• Early cost certainty
• A single point of responsibility for construction
• Collaborative preconstruction
• Fast-tracking is possible
• Qualifications-based selection
• Open-book transparency
CMAR disadvantages:
• A GMP set on incomplete design can lead to contingency disputes.
• Arguments arise over whether an item is a scope change or design development.
• A potential conflict of interest exists after the GMP, since the CM now profits from the work.
• The owner still carries design risk.
Agency CM advantages:
• Independent, unbiased advice
• Maximum owner control
• Competitive bidding of every package
• Useful for owners who lack in-house expertise but want to keep control
Agency CM disadvantages:
• The owner keeps all cost and schedule risk.
• Coordinating multiple primes increases the potential for claims.
• There is no price guarantee.
• Owner administration effort is higher.
When to Use Each
• Choose CMAR when:
• the project is complex, such as a renovation, an occupied facility, a hospital or a phased project
• the owner wants early contractor input plus a price cap
• the schedule is aggressive
• the owner wants to keep control of design through a separate designer contract
• Choose Agency CM when:
• the owner is sophisticated and risk-tolerant
• the owner wants independent oversight
• public rules require competitive bidding of all construction work
• the program is a large multi-prime effort
• the owner wants an advocate rather than a contractor
Common Exam Traps
• Confusing who holds subcontracts. In CMAR the CM holds them. In Agency CM the owner holds every construction contract.
• Assuming the GMP means fixed price. A GMP is a ceiling. The owner pays the actual cost plus fee up to that ceiling, and savings may return to the owner.
• Thinking CMAR shifts design risk. It does not. The owner still warrants the design to the CM. Only Design-Build transfers design responsibility to the contractor.
• Believing Agency CM guarantees outcomes. The agent is liable only for negligence in performing its services.
• Mixing up contingencies. The CM contingency inside the GMP is not the same as the owner contingency held outside it.
• Overlooking the timing of the GMP. A GMP set too early carries more contingency. A GMP set too late reduces the value of fast-tracking.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Construction Management at Risk and Agency CM
1. Identify the risk-bearer first. Ask, "Who signs the trade contracts?" If the CM does, it is CMAR. If the owner does, it is Agency CM. Most questions resolve from this one fact.
2. Look for keywords.
• GMP, at-risk, holds subcontracts, open book, shared savings point to CMAR.
• Fiduciary, agent, advisor, multiple primes, fee-only, owner retains risk point to Agency CM.
3. Match the method to the owner profile.
• A risk-averse owner who wants price certainty and early input points to CMAR.
• An owner who wants control, independent advice and competitive bids on everything points to Agency CM.
4. Watch the phase. In CMAR the CM's role changes at GMP execution. Before the GMP, think advisor. After the GMP, think contractor with commercial interests.
5. On change order questions in CMAR, separate the cause:
• Owner scope changes adjust the GMP.
• Design development items within the GMP assumptions are covered by the CM contingency.
• CM errors in buyout or estimating are the CM's risk.
6. On Agency CM questions about failures, remember that the CM recommends and the owner decides. For a contractor dispute, the correct answer usually has the CM documenting, analyzing and advising the owner. The CM does not directly bind the owner unless it has been given that authority.
7. Prefer collaborative, proactive answers. PMI-style questions reward early risk identification, transparent communication, documented assumptions (for example, GMP clarifications) and following the contract's change-management process over unilateral action.
8. Eliminate Design-Build distractors. If an option says the CM is responsible for design errors, it is describing Design-Build, not CMAR or Agency CM.
9. Remember selection methods. Both CMAR and Agency CM use qualifications-based or best-value selection. Low-bid-only selection is characteristic of DBB general contractors and the prime contractors in Agency CM.
10. Consider the lifecycle. Questions may ask about the best time to bring the CM on board. The answer is early, during planning or schematic design, to maximize the value of preconstruction services.
11. Read for the ethical angle. If an Agency CM is offered incentives by a contractor, or a CMAR wants to self-perform work without competitive pricing, the right answer protects the owner's interest and follows the transparency and audit provisions.
Quick Practice Scenario
An owner hired a CM who provided estimates during design and then signed a GMP at 90 percent construction documents. During construction, a subcontractor defaults. Who bears the cost?
Answer: The CMAR. It holds the subcontract and carries performance risk within the GMP. It may use its contingency or a subcontractor default insurance or bond, but it cannot pass the cost to the owner as a change order.
Same default, but the CM was an Agency CM and the trade was a prime contractor to the owner. Who bears it?
Answer: The owner, recovering through the prime's performance bond. The Agency CM advises on remedies and documents the default.
Summary
CMAR and Agency CM both add construction expertise early in the project. The dividing line is risk and contractual privity.
• CMAR converts an advisor into an at-risk contractor bound by a GMP.
• Agency CM keeps the CM as a pure fiduciary agent while the owner holds every contract and all construction risk.
On the exam, anchor your answer on three questions:
• who holds the contracts
• who bears the risk
• what phase the project is in
Then choose the response that is proactive, contract-compliant and in the owner's best interest.
Construction Management at Risk (CMAR) and Agency Construction Management (Agency CM, also called CM-Advisor or CM-for-Fee) are two of the most frequently tested project delivery methods in the Contract Lifecycle and Delivery Methods domain of the PMI Construction Professional (PMI-CP) certification.
Both methods bring a construction manager onto the owner's team early, usually during design. They differ sharply in three areas:
• who holds the trade contracts
• who carries the cost and schedule risk
• what fiduciary duty the construction manager owes the owner
Understanding these differences lets you recommend the right method for a scenario, predict where disputes will arise, and pick the best answer on situational exam questions.
Why It Is Important
• Risk allocation drives project success. The delivery method decides who absorbs cost overruns, schedule slippage, design errors and subcontractor default. Choosing the wrong method can expose an owner to risks they cannot manage.
• Early contractor involvement reduces rework. Both CMAR and Agency CM add constructability reviews, value engineering, cost estimating and scheduling input during design. This lowers change orders and claims later.
• Owner sophistication matters. Agency CM suits owners who want control and can carry risk. CMAR suits owners who want a single contractual point of responsibility for construction plus a price cap.
• Public procurement rules. Many public agencies must justify alternative delivery methods. Knowing when CMAR is preferable to Design-Bid-Build (DBB) or Design-Build (DB) is a core competency.
• Exam weighting. PMI-CP questions often give a scenario and ask which method fits, who bears a specific risk, or what the CM should do next. These questions test reasoning, not memorization.
What Is Construction Management at Risk (CMAR)?
CMAR is a delivery method in which the owner holds two separate contracts:
• one with the designer (architect/engineer)
• one with the construction manager
The construction manager performs two roles in sequence:
1. Preconstruction phase: The CM acts as a consultant during design. It provides estimates, constructability reviews, value engineering, phasing plans, schedules and market input. It is paid a preconstruction fee.
2. Construction phase: At an agreed point, usually when design is 60 to 90 percent complete, the CM commits to a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP). It then becomes, in effect, the general contractor. It holds the trade contracts, takes responsibility for the means and methods of construction, and bears the risk of cost overruns above the GMP (excluding owner-directed scope changes).
Key characteristics of CMAR:
• Selection basis: Usually qualifications-based, or best value (qualifications plus fee and general conditions). It is not low bid on full construction cost.
• Pricing: Cost of the Work plus a CM fee, capped by the GMP. Typical components are direct costs, general conditions, the CM fee, contingencies and allowances.
• Contingencies:
• The CM contingency sits inside the GMP and covers estimating gaps, buyout risk and design-development items.
• The owner contingency sits outside the GMP and covers scope changes and unforeseen conditions.
• Savings: Unused funds below the GMP are often returned to the owner or split under a shared savings clause.
• Transparency: Open-book accounting. The owner has audit rights.
• Relationship shift: During preconstruction the CM's interests closely align with the owner's. After the GMP is signed, the relationship becomes more commercial, because the CM now carries financial risk.
• Design responsibility: The owner still warrants the design to the CM (the Spearin doctrine principle). Design errors remain an owner risk, which differs from Design-Build.
• Standard forms: AIA A133/A201, ConsensusDocs 500, and in some regions the CMAA or EJCDC equivalents.
What Is Agency CM?
In Agency CM, the construction manager acts purely as the owner's agent and professional advisor.
• The CM does not hold trade contracts and does not guarantee cost or schedule.
• The owner contracts directly with the designer and with the contractors, often multiple prime contractors.
• The CM manages, coordinates and advises on the owner's behalf.
Key characteristics of Agency CM:
• Fiduciary duty: The CM owes the owner a duty of loyalty and must act in the owner's best interest throughout the project.
• Compensation: A professional services fee (lump sum, percentage or hourly). It is not tied to construction cost savings or overruns.
• Risk: The owner keeps the cost, schedule and coordination risk. The CM is liable only for professional negligence, meaning failure to meet the standard of care.
• Scope of services: Planning, design review, estimating, procurement strategy, bid packaging, contract administration, schedule and cost control, quality oversight, safety program oversight, claims avoidance, and closeout.
• Contracting structure: The owner signs every construction contract. Multiple-prime arrangements are common, which raises the owner's coordination burden. The CM helps manage that burden but does not assume it.
• Standard forms: AIA B132/C132 and CMAA A-1, along with the related CMAA owner-contractor and owner-CM forms.
How It Works: Step-by-Step Comparison
CMAR Lifecycle
1. Owner hires the designer.
2. Owner selects the CMAR early, using a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP) that ask for qualifications, preconstruction fee, CM fee percentage and general conditions.
3. Preconstruction: the CM provides estimates at schematic design, design development and construction documents stages. It also performs constructability and value engineering reviews and handles early procurement of long-lead items.
4. GMP negotiation: the CM submits the GMP with its assumptions, clarifications, allowances and contingency. The owner accepts it, negotiates it, or in some contracts rejects it and bids the work out.
5. Buyout: the CM competitively bids trade packages, often with owner involvement, and awards the subcontracts.
6. Construction: the CM performs and manages the work at its own risk up to the GMP.
7. Closeout: final accounting, reconciliation of contingencies, and distribution of any savings.
Agency CM Lifecycle
1. Owner hires the Agency CM, often before or alongside the designer.
2. The CM advises on the delivery strategy, budget, master schedule and packaging.
3. The CM reviews the design for constructability, cost and schedule.
4. The CM prepares bid packages. The owner advertises the work and awards contracts directly to prime contractors.
5. During construction, the CM coordinates the primes, monitors quality and safety, processes pay applications, reviews change orders and recommends actions. The owner makes the final decisions and signs.
6. Closeout: the CM manages punch lists, commissioning support, as-builts and final payment recommendations.
Side-by-Side Summary
• Trade contracts held by: CMAR = CM | Agency CM = Owner
• Cost risk: CMAR = CM up to the GMP | Agency CM = Owner
• Relationship: CMAR = advisor during preconstruction, then contractor | Agency CM = advisor and agent throughout
• Fiduciary duty: CMAR = limited or debated, strongest during preconstruction | Agency CM = full, throughout
• Price certainty: CMAR = high once the GMP is set | Agency CM = low until all bids are received
• Owner involvement: CMAR = moderate | Agency CM = high
• Fast-tracking: Both support it. CMAR does so through early GMP or phased GMPs. Agency CM does so through multiple bid packages.
• Bonding: CMAR = the CM provides performance and payment bonds | Agency CM = each prime contractor bonds its own work
Advantages and Disadvantages
CMAR advantages:
• Early cost certainty
• A single point of responsibility for construction
• Collaborative preconstruction
• Fast-tracking is possible
• Qualifications-based selection
• Open-book transparency
CMAR disadvantages:
• A GMP set on incomplete design can lead to contingency disputes.
• Arguments arise over whether an item is a scope change or design development.
• A potential conflict of interest exists after the GMP, since the CM now profits from the work.
• The owner still carries design risk.
Agency CM advantages:
• Independent, unbiased advice
• Maximum owner control
• Competitive bidding of every package
• Useful for owners who lack in-house expertise but want to keep control
Agency CM disadvantages:
• The owner keeps all cost and schedule risk.
• Coordinating multiple primes increases the potential for claims.
• There is no price guarantee.
• Owner administration effort is higher.
When to Use Each
• Choose CMAR when:
• the project is complex, such as a renovation, an occupied facility, a hospital or a phased project
• the owner wants early contractor input plus a price cap
• the schedule is aggressive
• the owner wants to keep control of design through a separate designer contract
• Choose Agency CM when:
• the owner is sophisticated and risk-tolerant
• the owner wants independent oversight
• public rules require competitive bidding of all construction work
• the program is a large multi-prime effort
• the owner wants an advocate rather than a contractor
Common Exam Traps
• Confusing who holds subcontracts. In CMAR the CM holds them. In Agency CM the owner holds every construction contract.
• Assuming the GMP means fixed price. A GMP is a ceiling. The owner pays the actual cost plus fee up to that ceiling, and savings may return to the owner.
• Thinking CMAR shifts design risk. It does not. The owner still warrants the design to the CM. Only Design-Build transfers design responsibility to the contractor.
• Believing Agency CM guarantees outcomes. The agent is liable only for negligence in performing its services.
• Mixing up contingencies. The CM contingency inside the GMP is not the same as the owner contingency held outside it.
• Overlooking the timing of the GMP. A GMP set too early carries more contingency. A GMP set too late reduces the value of fast-tracking.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Construction Management at Risk and Agency CM
1. Identify the risk-bearer first. Ask, "Who signs the trade contracts?" If the CM does, it is CMAR. If the owner does, it is Agency CM. Most questions resolve from this one fact.
2. Look for keywords.
• GMP, at-risk, holds subcontracts, open book, shared savings point to CMAR.
• Fiduciary, agent, advisor, multiple primes, fee-only, owner retains risk point to Agency CM.
3. Match the method to the owner profile.
• A risk-averse owner who wants price certainty and early input points to CMAR.
• An owner who wants control, independent advice and competitive bids on everything points to Agency CM.
4. Watch the phase. In CMAR the CM's role changes at GMP execution. Before the GMP, think advisor. After the GMP, think contractor with commercial interests.
5. On change order questions in CMAR, separate the cause:
• Owner scope changes adjust the GMP.
• Design development items within the GMP assumptions are covered by the CM contingency.
• CM errors in buyout or estimating are the CM's risk.
6. On Agency CM questions about failures, remember that the CM recommends and the owner decides. For a contractor dispute, the correct answer usually has the CM documenting, analyzing and advising the owner. The CM does not directly bind the owner unless it has been given that authority.
7. Prefer collaborative, proactive answers. PMI-style questions reward early risk identification, transparent communication, documented assumptions (for example, GMP clarifications) and following the contract's change-management process over unilateral action.
8. Eliminate Design-Build distractors. If an option says the CM is responsible for design errors, it is describing Design-Build, not CMAR or Agency CM.
9. Remember selection methods. Both CMAR and Agency CM use qualifications-based or best-value selection. Low-bid-only selection is characteristic of DBB general contractors and the prime contractors in Agency CM.
10. Consider the lifecycle. Questions may ask about the best time to bring the CM on board. The answer is early, during planning or schematic design, to maximize the value of preconstruction services.
11. Read for the ethical angle. If an Agency CM is offered incentives by a contractor, or a CMAR wants to self-perform work without competitive pricing, the right answer protects the owner's interest and follows the transparency and audit provisions.
Quick Practice Scenario
An owner hired a CM who provided estimates during design and then signed a GMP at 90 percent construction documents. During construction, a subcontractor defaults. Who bears the cost?
Answer: The CMAR. It holds the subcontract and carries performance risk within the GMP. It may use its contingency or a subcontractor default insurance or bond, but it cannot pass the cost to the owner as a change order.
Same default, but the CM was an Agency CM and the trade was a prime contractor to the owner. Who bears it?
Answer: The owner, recovering through the prime's performance bond. The Agency CM advises on remedies and documents the default.
Summary
CMAR and Agency CM both add construction expertise early in the project. The dividing line is risk and contractual privity.
• CMAR converts an advisor into an at-risk contractor bound by a GMP.
• Agency CM keeps the CM as a pure fiduciary agent while the owner holds every contract and all construction risk.
On the exam, anchor your answer on three questions:
• who holds the contracts
• who bears the risk
• what phase the project is in
Then choose the response that is proactive, contract-compliant and in the owner's best interest.
Test mode:
PMI-CP - Construction Management at Risk and Agency CM Example Questions
Test your knowledge of Construction Management at Risk and Agency CM
Question 1
In construction management at risk, what is the primary purpose of the preconstruction services phase that precedes the guaranteed maximum price?
Question 2
An owner holds a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) agreement with a construction manager at risk (CMAR). Trade packages are bid after the GMP is set. The agreement states that if the owner requires a bidder other than the CMAR's recommended bidder, the GMP is adjusted by the difference in bids. The CMAR recommends the low curtain wall bidder. The owner's facilities director prefers the second bidder, whose price is $180,000 higher. Which approach BEST reflects the agreement?
Question 3
A project manager represents an owner under a construction management at risk (CMAR) agreement that is still in the preconstruction phase. Building design is at 50%, but the foundation drawings and the structural steel mill-order package are complete. The steel has a long lead time that threatens the schedule. The agreement lets the owner authorize portions of the work by amendment before the full guaranteed maximum price (GMP) is set. Which approach BEST addresses the schedule risk?
Unlock Premium Access
PMI Construction Professional (PMI-CP)
- Access to ALL Certifications: Study for any certification on our platform with one subscription
- 2667 Superior-grade PMI Construction Professional (PMI-CP) practice questions
- Unlimited practice tests across all certifications
- Detailed explanations for every question
- PMI-CP: 5 full exams plus all other certification exams
- 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Full refund within 30 days if unsatisfied
- Risk-Free: 7-day free trial with all premium features!
More Construction Management at Risk and Agency CM questions
15 questions (total)
Other Contract Lifecycle and Delivery Methods concepts
Advising Leadership on Delivery Method SelectionAlliancing and Collaborative ContractingClauses on Changes, Delays and Extensions of TimeCommunication Gaps from Contractual ArrangementsContract Administration During ExecutionContract Award and MobilizationContract Close-Out and Final AccountDesign-Bid-Build DeliveryDesign-Build and EPC DeliveryGuaranteed Maximum Price and Target CostKey Contract Clauses: Scope, Time and PaymentLean Integrated Project DeliveryLiquidated Damages, Indemnity and Liability ClausesLump Sum, Unit Price and Cost-Reimbursable PricingMulti-Party Agreements and Shared Risk and RewardProcurement and Tendering StrategyPublic-Private Partnerships and ConcessionsRisk Apportionment Across Delivery MethodsRoles and Responsibilities by Contract StructureStandard Forms of Construction ContractSubcontracting and Supply Chain ContractsSupporting Leadership Through the Contract LifecycleTermination, Suspension and Force MajeureThe Contract Lifecycle from Discovery to Close-OutThe Integrated Form of Agreement (IFOA)