Types of Construction Contracts

工程承包合同的类型

 While construction contracts serve as a means of pricing construction, they also structure the allocation of risk to the various parties involved. 工程承包合同作为工程定价工具的同时，还规定了风险在参与各方之间的分配。   The owner has the sole power to decide what type of contract should be used for a specific facility to be constructed and to set forth the terms in a contractual agreement. 业主拥有单独的权利决定应该为建设一个特定的工程而采用哪种合同形式，并在合同中用条款阐明。   It is important to understand the risks of the contractors associated with different types of construction contracts. 掌握各种不同合同形式中承包商的风险是非常重要的。

 􀁺 Lump Sum Contract. 总价合同。

 In a lump sum contract, the owner has essentially assigned all the risk to the contractor, who in turn can be expected to ask for a higher markup in order to take care of unforeseen contingencies. 在总价合同中，业主本质上是将所有的风险赋予了承包商，可以料想，承包商继而会寻求更大的增加值以覆盖不可预见的费用。   Beside the fixed lump sum price, other commitments are often made by the contractor in the form of submittal such as a specific schedule, the management reporting system or a quality control program. 除固定总价外，承包商通常以提供其他文件的形式做出另外的承诺，例如，某一特定的进度计划、管理报告系统或质量控制计划。   If the actual cost of the project is underestimated, the underestimated cost will reduce the contractor’s profit by that amount. 如果工程的真实费用被低估，那么被低估的费用将减少承包商的利润。   An overestimate has an opposite effect, but may reduce the chance of being a low bidder for the project. 被高估的费用具有相反的结果，但可能减小成为工程低价投标人的机会。

 􀁺 Unit Price Contract. 单价合同。

 In a unit price contract, the risk of inaccurate estimation of uncertain quantities for some key tasks has been removed from the contractor. 在单价合同中，承包商不再因某些主要分项工程量的不明确而承担估算不准确的风险。   However, some contractors may submit an “unbalanced bid” when it discovers large discrepancies between its estimates and the owner’s estimates of these quantities. 但是，一些承包商在发现自己的工程量估算与业主的估算之间存在很大差距时，可能提交“不平衡报价”。   Depending on the confidence of the contractor on its own estimates and its propensity on risk, a contractor can slightly raise the unit prices on the underestimated tasks while lowering the unit prices on other tasks. 基于对自己估算的信心以及对风险承担的态度，承包商可能在被低估数量的分项工程上略微提高相应单价，而将其他分项工程的单价降低。   If the contractor is correct in its assessment, it can increase its profit substantially since the payment is made on the actual quantities of tasks; and if the reverse is true, it can lose on this basis. 如果承包商的估算是正确的，承包商就可以增加相当的利润，因为业主的支付是根据实际工程量来确定的；如果业主的估算是对的，承包商的利润则可能据此而减少。   Furthermore, the owner may disqualify a contractor if the bid appears to be heavily unbalanced. 此外，如果投标报价过于不平衡，业主可能将该承包商排除在外。   To the extent that an underestimate or overestimate is caused by changes in the quantities of work, neither error will affect the contractor’s profit beyond the markup in the unit prices. 就由工程量变化引起的低估或高估这种情况而言，不管估算错误与否，都不会影响承包商所报单价增加值之外的利润。

 􀁺 Cost Plus Fixed Percentage Contract. 成本加固定百分比费用合同。

 For certain types of construction involving new technology or extremely pressing needs, the owner is sometimes forced to assume all risks of cost overruns. 对于一些采用新技术或有急迫需求的特定工程，业主有时候被迫承担成本超支的所有风险。   The contractor will receive the actual direct job cost plus a fixed percentage, and have little incentive to reduce job cost. 承包商将得到实际成本以及固定比例的酬金，因而没有降低工程成本的动力。   Furthermore, if there are pressing needs to complete the project, overtime payments to workers are common and will further increase the job cost. 而且，如果对工程完成时间有急迫的要求，则工人超时工作费用的支付是普遍的，这也将进一步提高工程成本。   Unless there are compelling reasons, such as the urgency in the construction of military installations, the owner should not use this type of contract. 除非有特殊的原因，例如，紧急军事工程的建造，业主不应采用这种形式的合同。

 􀁺 Cost Plus Fixed Fee Contract.<}86{>成本加固定费用合同。

 Under this type of contract, the contractor will receive the actual direct job cost plus a fixed fee, and will have some incentive to complete the job quickly since its fee is fixed regardless of the duration of the project. 在这种合同形式下，承包商将得到实际成本加上固定的酬金，并得到激励而尽快完成工程，因为不管工程历时多久，酬金是固定的。   However, the owner still assumes the risks of direct job cost overrun while the contractor may risk the erosion of its profits if the project is dragged on beyond the expected time. 但是，业主仍然要承担工程成本超支的风险，承包商则承担工程实际工期超过预计时间而导致利润减少的风险。

 􀁺 Cost Plus Variable Percentage Contract.<}86{>成本加变动比例费用合同。

 For this type of contract, the contractor agrees to a penalty if the actual cost exceeds the estimated job cost, or a reward if the actual cost is below the estimated job cost. 对于这种合同形式，承包商同意在实际成本超过估算成本时接受处罚，或者在实际成本低于估算成本时获得奖励。   In return for taking the risk on its own estimate, the contractor is allowed a variable percentage of the direct job-cost for its fee. 作为承担自己估算成本风险的回报，承包商被允许以直接成本的变动比例作为报酬。   Furthermore, the project duration is usually specified and the contractor must abide by the deadline for completion. 此外，项目工期通常是明确规定的，承包商必须按期限完成工程。   This type of contract allocates considerable risk for cost overruns to the owner, but also provides incentives to contractors to reduce costs as much as possible. 这类合同将相当的成本超支风险分配给业主，但也给予承包商激励，尽可能地降低成本。

 􀁺 Target Estimate Contract. 目标估算合同。

 This is another form of contract which specifies a penalty or reward to a contractor, depending on whether the actual cost is greater than or less than the contractor’s estimated direct job cost. 这是根据实际成本高于或低于承包商估算的直接成本而给予承包商惩罚或奖励的另一种合同形式。   Usually, the percentages of savings or overrun to be shared by the owner and the contractor are predetermined and the project duration is specified in the contract. 通常，由业主和承包商分担节约或超支部分的比例事先约定，项目工期在合同中明确规定。   Bonuses or penalties may be stipulated for different project completion dates. 奖金或罚金根据不同的工程完成日期来确定。

 􀁺 Guaranteed Maximum Cost Contract. 保证最大成本合同。

 When the project scope is well defined, an owner may choose to ask the contractor to take all the risks, both in terms of actual project cost and project time. 当工程范围清楚定义后，业主可能选择要求承包商承担所有的风险，既包括实际工程成本，也包括工期。   Any work change orders from the owner must be extremely minor if at all, since performance specifications are provided to the owner at the outset of construction. 任何来自业主方的工程变更想必十分微小，因为项目的功能说明在施工开始前就提供给业主。   The owner and the contractor agree to a project cost guaranteed by the contractor as maximum. 业主和承包商同意由承包商保证的一个工程成本值作为最大值。   There may be or may not be additional provisions to share any savings if any in the contract. 在合同中可能有也可能没有附加条款来分享可能的节约额。   This type of contract is particularly suitable for turnkey operation. 这种合同形式特别适合于交钥匙工程。

 Principles of Competitive Bidding 竞争性投标的原则

 Competitive bidding on construction projects involves decision making under uncertainty where one of the greatest sources of the uncertainty for each bidder is due to the unpredictable nature of his competitors. 建设工程的竞争性投标包括在不确定的情况下进行决策，对每一个投标人而言这种不确定的根源之一在于竞争者的不可预知性。   Each bid submitted for a particular job by a contractor will be determined by a large number of factors, including an estimate of the direct job cost, the general overhead, the confidence that the management has in this estimate, and the immediate and long-range objectives of management. 承包商为某一特定工程提交的投标将取决于很多因素，包括直接成本的估算、总管理费用、管理者对这一估算的信心以及短期和长期的管理目标。   So many factors are involved that it is impossible for a particular bidder to attempt to predict exactly what the bids submitted by its competitors will be. 如此之多的因素，使得一个特定的投标人试图准确预测竞争者的投标是不可能的。  

 It is useful to think of a bid as being made up of two basic elements: 将投标分为两个基本组成要素是有用的：

 (1) the estimate of direct job cost, which includes direct labor costs, material cost, equipment costs, and direct filed supervision. (1) 直接成本的估算，包括直接人工费、材料费、机械费和直接现场管理费。

 (2) the markup or return, which must be sufficient to cover a portion of general overhead costs and allow a fair profit on the investment. (2) 增加值或回报，其必须足以覆盖总管理费部分，以及获得相当的投资利润。

 A large return can be assured simply by including a sufficiently high markup. 只要简单地添加一个足够高的增加值，就能保证高回报。   However, the higher the markup, the less chance there will be of getting the job. 但是，增加值越高，获得工程的机会就越小。   Consequently a contractor who includes a very large markup on every bid could become bankrupt from lack of business. 因此，在每一次投标中，增加值取得非常大的承包商会因接不到工程而破产。

 Conversely, the strategy of bidding with very little markup in order to obtain high volume is also likely to lead to bankruptcy. 相反，为了获得大量工程而采用低增加值投标策略的承包商也可能导致破产。   Somewhere in between the two extreme approaches to bidding lies an “optimum markup” which considers both the return and the likelihood of being low bidder in such a way that, over the long run, the average return maximized. 在两种极端投标方法中，存在一个“最优增加值”，它既考虑回报，也考虑成为低价投标人的可能性，从长远来看，采用这种方法的平均回报最大。

 From all indications, most contractors confront uncertain bidding conditions by exercising a high degree of subjective judgment, and each contractor may give different weights to various factors. 所以现象表明，大多数承包商面对不确定的投标条件，在很大程度上采用主观的判断来应对，每个承包商可能对不同的因素给予不同的权重。   The decision on the bid price, if a bid is indeed submitted, reflects the contractor’s best judgment on how well the proposed project fits into the overall strategy for the survival and growth of the company, as well as the contractor’s propensity to risk greater profit versus the chance of not getting a contract. 如果投标真正提交，投标价格的决策就反映了承包商如何使拟定的计划适合公司生存和发展的整体战略，以及反映承包商对待取得较大利润与失去合同机会这一风险的态度。

 One major concern in bidding competitions is the amount of “money left on the table” of the difference between the winning and the next best bid. 关于投标竞争的一个主要问题是“桌面上剩下的钱”为多少，获胜与次最佳投标之间的相差值是多少。   The winning bidder would like the amount of “money left on the table” to be as small as possible. 获胜的投标人希望“桌面上剩下的钱”越少越好。   For example, if a contractor wins with a bid of $200 000, and the next lowest bid was $225 000 (representing $25 000 of “money left on the table”), then the winning contractor would have preferred to have bid $220 000 (or perhaps $224 999) to increase potential profits. 比如，如果一个承包商以200 000 美元的投标价获胜，而次低的投标价为225 000 美元（意味着“桌面上剩下的钱”是25 000 美元），那么获胜的承包商就希望自己最好以220 000 美元（也可能是224 999美元）投标，以增加潜在的利润。

 Some of the major factors impacting bidding competitions include: 影响投标竞争的主要因素包括如下几个。

 􀁺 Exogenous Economic Factors. 外部经济因素。

 Contractors generally tend to specialize in a submarket of construction and concentrate their work in particular geographic locations. 承包商一般倾向于专注某一专业工程的承包市场以及将他们承包工程的范围集中于特定的区域。   The level of demand in a submarket at a particular time can influence the number of bidders and their bid prices. 在一特定时间，市场的需求水平可以影响投标人的数量和投标价格。   When work is scarce in the submarket, the average number of bidders for projects will be larger than at times of plenty. 当承包市场上的工程稀少时，工程投标人的平均数目将比工程多的时候大。   The net result of scarcity is likely to be the increase in the number of bidders per project and downward pressure on the bid price for each project in the submarket. 工程稀少的最终结果可能导致承包市场上参加每一工程投标的人数增加，工程投标价格面临向下的压力。   At times of severe scarcity, some contractors may cross the line between segments to expand their activities, or move into new geographic locations to get a larger share of the existing submarket. 当工程严重稀少时，一些承包商可能会越过专业界线以扩展自己的活动范围，或者迁移到一个新的地区谋求获得已有承包市场上的更大份额。   Either action will increase the risks incurred by such contractors as they move into less familiar segments or territories. 任何一个这样的行动，都会增加承包商的风险，因为他们是进入一个不熟悉的专业领域或地区。   The trend of market demand in construction and of the economy at large may also influence the bidding decisions of a contractor in other ways. 工程的市场需求趋势和经济的变化趋势也可能以另一种方式影响承包商的投标决策。   If a contractor perceives drastic increases in labor wages and material prices as a result of recent labor contract settlements, it may take into consideration possible increases in unit prices for determining the direct project cost. 如果承包商感到按目前签订的人工合同的结果，工人工资和材料价格会大幅度提高，则其在确定直接成本时可能考虑适当提高单价。   Furthermore, the perceptions of increase in inflation rates and interest rates may also cause the contractor to use a higher markup to hedge the uncertainty. 此外，如果预感通货膨胀率和利率会提高，也可能会引起承包商采用较高的增加值来规避不确定性。   Consequently, at times of economic expansion and/or higher inflation rate, contractors are reluctant to commit themselves to long-term fixed price contracts. 因此，当在经济膨胀和/或通货膨胀率较高时，承包商不愿意签订工期较长的固定价格合同。

 􀁺 Characteristics of Bidding Competition. 投标竞争的特征。

 All other things being equal, the probability of winning a contract diminishes as more bidders participate in the competition. 与所有其他情形一样，如果有许多人参加竞争，赢得合同的可能性就会减小。   Consequently, a contractor tries to find out as much information as possible about the number and identities of potential bidders on a specific project. 因此，承包商总是试图获得尽可能多的有关某一特定工程潜在投标人数目和投标人特点的信息。   Such information is often available in the Dodge Bulletin [Dodge Bulletin (daily publication), F. W. Dodge Corp., New York, N.Y.] or similar publications which provide data of potential projects and names of contractors who have taken out plans and specifications. 这种信息常常可以在Dodge 报告(Dodge 报告（每日出版），F. W. Dodge 公司，纽约)中获取，或是从提供拟招标工程的数据和已经取得计划和说明书的承包商的名单的类似出版物中得到。   For certain segments, potential competitors may be identified through private contacts, and bidders often confront the same competitor’s project after project since they have similar capabilities and interests in undertaking the same type of work, including size, complexity and geographical location of the projects. 对于某些特殊的专业，潜在竞争者的情况可能通过秘密方法确定，投标人经常在一个接一个的工程上与相同竞争者相遇，因为他们对承担同一类型的工程，包括规模、复杂性以及地理位置都有相同的能力和兴趣。   A general contractor may also obtain information of potential subcontractors from publications such as Credit Reports (Credit Reports, Building Construction Division, and Bradstreet, Inc., New York, N.Y.) published by Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. However, most contractors form an extensive network with a group of subcontractors with whom they have had previous business transactions. 总承包商也可以从由Dun & Bradstreet 公司出版的Credit报告(Credit报告，Building Construction Division ，Bradstreet 公司，纽约)这样的出版物中得到潜在分包商的信息。但是，大部分总承包商是通过与以前有过交易的分包商群建立的广泛网络，从中获取潜在分包商的信息的。   They usually rely on their own experience in soliciting subcontract bids before finalizing a bid price for the project. 在最后确定工程投标价格之前，他们通常是根据自己的经验来选择分包商的。

 􀁺 Objectives of General Contractors in Bidding. 投标中总承包商的目标。

 The bidding strategy of some contractors is influenced by a policy of minimum percentage markup for general overhead and profit. 一些承包商的投标战略受增加值比例最小这样的投标方针的影响，以此获得总管理费和利润。   However, the percentage markup may also reflect additional factors stipulated by the owner such as high retention and slow payments for completed work, or perceptions of uncontrollable factors in the economy. 但是，增加值比例也可能反映业主规定的其他因素，例如，承包商对已完工工程较高的保管率及其业主缓慢的支付，或对经济中不可控制因素的预计。   The intensity of a contractor’s efforts in bidding a specific project is influenced by the contractor’s desire to obtain additional work. 对投标某一特定工程的努力程度，受承包商对获得更多工程渴望程度的影响。   The winning of a particular project may be potentially important to the overall mix of work in progress or the cash flow implications for the contractor. 对于承包商来说，获得某一特定工程对所有进行中的工程或在隐含的现金流方面可能具有潜在的重要性。   The contractor’s decision is also influenced by the availability of key personnel in the contractor organization. 承包商的决策还受到能否从承包商自己的组织中获得关键人员的影响。   The company sometimes wants to reserve its resources for future projects, or commits itself to the current opportunity for different reasons. 公司有时候需要为将来的工程储备资源，或由于其他不同的原因而集中关注于目前的机会。

 􀁺 Contractor’s Comparative Advantages. 承包商的比较优势。

 A final important consideration in forming bid prices on the part of contractors is the possible special advantages enjoyed by a particular firm. 承包商在确定投标报价时考虑的最重要的因素是来自公司可能的特殊优势。   As a result of lower costs, a particular contractor may be able to impose a higher profit markup yet still have a lower total bid than competitors. 作为低成本的结果，某一承包商就可能加上一个有较高利润的增加值而使总的投标价格仍比其他竞争者低。   These lower costs may result from superior technology, greater experience, better management, better personnel or lower unit costs. 这些更低的成本可能来自于先进的技术、丰富的经验、优秀的管理、出色的员工或者较低的单位成本。   A comparative cost advantage is the most desirable of all circumstances in entering a bid competition. 比较成本优势是参与投标竞争时在所有的措施中最有价值的。