Objectice 3.2 PcM Quiz Break 12 Standard of Care

Practice Management
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[ screenshot removed: PcM Quiz Break 12 ]

[ screenshot removed: PcM Video Objective 3.2 Negotiating the C401 Agreement ]

The explanation for the correct answer for this question says: We discuss the importance of aligning the standard of care clauses in your agreements in our video Negotiating the C401 Agreement (7:38). As far as I can tell there is no discussion of that topic in the video. There is a general discussion about aligning the agreements, but none with respect to the standard of care. (Also, please note that the sample C401 document in the video is mislabled as the Standard Form of Agreement Between Architect and Contractor. It should be the Standard Form of Agreement Between Architect and Consultant.)

[ screenshot removed: PcM Video Objective 1.4 Standard of Care ]

Update: I found the reference for the standard of care explanation. It is in Objective 1.4 in the video called ‘Understanding the Standard of Care’. Not in Objective 3.2 ‘Negotiating the C401 Agreement video’.

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Hi @Citrillion,

Thank you for your patience in my response. I’ve passed this along to our team for review and they will make appropriate adjustments to the study materials. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention!

FYI - I removed the screenshots from your post, as we do not allow our paid content to be shared.

Kiara Galicinao, AIA, NCARB
Product Coordinator
Black Spectacles

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@Citrillion I just heard back from our Architect Education Specialist and he let me know that in the Negotiating the C401 Agreement video (timestamp 7:38), we begin discussing how the C401 and B101 must be coordinated; you should share the B101 with the consultant so that they can see what you’ve agreed to with the owner. While we don’t specifically mention the Standard of Care, we mention that the clauses, in general, must be aligned. Therefore, this is the best reference for the question at hand in this particular video.

Hope this helps!

Kiara

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I thought this was a community within the Black Spectacles ecosystem that was only available to paid subscribers.

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It’s still confusing but I get the jist of it.

1 Like
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@Citrillion it is not. The ARE Community is accessible to any ARE candidate and is not exclusive to Black Spectacles members. More about our community rules can be found here:

If you have questions about content found in study materials (or ARE topics in general), please continue to write into the ARE Community. If you need to send screenshots, please send those to support@blackspectacles.com and reference your post so that we can assist you while still maintaining the integrity of our copyrighted material.

Kiara

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Dear Kiara,

I’m still stuck on PcM Quiz Break 12. My first question was about understanding the explanation for why the ‘standard of care’ was the right answer. Although you have explained it, and your education specialist weighed in, I still don’t quite understand it. The explanation asserts that it is important to align the standard of care in your agreements. However, the C401 contains a built-in safeguard if, perchance, the agreements do not align.

In the C401 agreement, Article 2.1 under the Consultant’s Responsibilities it says:
‘If the standard of care set forth in the Prime Agreement for the Architect’s services differs from the standard of care set forth in this Section for the Consultant’s services, the Consultant shall perform its services consistent with the standard of care in the Prime Agreement.’ So the standard of care in the Prime Agreement (B101) overrules the consultant’s standard of care in the C401, whatever that may be.

Therefore, although it is advisable, it is not crucial that the standard of care in the C401 matches the B101 exactly. This stipulation guarantees that the standard of care will align with both agreements even if one or the other contract differs.

Also, in your video ‘Negotiating the C401 Agreement’ @8:14 it says, ’ The B101 agreement will be incorporated by reference into the C401 agreement, so they are in alignment for your protection.’ This is another indication of an implicit safeguard in case they don’t.

On the other hand, in your lecture video 'Contracting with Consultants Using the C401’ @ 6:46, it says, ‘…the level of service AND the scope of work that each consultant provides NEEDS TO MATCH EXACTLY what the architect has agreed to in B101.’ which is why I chose ‘scope of work’ as my answer to this question.

However, a little further along in the same video @7:48 It says, ‘Remember, the architect agreed to design the entire project for the owner and hires consultants to complete portions of the design.’ I think this caveat is meant to distinguish ‘scope of services’ from ‘scope of work’, since ‘scope of services’ must match exactly. And, in fact this is the reasoning behind ‘scope of work’ being the wrong answer in the question. This reasoning is contradicted by the statement @6:46.

I feel like this question is unnecessarily confusing. Any insight or tips you might have on how to approach these types of questions, so that I can confidently recognize the most accurate answer in the future, would be greatly appreciated. My own reasoning does not seem to align with the expected logic of the exam.

-Michelle

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Hi Michelle - thanks again for writing in!
Even though there is that caveat about the standard of care, it’s best practice to simply align the standards of care across your owner/architect agreement and your separate agreements with your consultants. If they’re aligned, there’s no question as to what standard of care the team is required to meet. If they’re not aligned, you can fall back on the language in article 2.1, but ask yourself which situation is better:
1- the standards of care match across all agreements and there’s zero question about the standard you all are meeting.
2- the standards of care don’t match, and you/your attorney(s) have to try to convince a judge/jury/arbitrator that this safeguard in article 2.1 should govern the situation, even though the plain language of the contract states otherwise.

Hopefully scenario 2 would work out in your favor, but scenario 1 is much simpler and less costly.

As for why your answer is incorrect - each consultant’s scope of work or scope of services (the terms are often used interchangeable, though I’d prefer to use the term scope of services) will be different. The structural engineer’s scope of service is to design the structural components of the project, for example. Your scope of services is to design the project and to hire certain consultants to help you do that. As you can see, these scopes of service are different, which is why that answer choice is incorrect.

6:46 of the video ‘Contracting with Consultants using C401’ says that each consultant’s scope of work needs to match ‘what the architect agreed to in the B101’. What we mean by that is the structural engineers scope of services needs to match the project - they need to design the structure for a 10-story residential building at 123 main street, for example, not that they need to provide the same exact scope of work as the architect.

I hope that helps! I agree that this question is a bit tricky; we’re in the difficult position of trying to prepare folks for a tricky exam!! My general advice here is to recognize some favorite topics test writers like to test you on, and also to put yourself in the mind of the test writer. What are they trying to make sure you understand? Here, they’re probably not trying to see if you understand that, even if the SoCs don’t match, there’s a clause in 2.1 of C401 that you can fall back on. They’re seeing if you understand the overarching concept that the entire team needs to meet the same SoC, which is a favorite topic of ARE test writers.

Good luck on your exam and we appreciate you trying to really internalize the content!!

2 Likes
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Dear Coach Chris Hopstock,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I will try to remember your advice. Studying for this exam is filling me with a lot of self doubt.

-Michelle

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P.S.

If 'scope of services and ‘scope of work’ are interchangeable, then I revert back to my original source of confusion. Please see Black Spectacles video: Contracting with Consultants Using C401 @7:48 previously sent. It says:

  • Standard of care (2.1) needs to match the B101

  • Scope of services (3.1) needs to match the B101
    That would mean both these two answers to the quiz question are correct.

  • Scope of work

  • Standard of care
    Therefore, I do not think that ‘scope of work’ and ‘scope of services’ are interchangeable. I think scope of services refers to the project’s size, budget and schedule, while scope of work refers to the % of consultants’ work relative to the total project. ie: the plumbing engineer is responsible only for the plumbing portion of the project

P.P.S.

Please note that I see that my emails are posted in the ARE community with my attachments. I thought that our emails were private. I am using the email option at your request so that my attachments are not posted publicly. I have deleted the attachments but I was unaware that they would be posted.

-Michelle

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No worries!
Don’t doubt yourself - lots of this is confusing and always remember that you don’t need anywhere near 100% to pass these exams. Aim to pass, not for perfection.
I generally use ‘scope of services’ to refer to what each firm is doing on a project. The architect’s scope of services include the services that their consultants will perform - structural, MEP, etc.
‘Scope of Work’ is generally used to refer to the contractor’s responsibilities to construct the project.
The project’s size, budget, and schedule are generally referred to in the project’s initial information in the B101.

1 Like
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@Citrillion Sorry for the confusion. You can either privately message me through this forum with screenshots, or send them directly to support@blackspectacles.com. You can also contact our Customer Support Team by writing into the chat box at the bottom right corner of your dashboard.

Kiara