The joint between a cast-in-place wall and a cast-in-place roof slab contains a waterstop for a sub-grade structure. While installing roof beams, the waterstop became dislodged from the already-placed wall. A non- conformance report was issued. The engineer of record's repair detail showed to cut and remove the dislodged waterstop sections. The authority/agency re-approved the detail as the waterstop is part of a secondary waterproofing system and the primary system was deemed sufficient. The contractor did not comply with the detail and placed the concrete roof slab over the dislodged material. In this scenario, which of the following options represents the BEST course of action?
Correct Answer: A
PerCMAA Standards of Practice (Chapter 5 - Quality Management and Chapter 6 - Contract Administration), when non-conforming work is discovered and the contractor fails to comply with approved corrective instructions, the appropriate procedure is for thecontractor to submit a proposed corrective action or repair detailfor review and approval by theengineer of recordand theowner. The SOP emphasizes: "The contractor is responsible for proposing a corrective action for nonconforming work. The CM shall ensure the proposal is reviewed and approved by the design professional and owner prior to implementation." Accepting the condition as-is (Option C) would be improper without formal approval, and unilateral removal or demolition (Options B or D) should only occur after the approved corrective process is completed. References (CMAA Construction Manager Documents / Study Guide): CMAA Construction Management Standards of Practice, 2010 Edition, Chapter 5 - Quality Management, Section "Nonconforming Work and Corrective Action." CMAA CM Study Guide, Quality Management Domain, Objective 5.4: "Coordinate the review and approval of corrective actions for nonconforming work."
Construction-Manager Exam Question 27
The CM is tasked with analyzing the schedule variance of a project on a regular basis. The contractor's recent payment application includes a dramatic increase in earned hours than what was budgeted for the project. This MOST likely indicates
Correct Answer: D
In earned value or earned hours analysis, "earned hours" represent how much work hasactuallybeen completed (in units of schedule effort) compared to what was budgeted over time. If a contractor claims a significantly higher number of earned hours than budget expected at that point, that discrepancy often indicatesthe contractor is catching up for prior slippageorback-loading progressand may be masking a delay. In other words, the project is likely behind schedule: the contractor is accelerating or shifting resources to show a jump in performance, sometimes to avoid triggering delay claims or escalating scrutiny. While CMAA's formal SOP does not provide a one-sentence treatment of this particular scenario, standard earned value (EV) and schedule variance (SV) theory (used in CMAA's time management domain) supports that an unexpected inflation in earned hours relative to budget can signal a retrospective correction for lagging progress, rather than true ahead-of-schedule condition.
Construction-Manager Exam Question 28
A CM is managing a rebranding program that includes 120 stores with a contract value of $1,200,000. The program schedule plans the completion of 10 stores per month for a total of 12 months. At the end of month 10, the CM receives an application for payment indicating completion of 100 stores and a cumulative earned value of $1.1 million. Which statement most accurately portrays program status?
Correct Answer: C
Per theCMAA Cost and Time Managementprinciples, progress evaluation is based onearned valuerelative to planned progress. Planned progress at month 10 = 10 stores/month × 10 months =100 stores planned. Actual progress =100 stores completed, representing 10/12 (#83%) of total scope. Thus, the project ison schedule by units completed, but the total duration is 12 months, and the total value earned is $1.1M of $1.2M =91.7% of total cost value, which proportionally exceeds the planned percentage for 10/12 months (#83%). Therefore, while the progress in number of stores matches schedule, theearned value ($1.1M)exceeds the proportional planned value, which can indicate front-loading or over-reported cost progress. Since month 10 implies two months remaining (20 stores left), to stay on plan they should be at approximately $1.0M earned value. The pay application exceeds this. However, given the full comparison,the schedule is behind overall program completion(as 100/120 stores = 83%), but thepayment reflects that same completion percentage accurately, not inflated. Thus, optionC ("Behind schedule, pay application accurately reflects percentage complete") is the correct interpretation. References (CMAA Documents): CMAA Construction Management Standards of Practice, Chapter 3 - Cost Management and Chapter 4 - Time Management. CMAA CM Study Guide, Cost Management Domain, Objective 3.4: "Evaluate project cost and earned value."
