Standard of Care is an important topic to understand for Practice Management, though it may also come up on Project Management and even Project Development and Documentation. Within Practice Management you might see as many as three question related to Standard of Care.
From The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice: “the standard of care for an architect is generally defined as what a reasonably prudent architect would do in the same general locale, in the same time frame, given similar facts and circumstances.”
You may see similar definitions that all amount to what the typical architect would have done. Not the perfect architect or the best architect. Just the typical architect.
The general point, and the basic premise to remember, is that Standard of Care relates to the duty an Architect has to their clients and the general public, who may use the buildings the Architect has designed.
THE STANDARD OF STANDARD OF CARE AND NEGLIGENCE
With standard of care, perfection is not required. An Architect has to do a generally good job, similar to what any other architect might do. Every plan set is imperfect and and
Keep that in mind…perfection is not required. But, the Architect CAN, intentionally or unintentionally increase their required Standard of Care. This is generally not a good thing, and something you are likely to see on the ARE.
Two things that can increase the Architect's Standard of Care:
- Promises of specific and quantifiable results
- Doing things the Contractor should do
An example of the first item would be a contract promising a new house will reduce energy bills by 30%. That's too vague, influenced by too many factors outside of the Architect's control, easily verified by an Owner and would increase the Standard of Care.
A better way to offer something similar is to have the contract promise the Architect will design a house with insulation “above code minimum requirements.”
An example of the second thing would be if the Architect visits the construction site and orders the framing crew to use a specific method to lift and install a beam. This is something that would fall under Means and Methods, i.e. ARE and real life code word for things that are 100% the responsibility of the Contractor. If an Architect interferes with a Contractor's ability to direct The Work they have increased their Standard of Care.
SOMEWHAT RELATED PERSONAL ANECDOTE
When I was thinking of quitting my last job to begin working for myself I thought quite a bit about Standard of Care. Maybe not in this boring contractual way, but more in relation to confidence. I was concerned I didn't know enough, and would not meet the Standard of Care of what a “reasonably prudent” architect would do.
This was happening about seven months after getting licensed and about five years before I thought it would be a possibility. Having recently passed the AREs myself I knew that the standard for passing the AREs and becoming licensed was “minimal competence” and ironically that gave me some confidence, as I literally said to myself, “Ben, you are at least minimally competent, you should go for it!”
So I did. Made it more than six years so far. More on that backstory here and here.
Anyway, back to our story.
ARCHITECT'S STANDARD OF CARE AND NEGLIGENCE
Standard of Care is often discussed in relation to negligence, because it comes up when there's a lawsuit against the Architect.
A negligence claim requires four items which must be proven by the plaintiff.
Duty
The Architect actually owed something (Standard of Care) and had a responsibility to the person making the claim. This would generally be the Owner of the project, but could also be the general public if they use the building.
Breach of Duty
The duty wasn't completed. I think the duty is to meet the Standard of Care, but not 100% sure on this. Anyone knows for sure, please leave a comment!
Damages
The plaintiff actually suffered something. Could be an injury or lost revenue or lots of other stuff.
Cause
The Architect did not meet their duty (Breach of Duty) and this is what led directly to the Damages. I have seen Cause discussed as a Failure of the Standard of Care.
See the Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice article “Architects and the Law” by Donald Doeg, Esq. for more on Standard of Care and Neglicence.
EXPRESS AND IMPLIED CONTRACTS
Contracts have express terms and implied…conditions?
EXPRESS is when something is literally said, like “The design fee is $50,000” or the architect will “provide all architectural and structural drawings necessary to receive a building permit.”
That is quantifiable and usually the basis for exchange of goods and services in a contract.
There are other terms that are IMPLIED, as in they are just assumed. Things like the design will meet the building code, satisfy Zoning requirements or even just be legible and useable by the Contractor. My own contract lists some possible deliverables, but I don't have a line that says, “the drawings will be drawn at the correct scale.”
Standard of Care is an express term, mostly. See AIA B101 Section 2.2: The Architect shall perform its services consistent with the professional skill and care ordinarily provided by architects practicing in the same or similar locality under the same or similar circumstances.
Contracts should avoid clauses using terms like “best”, “highest”, “perfect” etc, because they are vague and could potentially increase the architects Standard of Care and liability.
Speaking of clauses, here's a good one: “I’m not a lawyer. Nothing in this assignment should be construed as legal advice. Consult a lawyer before signing any contracts for the performance of architectural services. – Ben from Hyperfine”
STANDARD OF CARE PRACTICE QUESTION
Ready to work on a problem?!
Copy the following list into Word and strike out any clauses or specific terms in the contract that might burden an architect with performance above the standard of care.
OWNER PROVIDED CONTRACT
Clause 1
The architect shall perform its services consistent with the highest professional skill and care provided by the top architects practicing in the same or similar locality under the same or similar circumstances. The architect shall perform its services as expeditiously as is consistent with such professional skill and care and the orderly progress of the project.
Clause 2
The architect shall guarantee that all permit drawings will be approved by the AHJ without comment in order to expedite the beginning of construction in a timely manner.
Clause 3
The architect will visit the site at weekly intervals to become perfectly familiar with the progress and quality of the work and to warrant that the work observed is being performed in exact accordance with the construction documents and the best practices of construction.
SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE TO SEE MY ANSWERS
SUGGESTED STANDARD OF CARE RESOURCES
AIA | The Standard of Care: How is it Applied?
https://www.aia.org/resource-center/standard-care-how-it-applied
Construction Risk LLC | Standard of Care for Design Professionals by J. Kent Holland, J.D.
https://www.constructionrisk.com/2015/09/standard-of-care-for-design-professionals/
YouTube | Black Spectacles | Standard of Care – Construction Documents Mock Exam – ARE Live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZJ1ro6qzlg
YouTube | Black Spectacles | Standard of Care | ARE Live – Navigating Practice Management
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSe7dQ-C4gw
The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice
https://amzn.to/3WmT82H
This book is required reading for the two Pro Practice exams, and is listed in the NCARB ARE Guidelines for all six exams.
Professional Practice: A Guide to Turning Designs into Buildings
https://amzn.to/4hgxp4s
Actual AIA Contract Documents
I always promote studying directly from the primary resources. The AIA contracts are available within your NCARB account. Look for AIA Contract Documents Examination Resources under Quick Links.
Hyperfine | PcM & PjM Study Assignments
https://hyperfinearchitecture.com/pcm
Study Assignments I made. This post about Standard of Care is taken from Week 1 – Assignment 4 of my course. View the whole curriculum right here.
PRACTICE QUESTION ANSWERS
Consider items in RED as being struck out.
CLAUSE 1
The architect shall perform its services consistent with the highest professional skill and care provided by the top architects practicing in the same or similar locality under the same or similar circumstances. The architect shall perform its services as expeditiously as is consistent with such professional skill and care and the orderly progress of the project.
This one is AIA B101-2017 Article 2.2. Go see what the real one says in place of the things I changed and struck out.
CLAUSE 2
The architect shall guarantee that all permit drawings will be approved by the AHJ without comment in order to expedite the beginning of construction in a timely manner.
This one is completely made up. You can never sign a contract for work done by someone you have zero control over, like the building department. In my local jurisdiction I present myself to clients as having a ton of knowledge of the permitting process and requirements, and that I have a good track record of getting permits in a certain amount of time, but I can't ever PROMISE a specific amount of time the building department will turn something around.
CLAUSE 3
The architect will visit the site at weekly intervals to become perfectly familiar with the progress and quality of the work and to warrant that the work observed is being performed in exact accordance with the construction documents and the best practices of construction.
This one is an edited version of AIA A201-2017 Article 4.2.2. This one might be more CE kind of stuff, but the since the contract gets signed at the beginning of the project you need to watch out for things that put you at risk of a heightened standard of care.
The weekly thing isn't entirely wrong, just make sure your fee justifies it! The rest of it, i.e. perfectly, warrant, best, etc. is vague and could increase your standard of care.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I'm not a lawyer, and neither are you! You're not taking the Bar exam, you're taking an Architecture exam to become an Architect. If you can get the gist of Standard of Care you'll be in good shape to make some educated guesses come exam day.
And if you get a Standard of Care question:
- The standard is not perfection
- Does the scenario provide any vague terms that could increase the Architect's Standard of Care?
- Does the scenario provide any quantifiable promises that could increase the Architect's Standard of Care?
- Does the scenario require the Architect to do work that should be done by the Owner, the Owner's consultants or the Contractor?
