The American Subcontractors Association is looking for prime construction contractors that subcontractors love to work for.

Prime contractors that are committed to such best business practices — from the subcontractor’s perspective — as safety management, prompt payment, prompt processing of change requests and claims, and effective project scheduling and coordination, are encouraged to apply for ASA’s National Construction Best Practices Awards.

The application deadline is Nov. 21, 2014, and the application fee is $495. Awards will be presented during ASA’s annual convention, SUBExcel 2015, which will take place March 26 to 29, 2015, in Seattle, Wash.

These awards, which were first offered in 2011, have been out of reach for many contractors. The program’s rigorous criteria include the use of a standard subcontract whose provisions substantially reflect the best practices incorporated into the ASA-endorsed ConsensusDocs 750 Standard Agreement Between Constructor and Subcontractor, as well as highly favorable evaluations from three specialty trade contractors, based on 20 project management factors.

"The purpose of these awards is to commend those specialty trade contractors and general contractors that exemplify the values of subcontractors, treat subcontractors fairly through use of level-playing-field contract terms, and consider subcontractors part of their core project teams," said ASA Task Force on Ethics in the Construction Industry Chair Shannon MacArthur, MEMCO, Spring, Texas. "The task force has set a very high bar."

Any firm — including a specialty trade contractor — that has signed within the past year a contract directly with a construction owner under which it performs construction services is eligible to apply. Each applicant must supply three sealed business-practices recommendations from specialty trade contractors that have worked for it in the past year along with a copy of its standard subcontract with its application. A construction attorney will evaluate the standard subcontract, and the ASA Task Force on Ethics in the Construction Industry will evaluate the recommendations from specialty trade contractors. Prime construction contractors that use the ASA-endorsed ConsensusDocs 750 Standard Agreement Between Constructor and Subcontractor as their standard subcontract automatically pass the subcontract evaluation.

The awards application form and the recommendation forms, along with more details, are available under "Education & Events" on the ASA Web site at www.asaonline.com. In ASA chapter areas, applicants must submit their applications to the chapter in their area. A complete list of chapters and their contact information is available under "Find a Chapter" on the ASA Web site. In non-chapter areas, award applicants must submit their applications to American Subcontractors Association Inc., attn: National Construction Best Practices Awards, 1004 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314-3588.

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