the progress payments for the contractor are based on precise
measurement of the field quantities placed. Therefore, the owner should have a good
indication of the total cost of the project based on the grand total price submitted. However,
deviations between field-measured quantities and the guide quantities will lead to deviations
in overall job price. Therefore, one disadvantage of the unit price contract form is
that the owner does not have a precise final price for the work until the project is complete.
In other words, allowances in the budget for deviations must be made. In addition, the
precision of field measurement of quantities is much more critical than with the lump-sum
contract. The measured field quantities must be exact because they are, in fact, the payment
quantities. Therefore, the owner’s quantity measurement teams must be more careful and
precise in their assessments since their quantity determinations establish the actual cost of
the project.