GMPs are signed before the design is finished. To make that work, the contractor has to write a list of clarifications, assumptions, and exclusions. That list is one of the most financially important documents of the entire project.
Almost no one is comparing that list, line by line, against the real drawings. The volume makes it impossible to do manually. For a typical multi-family project, there are thousands of pages of drawings, and hundreds of pages of contract. This means gaps between the GMP and the drawings surface one change order at a time, in the field. The bigger and more complex the project, the more change orders and construction delays.
Introducing GMP Risk Analysis from LightTable
LightTable’s GMP Risk Analysis makes it possible to identify every gap in your GMP within hours, enabling tighter contracts and more accurate contingencies. LightTable’s AI reads the GMP contract and clarifications list, drawings, specs, and even the owner’s budget if available.
It surfaces every place where these documents conflict, including:
- Required scope that was excluded
- Assumptions that contradict what’s in the drawings
- Exclusions that conflict with entitlements
Instead of relying on a sample, LightTable gives you a comprehensive view into your full document set. With the complete review taking less than 8 hours, you get results in time to update your contract or contingency based on your real risk.
Scope gaps, with full explanations
LightTable identifies scope the contractor excluded that the design will still require, as well as where the contract and the drawings describe two different scopes.
Each identified gap is tied back to the clarification or exclusion line in the contract, as well as the specific section of the conflicting drawing sheet or spec.
Risk prioritized by severity and domain
The list of risks arrives already prioritized for you. Risks are ranked by severity and categorized by domain: construction execution, scope, procurement, entitlements, and site and infrastructure.
This enables you to route each risk to the right person and the right line items in your budget. Each risk has an ID number, the disciplines involved, the reasoning behind the flag, and cost risk vs. schedule risk separated.
QA/QC issues that aren’t covered by the contract
After LightTable’s AI identifies QA/QC problems in the drawings, GMP Risk checks if fixing those problems requires work not covered by the contract. You learn what’s wrong in your design, and what fixing it will cost you under the current contract.
Budget and contingency analytics
See whether your contingency is in line with your risk. When you add the owner’s budget, the platform shows how much of your construction budget the GMP takes up, how much is held as contingency, and what’s at risk.
LightTable gave us a new level of insight. It showed where the GC and borrower carried risk and whether the contingencies covered it. Instead of a ‘check-the-box’ report, it’s a tool we use to identify, structure around and discuss deal-related risk with borrowers before closing. - Daniel Siegel, Peachtree Group
On a recent project, a mixed-use building was already under contract. It had a $140M hard-cost budget with a $135M GMP and 4% contingency. LightTable found 5 critical risks, 28 high-to-medium risks, and 8 contract gaps. A 4% contingency looked fine, until the findings showed that there was substantially more exposure.
The unknowns you pay for should be truly unforeseeable, like weather and site conditions. Everything else is a contract problem, and contract problems are controllable. LightTable helps you turn better project knowledge into money and time saved.
