The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

This course covers the general format, content and purpose of a Special Provision that could be used in a set of contract documents for an infrastructure project such as a roadway, drainage or utility improvement. The course describes the basic format of a Special Provision by defining its purpose, identifies the various types of Special Provisions, and explains the importance of proper grammar for the communication of the intent of any design team faced with the task of writing a Special Provision.

Completion of this course will provide the student with an understanding of the issues to be covered by a Special Provision in a typical set of contract documents. This will provide the student with a basis for discussion with the team or project manager on each assignment. This in turn can reduce false starts, provide specific direction to the various disciplines involved and prepare questions for the client from a pro-active position. The result is intended to be a savings in labor spent on corrections and re-typing of text, which will help contribute to the completion of a project within the budget.

This course draws on the author's extensive experience with contract documents to provide valuable project execution tips that can save your project cost and schedule. Several minutes of discussion during the kick-off of a project can prevent costly last minute changes.

This course is a "How To" for preparing the format and text of Special Provisions for a project. Any engineer involved in preparing the contract documents for infrastructure / roadway plans will benefit from the lessons learned by the course author from a career that has spanned three decades and has seen hundreds of sets of plans and special provisions.

The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of ten (10) questions at the end of the course to obtain PDH credits.

State Board Acceptance

This course can be used by professional engineers to fulfill PDH requirements mandated by state and provincial licensing boards. Decatur Professional Development is an approved provider of continuing education in all states that pre-approve course providers. In all other states that mandate continuing education for engineers, it is the individual engineer's responsibility to determine the suitability of activities for PDH credit. The state boards typically accept online* courses that cover technical, managerial** or ethical content and which are relevant to the practice of engineering. The course must have a clear purpose or objective with a content that will maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge of the licensee's field of practice. For questions about your mandatory PDH requirements, visit the website of your state licensing board.

*Online courses are accepted by all state licensing boards that mandate continuing education. Other than New York (which limits online courses to 18 PDH) and Iowa (which limits online courses to 6 PDH), there are no limits placed by other states on the number of hours that can be earned through online continuing education. Consult with your state licensing board if you have any questions about the acceptability of online courses.

**The New York State Board of Engineers does not accept general office management courses, but will accept project management courses that are offered by an approved provider and that are technical in nature and contribute to the engineer's professional practice.

Please Note: Continuing Education credits for this course are awarded as PDH (Professional Development Hour Credits).