Recommendations to Minimize Timely Payment Problems of Subcontractors Involved in Private and Public Building Construction in Pennsylvania.

摘要

Recommendations are presented which will minimize timely payment problems of subcontractors involved in public and private building construction in the state of Pennsylvania. Census information is used to establish the importance of the subcontractor's position in the building construction industry. Causes of the payment problems--the subcontractor's largest problem--are discussed. Its seriousness is examined by relating increases in failures within the construction industry to the present high interest rates. The seriousness is further demonstrated by analyses performed on financial statements of contractors in the U.S. and on interest costs associated with several subcontractor's projects. Existing options available to subcontractors to either prevent or provide remedies to payment problems are examined. This includes analyzing several contracts, payment practices of governmental agencies, legislation such as Payment Bond Law and the Mechanics Lien Law, legal aspects, and business-related matters. Other practices, not presently available in Pennsylvania, include: a direct payment system to major subcontractors, line item release of retainage, and new proposed federal legislation. In order to evaluate the actual problem and to develop recommendations, the perceptions of architects, general contractors, and subcontractors, operating within Pennsylvania, were obtained through questionnaires.