Many in the industry commonly utilized the AIA documents, often with significant revisions. The core of many of these documents are the AIA General Conditions (A201) with the parties frequently using the 2007 version as a starting point.

AIA typically modifies its contract documents every ten (10) years and released its latest edition of the AIA A201 General Conditions in April, 2017. By Halloween of this year, you will no longer be able to create or modify the 2007 form, but will be limited to the 2017 edition.

This means that those using the AIA family of documents must familiarize themselves with the recent changes, and make appropriate adjustments.

One pitfall of the use of an A133-2009 (Cost plus Contract with GMP) form with the 2017 General Conditions creates problems with respect to insurance, as the A133 directs the parties to insurance provisions in the AIA A201-2007 General Conditions, some of which have been removed in the 2017 update.

As always, special care must be taken when selecting the appropriate contract document and making modifications in the best interests of the project.