Under A201, who provides timely decisions affecting the project timeline, and what is the consequence if delays occur?

• A. The Contractor alone decides timing; the Owner informs Architect.
• B. The Owner and Architect must provide timely decisions; the Contractor relies on them to continue work.
• C. The Architect delays decisions; Contractor bears risk.
• D. Subcontractors provide all decisions to the Contractor.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that decisions affecting the project timeline come from the Owner and the Architect, and the Contractor depends on those timely responses to keep work progressing. Under the A201 contract, the Owner and Architect are responsible for making timely decisions on submittals, approvals, changes, and other design and administrative matters. If they delay, the Contractor cannot continue those parts of the work at full pace without that direction.

Why this fits best: it reflects who controls the decisions and who bears the risk when timing slips. The Contractor does not have the authority to unilaterally decide timing, and subcontractors’ decisions are not the driver of the overall schedule. When the Owner or Architect hold things up, the contract allows for a time extension and a potential adjustment in the contract sum to cover the impact of that delay, ensuring the Contractor isn’t penalized for conditions outside its control and that the project can still reach completion in a fair manner.

In short, timely decisions come from the Owner and Architect, and delays by them affect the schedule, with the remedy typically being an extension of time and possible cost adjustments to reflect the delay.