Pennsylvania’s Separations Act

July 20, 2016

In Pennsylvania, when public Owners want to build, the Separations Act, 71 P.S. 1618, requires them to use a multiple-prime project delivery system and each of these prime construction contracts must be competitively bid. This paper will not focus on whether Pennsylvania’s Separation Act should be changed; just like Geico Insurance commercial, “Everyone knows that.” Instead, this paper will assume that for the immediate future this law will remain in place, just as it has for the past one hundred years. Consequently, Public Owners need to manage their multiple prime construction projects the best way possible. This paper will address how this required project delivery system works, its limitations and will identify some key considerations in trying to improve project performance on a multiple-prime project.

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