A field order is a quick written instruction to do something in the field. The term means slightly different things depending on who’s using it:
- Owner or architect to GC: a written direction for a minor change or clarification. Under AIA A201, an architect’s order for a minor change in the work (AIA G710) involves no change in contract sum or time. If it would cost money, the contractor should say so before proceeding.
- GC to subcontractor: a written directive to perform extra or changed work now, often on a T&M basis or against an agreed price, with a subcontract change order to follow.
- Public agencies: some owners use “field order” for an immediate directive that becomes a change order later.
Whatever the name, the point is the same: work can proceed without waiting weeks for a formal change order, but there’s a paper trail.
Why it matters
Field orders are where scope creeps. Each one might be small, but dozens of them, unpriced and untracked, can add up to real money and margin fade. They also feed back charges and disputes if the direction was vague.
Common mistakes
- Proceeding on a verbal instruction with no written field order.
- Accepting a “no cost” field order for work that clearly costs money.
- Not linking field orders to T&M tickets, so the hours are never billed.
- Losing track of field orders that should have become change orders.
How os.construction handles it
We’re building field orders that open a change event automatically, so instructions given in the field get priced, tracked and billed instead of forgotten. It’s in development.