Development of TxDOT Warranty Implementation Plan

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) continues to be proactive in finding innovative practices in programming and administering projects, including the construction' contracting area. Since warranty specifications have shown potential to reduce the life-cycle cost of facilities while ensuring the quality of constructed facilities, TxDOT elected to further explore this innovative contracting method. TxDOT's objectives for investigating warranties and potentially implementing a warranty program were to: . reduce TxDOT manpower requirements for inspection, testing, and maintenance; . reduce project life-cycle costs; and . improve quality of materials and construction. A warranty is defined "as a guarantee of the integrity of a product and of the contractor's responsibility for the repair or replacement of deficiencies. A warranty is an absolute liability on the part of the warrantor (contractor), and the contract is void unless it is strictly and literally performed" (D. Hancher, NCHRP Synthesis of Highway Practice 195: Use of Warranties in Road Construction, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1994). Construction warranties fall into two categories: performance warranties, and materials and workmanship warranties. This research focuses on the latter. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has described materials and workmanship warranties as follows: "... the contractor is responsible for correcting defects in work elements within the contractor's control during the warranty period. This includes distresses resulting from defective materials and/or workmanship during construction. The owner is responsible for the pavement structural design. The contractor assumes no responsibility for pavement design or those distresses that result from the design. Some responsibility is shifted from the owner to the contractor for materials selection and workmanship."