For the first time in the industry, 20 leading construction associations have united to publish a consensus set of contract documents called ConsensusDOCS.

To be released this Friday, the Associated General Contractors, the Construction Owners Association of America and others essentially are folding their best-practices contract documents program into one process.

This collaboration answers a growing industry frustration in which heavily modified standard form documents hardly resemble the original text.

"The release of ConsensusDOCS is one of the most significant industry developments in the last 20 years," said Stephen E. Sandherr, CEO of the AGC in a statement. "We believe this effort will positively transform the industry's use of standard contract documents."

ConsensusDOCS offers a new choice in contract documents, because all the parties were invited to the drafting table and had a full vote in deciding final contract terms.

Its drafting process is similar to negotiations for a specific project contract; the drafting mantra was to represent the best interests of the project, rather than a singular party.

There are more than 70 documents that address all project delivery methods, from design-bid-build through a new innovative collaborative agreement.

For additional information, call866/925-DOCS(3627) or e-mail info@consensusdocs.org.