That’s what i figured. I knew I could count on you Ron!
The requirement that the Owner hire and pay for Special Inspections was placed in the code because a contractor in control of the special inspector can influence the results. A common problem is that Contractors asks for insectors who are not too inquisitive.
If an Architect or Owner wants the Contractor to hire and pay for the special inspectors it gives a clear message that that individual is not interested in monitoring the quality of the constructed project.
I’m not so sure they don’t care about quality, per se. Frequently the “reason” is that they want to funnel as many of the costs of the project as possible through the construction contract for a variety of reasons. Also, they want someone else to take care of things–the effort is too much of a nuisance. And, in a twisted sense of logic, they think that this makes the contractor more responsible if “something happens”.
I will conceed that if you ask them they will say they care about quality but their actions tell another story. By their actions they are not interested in quality since they are not interested in monitoring quality. The reality is that you get what you take the time to track and manage.