Such clauses have been cited by this court to resolve conflicts between contract specifications and drawings, such that if "the contract contains an order of precedence clause, the specifications shall control [over the drawings]." Hensel Phelps Constr. Co. v. United States, 886 F.2d 1296, 1298 (Fed. Cir. 1989); see also Government Contracts: Cycolopedic Guide to Law, Administration, Procedure ยง 2.180 (2000).
Appellant maintains that the language providing for a 15% material handling charge takes precedence over the general provision, the 7.901.6 clause. An "Order of Precedence" clause may be consulted when an inconsistency arises in a contract. Hensel Phelps Constr. Co. v. United States, 886 F.2d 1296 (Fed. Cir. 1989); Sperry Corp. v. United States, 845 F.2d 965 (Fed. Cir. 1988). However, the 7-901.6 clause merely adds further restrictions to those of the 7-103.
An order of precedence clause applies in order "to resolve conflicts between contract specifications and drawings, such that if `the contract contains an order of precedence clause, the specifications shall control [over the drawings].'" Abraham v. Rockwell Int'l Corp., 326 F.3d 1242, 1253 n. 6 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (quoting Hensel Phelps Constr. Co. v. United States, 886 F.2d 1296, 1298 (Fed. Cir. 1989) (alteration in original)). This court noted in Apollo Sheet Metal, Inc. v. United States that "such conflicts regard precise, and directly competing, contract provisions," such as "inconsistencies . . . where two provisions conflict regarding the length, width, height, placement, time, duration, or other such particularized specifications.