Each stakeholder, player, employee, individual, and manager in any construction project (in fact, the construction industry) has a key role to play when it comes to reducing the effects of construction delays. This in turn helps avoid unnecessary construction claims.
However, each construction project is more than likely to face snags caused by delays in construction. The COVID-19 pandemic snagged a lot of construction projects and caused a lot of labor to fall sick and even lose lives to one of the deadliest diseases the world has ever seen.
Even those construction plans which are laid down in the best manner cannot ensure the fact that a job site will be immune to delays and other issues. Delays in construction projects can come in at any time. They can be due to the following factors:
- A contractor defaulting.
- Owner’s acts.
- Faults in scheduling.
- Circumstances out of the reach and control of either or all the parties involved.
A majority of construction contracts include a determination and extension of the contract time clause. This provides guidelines for requesting changes to be made to the schedule agreed upon. However, a large delay can lead to legal claims which are expensive and time-consuming.
This is an undesirable outcome for all parties involved in construction. Hence, a general contractor’s ability to respond to delays swiftly and effectively is one of the best things to happen in construction.
What are the effects of delays in construction projects?
Here are the effects of delays in construction projects:
- Acceleration of timelines.
- Inefficiency due to changes in schedules.
- Intermediate completion dates are missed which leads to delayed project completion.
- Liquidated damages.
- Rising costs (direct, indirect, and impact ones).
- The frustration of owners.
- Legal claims.
Reducing the effects of construction delay – a brief yet detailed analysis
Delays of any kind usually demand a quick response from job site management. Even the most minor of setbacks have the potential to spiral into dangerous stumbling blocks. Effective management of job sites requires the ability of personnel involved to understand the gravity and implications of such delays.
Hence they should evaluate the excusing effects these delays have and adjust the timeline again responsibly. Here are some tips to reduce the effects of delays in construction, put forth by construction claims consulting experts in Dubai:
Anticipation
With a job site, experience comes in the ability of professionals to anticipate when and where the delays might pop up. Anticipating potential obstacles is a proactive technique of preparing clients and teams alike so they can respond quickly and effectively when a delay arises.
This helps remove the shock and panic factor from the delay. It consequently allows the people involved to make allowances with a clear mind and without an emotional response.
Prioritizing planning
Professional planning in construction helps lay out a timeline for a project from beginning to end. This allows managers to stay within the budget, anticipate potential hazards, and make the needed adjustments in the timeline, at the moment.
Slight delay allowances are often constructed into a CPM timeline. This allows project management teams to wiggle in some room to accommodate the conveniences that arise inevitably. This is why prioritizing accurate time estimates, expense estimates and resource allocation from the first day can help to embark on unrealistic CPM schedules.
Avoiding acceleration
Acceleration refers to the choice of the owner or general contractor to speed up the progress of a project to make up for a lost time, or to accomplish early completion. A knee-jerk reaction though might accelerate what remains of the timeline in order to compensate for lost time.
But doing so is likely to put the construction project’s outcome in serious jeopardy. Hence they should take the time to formally readjust schedules and accommodate for the delays that took place.
Communicating properly in the chain of command
If adjustments have been made to a timeline or expectations changed in one way or the other, it is wise to communicate with team members, subcontractors, and third-party vendors so the new timeline can be understood clearly, and everyone agrees to move forward with the revised plan.
Project advisory experts stress maintaining a well-informed multidisciplinary and competent project team. This helps ensure a positive outcome for each and everything involved.
