Implement construction within contract timelines

By Simon J. Mone

One of the key benchmarks for the success of a construction project is timely completion. It means therefore, that having in place ways of addressing any delays will be of benefit to users of the facility being provided.

Incorporating measures to stop delays in the construction contract and duly implementing them will help save costs that may be incurred due to unnecessary delays by contractors.

It may also mean saving potential project users of the burden of prolonged inconvenience brought about by extended operations rather than short term inconvenience. Often times many projects under implementation have had to be halted and one wonders why the contractors seem to have no presence on site without any on-going activities for very many weeks.

One possible explanation could be that the contractor submits an application for interim payment to facilitate continuous performance of his contractual responsibilities, and the process delays. In a bid to minimise expenditure on site labour, the contractor withdraws and returns when the money is available. One possible explanation is that the monitoring and supervision of the works is not regularly conducted.

In many cases, however, a contractor may encounter delays that are not within his control. Such excusable delays could be because of bad weather, or due previously unknown site conditions, or in the likely case that the client chooses to make changes to the contract specifications during the course of the project performance. In this case it becomes prudent to take into consideration the time taken in completing the design changes because it has got implications on the time that the contractor will take to incorporate the design changes on ground exactly as required by the client.

Unacceptable delays are those foreseeable ones and which the contractor is very much in position to prevent and control. This would include failure by the contractor to provide sufficient labour to perform the works, defective workmanship that require some time to rectify, and late deliveries by suppliers. Unacceptable delays could also be caused when the client takes too long to process contractors’ payments making it very expensive for the contractor to keep workers on site. These are all under the control of either the contractor or the client and delays brought about by such situations are simply not acceptable.

In order to avoid these unacceptable delays, it would be beneficial that clients incorporate, implement and monitor agreed schedules. This will ensure that the contractor’s obligation of accelerating the work within the agreed schedules and timelines are properly adhered to. It is inevitable that the original construction schedule will change during the course of the project because of unavoidable circumstances. Such circumstances could be labour shortages and strikes, different field conditions, and contingencies needing more activities and therefore, time. Even in those difficulties, the contractor is still responsible for the means and methods that will facilitate completion of the work on agreed schedules.

The monitoring and supervision of those projects should be duly executed to ensure that delays are avoided as much as possible. Delays caused by both the client and the contractor means the population for whom those projects are intended suffer the inconvenience brought by the unnecessary prolonged project operations in their localities.

Simon J. Mone is a Civil Engineer, P. O. Box 36045, Kampala, Uganda, Mobile: 0772 676174, E-mail: smone@mail.com