​Construction projects, no matter how well they are managed, will inevitably have delays, variations and changes which aren’t due to a fault of the contractor and couldn’t have been expected, allowed for or mitigated by the contractor. Most contract documents allow the contractor to claim the additional time and costs resulting from these events. Are you working for free on your construction project?

Contractors need to make every effort to get their client to resolve their variation claims as soon as possible. Obviously ensuring they have provided all of the supporting information when the claim is first presented is essential and, also, that all of the client’s questions are answered as speedily as possible. It helps if a list of variation claims is included at all project meetings with the client, showing those variation claims which are agreed and those which are still unapproved. This claims register is also an aid for the client so they can adequately monitor their project budget. Will your next construction variation claim be successful?

Should the client be unresponsive to variation claims and change orders, letters asking for a resolution need to be submitted. Request a meeting with your client’s representative. In some instance you may be dealing with the client’s engineer or project manager and your client may not even be aware of the unresolved variation claims. In these instances, it may help to bring the problem to the attention of your client and ask for a resolution to the problem. If claims remain unresolved because they aren’t replied to it may be necessary to follow the dispute resolution process outlined in the contract document. 10 Tips To Submit Winning Variation Claims

It can pay to consult an expert and get advice on the way forward. In some countries and states there are legal options available and contractors need to be aware of these. Often these options are time dependent and should be instituted as soon as it becomes apparent that the client is going to ignore variation claims.

Declaring a dispute with the client over a claim that hasn’t been responded to, often results in a rapid response to the claim.
​
It should be noted that the contractor isn’t entitled to stop work because the client hasn’t responded to a claim – to do so could mean that the contractor is in breach of contract which could allow the client to terminate the contract.

​Don’t let variation claims go unresolved until the end of the construction project since you risk not being paid the claim. ​Negative cash flow – the death for many construction companies

​To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below:
'Successful Construction Project Management: The Practical Guide'
'Building a Successful Construction Company: The Practical Guide'
'Construction Claims: A Short Guide for Contractors'
'Construction Project Management: Tips and Insights'
'Construction Book reviews'
To read more about the author visit the page 'Paul Netscher'
Want to contact Paul Netscher please enter your details on 'Contacts'
Find out how Paul Netscher can help you

Order your books from Amazon
Order your books from Amazon UK
© 2016 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

Unfortunately far too many construction subcontractors end like this. Will you be one of these contractors?

Subbies squeezed from both sides....Read....

Why is good quality construction important?
This seems an obvious question! Of course quality is important on our construction projects! But then why do we continually see projects completed which are poor quality?
Is it because people:

1. Don’t care?
2. Don’t have the correct knowledge and experience?
3. Don’t have the correct tools and equipment?
4. Are trying to save money?
5. Don’t have the time to do the work properly?

Well time is a poor excuse since it usually takes the same amount of time to do quality work as it takes to produce poor quality work.
Saving money is also a poor excuse as the cost of completing poor quality work is usually the same as doing the work correctly - but rectifying poor quality work results in additional costs.

Why good quality construction is important
Unfortunately our employees often don’t understand the importance of good quality work. They don’t take pride in their work. It is important that management doesn’t except poor quality and don’t walk past work that’s unacceptable. Equally important though is to acknowledge good quality work and compliment those that have produced good quality.

Poor quality work costs money
Rectifying poor quality work costs enormous amounts of money to repair and rectify. Various research papers have quoted figures of between 5% and 15% of project costs are caused by poor quality work.
Not only is there the cost of repairing the defective work, but there are often the additional costs resulting from the delay to the project. Rectifying completed work often impacts adjacent items meaning that there’s usually more to fix than just the item that wasn’t acceptable in the first place.
​Clients are also entitled to deduct money for work that they can prove is not according to specifications or which is of an unacceptable quality.

Poor quality work delays projects
Rectifying defective work takes time and also takes resources away from other parts of the project. A project can’t be handed over until all of the defects and snags have been completed and rectified.

Poor quality work loses customers
Contractors are only as good as their last project. Poor quality work on one project can quickly destroy client relationships. News of poor quality work can swiftly spread to other potential customers. Poor quality work can become a newsworthy item. Social media can rapidly spread pictures of poor quality.
Our completed projects are advertisements for our company.

Poor quality work disrupts cash flow
Usually contractors don’t get paid until the client is happy with the work and all snags or punch-list items have been completed. The non-completion of items can delay the release of retention monies as well as the release of bonds and sureties. Companies need to receive their money as soon as possible to pay their employees, suppliers and subcontractors. Disrupted cash flow can mean bills aren’t paid which will lead to unhappy employees, suppliers and subcontractors and even lead to bankruptcy.

Poor quality work causes accidents
There have been many cases of completed buildings and structures collapsing because the construction was done poorly. Reinforcing steel was omitted, the wrong strength concrete was utilised or inadequate foundations were constructed. These collapses can often be spectacular resulting in many deaths and feature prominently in the media.
But even when poor quality work is discovered during construction the rectification work can involve hazardous demolitions. Sometimes reaching the defective item is difficult, especially when it is detected after access has been removed. Rectification work is often done in haste and could involve unsafe practices.

​Poor quality work harms the environment
I’m sure we’ve all seen the discarded rubble heaps on construction projects. Often this rubble is the result of poor quality work which has had to be demolished. All this detritus ultimately ends on the trash dumps. Materials and energy have been consumed to produce the poor quality product and more energy is consumed to bash it down so that the work can be redone correctly. All of which has a negative impact on the environment.

Poor quality work can lead to employee unhappiness
Poor quality work leads to defects. Unfortunately it’s often not the worker that produced the poor quality work who has to rectify the defect. We all hate cleaning up someone else’s mess! Those employees left to close out punch or snag lists aren’t usually very happy.
Demolishing defective work can be demoralising for the team since most construction workers want to build things and see progress.
An unhappy client isn’t a nice client to deal with. Clients that face a poor quality project can be difficult and cantankerous (and rightly so) and they often look for other faults.

Poor quality work can make recruiting good people difficult
Employees want to work for companies with a good reputation. Invariably companies that produce poor quality don’t have the best managers and skilled people. Youngsters want to work for a company where they’ll be taught by good people. Who wants to work for a company where you are going to be facing abusive clients unhappy with the quality of their project? Who wants to work for a company when your job may result in you going back to fix mistakes on other people’s projects? Working for a company with a poor reputation doesn’t look good on your CV.
Good people are proud of their work.

Poor quality work teaches bad habits
When management accepts poor quality work this poor quality becomes the norm. The workers who have produced the poor quality work will invariably repeat that standard of work on other projects. Junior and new employees will assume the poor standard of work is acceptable and will assume it is standard practice in the company, and will repeat the same poor standard elsewhere.

Poor Quality work leads to problems later
Patching something often results in a weak point which can lead to a failure later. Many contractors are called back to projects during the defects liability period to repair items that weren’t constructed correctly in the beginning, or items that were ‘patched’ during construction and the repair wasn’t done properly so hasn’t lasted very long. Sometimes these poor repairs lead to other problems and impact other parts of the structure making the repair job even bigger and costlier than if the repair had been attended to properly in the first place.

Poor quality work on one project negatively impacts other projects
Often resources are meant to move onto other projects but are tied up fixing defective work and closing out snag or punch-list items. This has a knock-on effect on the next project that is left waiting for resources, which then delays that project.

Conclusion
There is no excuse for poor quality work. Indeed there are many reasons to produce good quality work. Our clients are paying us to produce a quality product that conforms to their specifications, their scope of works and their expectations. They would like to be proud of their new facility and have many years of use from it without the inconvenience of repairing defective workmanship.
But as important, is that the completed project is an advertisement for your company. You should be proud of the completed project, and it should be one you are happy to show to your children. Your employees should be equally proud to be part of a successful and quality product.
Why is good quality work important to you?

This article is adapted from information in the author’s popular books: 'Successful Construction Project Management: The Practical Guide' and 'Building a Successful Construction Company: The Practical Guide'.
'Construction Claims: A Short Guide for Contractors' has just been published. These books are available on Amazon and other online book stores.
Paul publishes articles regularly on LinkedIn and his website. 

Paul writes regular articles for other websites, gives lectures, mentors, and is available for podcasts and interviews.
© 2017 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

The use of drugs and excessive consumption of alcohol is a growing problem on construction projects. It can lead to:

• Impaired ability which impacts safety – either for the person or others on the project. This leads to accidents, injury and damage to equipment. How poor safety costs your construction company money
• An increased chance of workers taking part in risky behavior.
• Poor work performance.
• Absenteeism.
• Violence on the project which is directed against other workers and management and even in some cases the customer.
• Poor quality work.
• Reduced productivity.
• Instances of theft and fraud to pay for a drug habit or alcohol dependency.
• Inebriated or drug affected employees may be seen badly behaving, either at the work site, or away from the project but while wearing the company’s uniform or driving company vehicles. This poor behavior will reflect poorly on the company and could negatively impact members of the public who may be potential future customers.

Even excessive consumption of alcohol after hours can lead to workers arriving at work inebriated from the night before, arriving late for work or even being absent from work. Workers that are absent can impact progress on the project especially if they are a key operator or vital member of the crew. When some members of the crew are regularly late or absent it places more pressure on the rest of the crew who have to fill in for the missing worker.
​
What can we do?

​We had one construction project where there were numerous instances of people arriving late for work, being absent without leave, as well as numerous safety incidents. Many of these incidents were probably related to the excessive consumption of alcohol after-hours, and, although there was a breathalyser on site, the tests were not administered correctly with few instances of people being found over the limit. Yet, as soon as we put a trained, responsible, person in charge of these tests, the number of staff found to be over the limit at first increased, but once employees realised they would be caught and removed from the project if they were over the limit, their numbers decreased and productivity, attendance and safety improved.

To ensure that alcohol and drugs don't become a problem on your construction projects project managers should make sure that:

• The project has rules in place regarding the abuse of drugs and alcohol. These rules must be enforced and applied uniformly and there should be no differentiation between management and workers.
• There is a policy of zero tolerance.
• Each employee understands the company’s policy and that it is included in their employment contracts.
• The company’s policy on alcohol and drug abuse is discussed at the project induction. The Right Way To Introduce New Workers to your Construction Project
• Periodically the impact of drug abuse and excessive alcohol consumption is discussed at toolbox or safety meetings and the dangers on the work site of employers under the influence of drugs or alcohol are highlighted.
• Information posters are displayed on the project warning of the risks of drug or alcohol abuse.
• Random alcohol and drug testing is conducted
• Supervisors are on the lookout for the indications of inebriated or drug affected workers.
• Workers are encouraged to report the abuse of alcohol or drugs by others on the project.
• Management ensures that they set a positive example.

Construction work isn’t easy and many workers are absent for long periods of time from their family and work long hours. This could lead to workers turning to alcohol and drugs for recreation and comfort.

Management needs to take a proactive and consistent approach from the start of the construction project to deter workers from being inebriated or drug impaired at the workplace.

Have you found the use of drugs or alcohol a problem on your project?
Has alcohol or drug consumption caused problems on your project?

​To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below:
'Successful Construction Project Management: The Practical Guide'
'Building a Successful Construction Company: The Practical Guide'
'Construction Claims: A Short Guide for Contractors'
'Construction Book reviews'
To read more about the author visit the page 'Paul Netscher'
Want to contact Paul Netscher please enter your details on 'Contacts'
Find out how Paul Netscher can help you

Order your books from Amazon
Order your books from Amazon UK
© 2016 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

Read this great article on the BBC website The Hidden Strengths of Unloved Concrete

​Often construction projects are delayed. Sometimes the delay is due to the contractor – for instance poor planning, insufficient resources, or materials arriving late. Often the delay is due to weather which might include rain, wind and extreme temperatures, but weather events are normal and should be accounted for by the contractor. On occasion the delay is due to reasons that were specified in the contract document – such as the contractor having to work in and around the customer’s activities. Many times in this case the contractor has to recover the lost time at their own expense, as they either caused the delay themselves or they should have foreseen or known about the potential delays when they prepared and agreed to the project’s construction schedule. an introduction to construction variation claims video 8 - when you can not claim extension of time 

​However, delays often happen for reasons outside the control of the contractor, that couldn’t have been reasonably anticipated or allowed for by the contractor. In these cases, and depending on the terms of the project’s contract, the contractor will need to claim an extension of time so that the project’s completion date is extended. Delays invariably result in the contractor incurring additional costs as they remain longer on the project. Finishing a project late may entitle the customer to claim damages from the contractor. Furthermore, finishing a project late without a valid, approved reason can be damaging to the contractor’s reputation. Understanding the real cost of delays on your construction project

It’s therefore essential that contractors understand some of the reasons and causes that give them the right to claim an extension of time. An extension of time means that the project’s completion date is extended by the number of days approved in the claim. The contractor then can claim the additional costs associated with this longer approved construction period.

Some causes of construction project delays that entitle the contractor to submit an extension of time include:
1.   The customer (or their designated representative) issues an instruction to stop work for reasons unrelated to the contractor. The Instruction may be due to the customer changing their design, or to allow the customer’s work, or the work of their contractors, to proceed. However, in some cases customers may issue an Instruction to the contractor to stop work because of a fault by the contractor such as; unsafe working conditions, poor quality work, or failure to obtain design approvals or the required construction permits and in these cases the contractor can’t claim an extension of time unless they can prove that the customer (or their representative) was wrong to stop the work and that the contractor was in fact compliant.

2.   The customer provides construction information late. I’m sure we’ve all been on projects where the customer’s drawings have been issued late. If there’s an approved construction schedule the customer should know when information is required and there’s no excuse for it being issued late. An introduction to construction variation claims for construction project managers video 9 - What information and by when?

3.   Late access. Often contractors are dependent on the customer providing access to the work area in accordance with the agreed construction schedule. Care should be taken when accepting access to a work area that the area is safe and that the area given to the contractor meets the specified dimensions and heights as laid out in the contract document. An introduction to construction variation claims for project managers video 7. What is access?

4.   Changes in specification. This is something that contractors don’t always detect until it’s too late. Change in specifications often increases the price of items, but the items with the new specifications could also have longer manufacturing times. In some cases specifications are changed after items have been ordered which means that the original order has to be cancelled and new orders placed which can significantly delay projects.

5.   Scope increases. Many projects increase in scope and contractors need to continually compare the actual scope with the scope they priced. Increased scope usually means we need more time to complete the project, or additional resources to complete it in the original time frame.

6.   The customer’s activities cause delays. Sometimes the contract document includes customer activities and constraints that the contractor has to work around and accept. In these cases the construction schedule should take these impacts into account. However, often during the course of construction the customer introduces new constraints. Is your client delaying your construction project?

7.   Additional quality tests and inspections. The customer’s quality managers, at times, can introduce additional tests or quality inspections which weren’t mentioned in the contract documents. These can add additional costs and cause delays. Some customers add in additional ‘hold’ or inspection points, or require 24 hour, or even 48 hour, notice periods for inspection which delay the project.

8.   Late drawing or design approval. The construction schedule and contract document should stipulate the maximum turn around time for the customer and their representatives to approve the contractor’s drawings and designs. Some customers exceed the times specified and cause delays to the project.

9.   The customer and their team don’t immediately respond to requests for information (RFI’s) and drawing queries. Unfortunately I’m sure we’ve all received drawings with missing or conflicting information. On occasion querying and receiving the corrected information can be a tedious and time consuming process which delays the project.

10.   Customers’ not providing facilities and utilities in the required quantities and in the time they were obligated to supply them.

11.   The customer’s other contractors impact and delay the contractor’s work. They may restrict access to the contractor’s work areas, damage completed work or hold-up the contractor’s work where they are required to interface with them. Even work outside the immediate work area could dramatically impact the contractor’s work blocking roads and access or interrupting the supply of water and power.

12.   The customer revises drawings which require the contractor to redo work which is already completed, or the contractor has to re-order materials or equipment, thus delaying the project while the items are procured.

13.   The customer changes the sequencing in the schedule because they want some sections of the project earlier and others later.

14.   Unforeseen project site conditions. These could include:

1. Existing services (such as; water pipes, electrical and data cables, and gas mains) which weren’t known and couldn’t have been foreseen when the project was priced. These may require further detection and uncovering work as well as their relocation which can delay the scheduled work.
2. Difficult ground conditions which weren’t known and couldn’t have been foreseen at bid stage. This could include:

• Rock which might be more difficult and slower to excavate.
• Unsuitable materials (such as clay) which have to be removed and replaced with better material.
• Contaminated ground containing materials such as asbestos or dangerous chemicals which have to be removed and disposed of by specialists.
• A high water table on the project site which impacts excavations which may be inundated by this water.
• Discovering an archaeological artefact on the project site which has to be protected, excavated and removed by a specialist.
• Uncovering of buried building rubble which has to be removed.
• Discovering previously unknown cavities – sink-holes or old mine workings. These may have to be filled or structures might have to be relocated to avoid the cavities.

15.   Extreme weather events, such as one in fifty year floods and catastrophic storms. The claimable weather conditions could be occasions when the weather is more severe than the average climate for the region. More rainfall, more snow, more windy days, more violent winds, or more extreme temperatures during construction than the average (for the same months) for the area where the project is.

16.   Items that the contractor specifically excluded in their bid submission and which were included as exclusions in the contract document.

17.   Change in legislation. This could include the country declaring a special holiday. Changed legislation could also result in a change in the building materials which might not, for instance, comply with new fire legislation.

18.   National strikes, work stoppages or a disruption which causes the contractor’s employees to stop working, or impacts the supply of critical materials, such as fuel. This could also include disruption by the customer’s employees which interrupts progress on the construction project.

​19.   Customer supplied equipment or materials arriving late, being damaged when they arrive on the project, or not being fit for purpose.

20.   Errors on customer issued drawings which either result in work being redone, or causes delays while clashes, missing information and problems are resolved.

21.   Drawing coordination problems. Frequently Architect’s and Engineer’s drawings have conflicting information, or the mechanical, electrical and plumbing drawings have clashing services or utilities. Sometimes the designers haven’t allowed for the utility services, so holes have to be cored through concrete slabs or broken through walls. All of this rework and these clashes create delays and additional costs.

22.   The customer failing to obtain statutory permits which prevents the contractor from carrying out work.

requirements of a Project schedule

It’s essential that contractors understand the project contract document and are aware of the delays they are entitled to claim. It’s imperative that contractors submit their extension of time claims and delay claims as soon as they became aware of them, and certainly within the time period specified in the contract document. Late claims can be time-barred which will provide reason for the customer to reject the claim. Documents That Will Make Your Construction Variation Claim Successful

Of course, the claim must be presented in a logical format outlying the reasons for the claim as well as mitigating actions taken by the contractor to prevent the claim. The claim should include all the supporting documentation and clearly show the impact of the delay to the critical path of the approved construction schedule. ​How to Make your Construction Change Order Claims Successful