Have you been waiting for an important package to be delivered only to find it was delayed because it was delivered to the wrong address, or it arrived when you were out so it was sent back to the warehouse? Sometimes when the parcel arrives it’s been damaged – unfortunately, you only notice after the mailman has left and you have to go through the process of sending the item back and waiting for the replacement. Then I’m sure we’ve all received something that wasn’t the correct size or didn’t look like the picture. Disappointment, plus the inconvenience of having to sort the problem out!

Construction is dependent on equipment and materials which are delivered from a wide variety of suppliers and contractors. Unfortunately, things don’t always go according to plan.
​
Often materials arrive on a project site when no one is expecting them and there are no plans in place for where the material should be offloaded or how it will be unloaded. Sometimes these materials are delivered after-hours when there is no one to receive them. Consequently, this often results in the item being offloaded in the incorrect location and I’ve even had cases of projects accepting materials that were not meant for them. This results in double handling since the items have to be moved again, and the cost of this can be significant if a special crane or truck is required. When deliveries can’t be offloaded the truck may return to the depot with the item and it may take several days to reschedule the delivery – possibly delaying the project. When trucks can’t be offloaded there are often additional demurrage costs to be paid while the truck stands idle. In the haste to offload the item, sometimes, other operations are stopped so a crane and team can help – often causing frustrations and impacting progress.

Are you prepared for the delivery?
When deliveries of material are expected:

• Ensure employees know where the materials should be placed.
• That the area where they will be offloaded is suitable, for example:
  • It may need to be leveled (some large items of equipment or buildings can be damaged if they are not stored in a level position).
  • Ensure the ground is firm enough to support both the item of equipment and the crane offloading it.
  • The area should be well-drained to enable the area to be accessed even after rain.
  • Check the delivery vehicle can access the area, and modify the entrance roads if required.
• (If required) have packers or bearers available to place under the item so it doesn’t sit directly on the ground, and also to enable lifting equipment to be removed from under the load.
• Ensure the required special slings and spreader beams are available for heavy loads, and that lifting studies have been approved and the crane is of sufficient capacity.
• Check weather conditions, (since rain may make parts of the site impassable or high winds prevent cranes from operating) and if necessary delay the transport of large items.
• If the item of equipment is being placed directly in its final position check the area is ready – for instance concrete structures should have all the quality checks completed to verify the concrete has reached the required strength, the structure has been constructed in the correct position and height, and all holding down bolts are in their correct positions and the right size. There will be nothing worse than having a major item of equipment suspended from a crane when you discover the item doesn’t fit due to an error with the concrete construction!

Checking deliveries
The person receiving and checking the material being delivered should be both competent and reliable. This person should:

• Verify the item delivered is the same item as written on the consignment note.
• Verify the quantity and note and report discrepancies – all too often .....Continue Reading......

​This article was first published on the ClockShark website. To visit this website and continue reading the article click on the link above.
Please share this post
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
© 2017 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

​When an insurable loss occurs at your construction company, it’s important that the relevant insurance company is notified as soon as possible. The contractor should know if the event is insurable, under what policy it can be claimed, and who the insurer is, and what the excess or deductibles are. Photographs should be taken of the damage, and the area made safe and secure (where possible keep a record of the costs of making the area safe as these costs should be claimable).

A report must be prepared and submitted to the insurer. This report should include:  

1. The insurance policy number.
2. The date and time of the event.
3. The location of the construction project.
4. What the event was.
5. What the damage is
6. An estimate of the repair costs.
7. Mitigating actions were taken, if applicable.
8. Photographs of the event and subsequent damage.
9. Any injuries.
10. The repairs implemented, or actions taken, to secure the facility and make it safe.
11. Names of witnesses if applicable.
12. Contact details of the person submitting the report.
13. The urgency of the response required from the insurer.
14. Police case numbers if relevant.

​The employer should be immediately advised if the facility and construction works have been damaged.

The owners of equipment damaged in the event need to be advised right away. The construction contractor should keep a record of who was advised of the damage and the applicable case numbers.

In certain incidents, the police will have to be notified – again the construction contractor must obtain a case number. Certain accidents on the project are notifiable to the authorities – especially if there is a serious injury or death or if a member of the public was involved.

When the insurer is contacted they will normally advise if an assessor will inspect the damage and what the next steps are to repair it. Only once the insurance assessor gives the go-ahead to proceed can the damage be repaired.

Obviously, time is of the essence since the damage may be delaying progress on the project, and normally most insurance policies will not cover the impact of these delays. It’s important the insurer understands how critical it is for work on the project to continue and for repairs to be completed.

​Insurance Claims should include all of the costs associated with carrying out the repairs and making good damage including:

1. The cost of the materials together with their transport, insurance and handling.
2. All labour costs.
3. The cost of all equipment engaged to reinstate the work.
4. Costs of cleaning, removing and disposing of debris, including pumping out storm and flood water.
5. Protection of the undamaged work which is affected by the repair work.
6. Demolition of damaged structures.
7. Supervision and overhead costs.
8. Damage to plant and equipment. It should be noted that in many instances these damages may have to be claimed under the individual policies of the items.
9. Temporary support or access structures.
10. Subcontractors’ costs associated with the damage.

Unfortunately most insurance policies don’t cover for consequential damages. Any delays caused by the event, including their resultant costs, won’t be covered.
If your project has a costing system utilising cost codes then it’s useful to allocate a specific cost code to the insurance claim so that all the costs can easily be found. 

​In some cases the client may have been responsible for the damage caused by the insurable event. For instance if the client’s actions resulted in the flood (maybe they discharged water from their operations flooding the construction work), their vehicles or operations damaged the construction work or the contractor’s equipment then the contractor should first notify the client’s insurers and lodge their claim with them. However it’s important to also keep their own insurers informed of the event and costs. If the client’s actions led to the losses the contractor will be able to claim against the client for all delays and costs resulting from the client’s actions which aren’t recovered from the insurers.

Contractors frequently forget to claim all the costs they are entitled to claim. Sometimes they have their insurance claims rejected because they haven’t notified the insurer or they carried out repairs before the insurer was notified. Following these procedures may ensure you are paid for losses caused by an insurable event.

​This article was first published on the ClockShark website. 
Please share this post

​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
© 2017 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.